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Contents

Guide to VideoNotes iii

Guide to Application Topics v

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xv

Chapter 1 An Introduction to Computing

and Problem Solving 1
1.1 An Introduction to Computing and Python 2
1.2 Program Development Cycle 4
1.3 Programming Tools 6
1.4 An Introduction to Python 13

Chapter 2 Core Objects, Variables, Input,

and Output 23
2.1 Numbers 24
2.2 Strings 35
2.3 Output 49
2.4 Lists, Tuples, and Files–An Introduction 58

Key Terms and Concepts 71

Programming Projects 74

Chapter 3 Structures That Control Flow 77

3.1 Relational and Logical Operators 78
3.2 Decision Structures 89
3.3 The while Loop 105
vii
viii ◆ Contents  

3.4 The for Loop 118

Key Terms and Concepts 137

Programming Projects 139

Chapter 4 Functions 143

4.1 Functions, Part 1 144
4.2 Functions, Part 2 164
4.3 Program Design 182

Key Terms and Concepts 186

Programming Projects 188

Chapter 5 Processing Data 191

5.1 Processing Data, Part 1 192
5.2 Processing Data, Part 2 207
5.3 Dictionaries 221

Key Terms and Concepts 235

Programming Projects 238

Chapter 6 Miscellaneous Topics 243

6.1 Exception Handling 244
6.2 Selecting Random Values 251
6.3 Turtle Graphics 257
6.4 Recursion 269

Key Terms and Concepts 277

Programming Projects 278

   Contents ◆ ix

Chapter 7 Object-Oriented Programming 281

7.1 Classes and Objects 282
7.2 Inheritance 295

Key Terms and Concepts 307

Programming Projects 308

Chapter 8 Graphical User Interface 311

8.1 Widgets 312
8.2 The Grid Geometry Manager 325
8.3 Writing GUI Programs 334

Key Terms and Concepts 343

Programming Projects 345

Appendices
Appendix A ASCII Values 349
Appendix B Reserved Words 351
Appendix C Installing Python and IDLE 353

Answers 355

Index 405
This page intentionally left blank
Preface

S ince its introduction in the 1990s, Python has become one of the most widely used
programming languages in the software industry. Also, students learning their first
programming language find Python the ideal tool to understand the development of
computer programs.
My objectives when writing this text were as follows:
1. To develop focused chapters. Rather than covering many topics superficially,
I concentrate on important subjects and cover them thoroughly.
2. To use examples and exercises with which students can relate, appreciate, and feel
comfortable. I frequently use real data. Examples do not have so many embel-
lishments that students are distracted from the programming techniques
illustrated.
3. To produce compactly written text that students will find both readable and informa-
tive. The main points of each topic are discussed first and then the peripheral
details are presented as comments.
4. To teach good programming practices that are in step with modern programming
methodology. Problem-solving techniques, structured programming, and
object-oriented programming are thoroughly discussed.
5. To provide insights into the major applications of computers.

Unique and Distinguishing Features

Programming Projects. Beginning with Chapter 2, every chapter contains programming
projects. The programming projects reflect the variety of ways that computers are
used. The large number and range of difficulty of the programming projects pro-
vide the flexibility to adapt the course to the interests and abilities of the students.
Some programming projects in later chapters can be assigned as end-of-the-semester
projects.
Exercises for Most Sections. Each section that teaches programming has an exercise
set. The exercises both reinforce the understanding of the key ideas of the section
and challenge the student to explore applications. Most of the exercise sets require
the student to trace programs, find errors, and write programs. The answers to every
odd-numbered exercise in the book, with the exception of Section 6.3 (Turtle Graph-
ics) and Chapter 8 (Graphical User Interface), are given at the end of the text. (The
answers to every other odd-numbered exercise from Section 6.3 are given. The Stu-
dent Solutions Manual contains the answer to every odd-numbered exercise in the
book.) A possible output accompanies nearly every programming exercise and pro-
gramming project.
Practice Problems. Practice Problems are carefully selected exercises located at the end
of a section, just before the exercise set. Complete solutions are given following the
exercise set. The practice problems often focus on points that are potentially confusing

xi
xii ◆ Preface 

or are best appreciated after the student has thought about them. The reader should
seriously attempt the practice problems and study their solutions before moving on
to the exercises.
Comments. Extensions and fine points of new topics are deferred to the “Comments”
portion at the end of each section so that they will not interfere with the flow of the
presentation.
Key Terms and Concepts. In Chapters 2 through 8, the key terms and concepts (along
with examples) are summarized at the end of the chapter.
Guide to Application Topics. This section provides an index of programs that deal
with various topics including Business, Economics, Mathematics, and Sports.
VideoNotes. Twenty-four VideoNotes are available at www.pearsonhighered.com/
schneider. VideoNotes are Pearson’s visual tool designed for teaching key program-
ming concepts and techniques. VideoNote icons are placed in the margin of the text
book to notify the reader when a topic is discussed in a video. Also, a Guide to Video
Notes summarizing the different videos throughout the text is included.
Solution Manuals. The Student Solutions Manual contains the answer to every odd-
numbered exercise (not including programming projects). The Instructor Solutions
Manual contains the answer to every exercise and programming project. Both solu-
tion manuals are in pdf format and can be downloaded from the Publisher’s website.
Source Code and Data Files. The programs for all examples and the data files needed
for the exercises can be downloaded from the Publisher’s website.

How to Access Instructor and Student Resource

Materials
Online Practice and Assessment with MyProgrammingLab™
MyProgrammingLab helps students fully grasp the logic, semantics, and syntax of
programming. Through practice exercises and immediate, personalized feedback,
MyProgrammingLab improves the programming competence of beginning students
who often struggle with the basic concepts and paradigms of popular high-level pro-
gramming languages.
A self-study and homework tool, a MyProgrammingLab course consists of hun-
dreds of small practice problems organized around the structure of this textbook. For
students, the system automatically detects errors in the logic and syntax of their code
submissions and offers targeted hints that enable students to figure out what went
wrong—and why. For instructors, a comprehensive gradebook tracks correct and
incorrect answers and stores the code inputted by students for review.
For a full demonstration, to see feedback from instructors and students, or to
get started using MyProgrammingLab in your course, visit www.myprogramminglab
.com.

Instructor Resources
The following protected instructor resource materials are available on the Publisher’s
website at www.pearsonhighered.com/schneider. For username and password infor-
mation, please contact your local Pearson representative.
   Preface  ◆ xiii

• Test Item File

• PowerPoint Lecture Slides
• Instructor Solutions Manual
• VideoNotes
• Programs for all examples and answers to exercises and programming projects
(Data files needed for the exercises are included in the Programs folder.)

Student Resources
Access to the Premium website and VideoNotes tutorials is located at www
.pearsonhighered.com/schneider. Students must use the access card located in the
front of the book to register and access the online material. If there is no access
card in the front of this textbook, students can purchase access by going to www
.­pearsonhighered.com/schneider and selecting “purchase access to premium con-
tent.” Instructors must register on the site to access the material.
The following content is available through the Premium website:
• VideoNotes
• Student Solutions Manual
• Programs for examples (Data files needed for the exercises are included in the
Programs folder.)
This page intentionally left blank
Acknowledgments

M any talented instructors and programmers provided helpful comments and

constructive suggestions during the writing of this text and I am most grateful
for their contributions. The book benefited greatly from the valuable comments of
the following reviewers:
Daniel Solarek, University of Toledo
David M. Reed, Capital University
Debraj De, Georgia State
Desmond Chun, Chabot College
Mark Coffey, Colorado School of Mines
Randall Alexander, College of Charleston
Vineyak Tanksale, Ball State University
Zhi Wei, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Many people are involved in the successful publication of a book. I wish to thank
the dedicated team at Pearson whose support and diligence made this textbook pos-
sible, especially Carole Snyder, Program Manager for Computer Science, Kelsey
Loanes, Editorial Assistant for Computer Science, and Scott Disanno, Team Lead
Product Management.
I would like to thank Jacob Saina for his assistance with every stage in the writing
of the book. Production Editors Pavithra Jayapaul and Greg Dulles did a ­fantastic
job producing the book and keeping it on schedule. I am grateful to John Russo of
the Wentworth Institute of Technology for producing the VideoNotes, to Dr. Kathy
Liszka of the University of Akron for producing the test bank, and to Dr. Steve
­Armstrong of LeTourneau University for producing the PowerPoint slides that
accompany the book. The competence and graciousness of Shylaja Gattupalli at
Jouve India made for a pleasant production process.
I extend special thanks to my editor Tracy Johnson. Her ideas and enthusiasm
helped immensely with the preparation of the book.
David I. Schneider
[email protected]

xv
This page intentionally left blank
1
An Introduction to
­Computing and Problem
Solving
1.1 An Introduction to Computing and Python 2

1.2 Program Development Cycle 4

◆ Performing a Task on the Computer ◆ Program Planning
1.3 Programming Tools 6
◆ Flowcharts ◆ Pseudocode ◆ Hierarchy Chart ◆ Decision Structure
◆ Direction of Numbered NYC Streets Algorithm ◆ Repetition Structure

◆ Class Average Algorithm

1.4 An Introduction to Python 13

◆ Starting IDLE ◆ A Python Shell Walkthrough
◆ A Python Code Editor Walkthrough ◆ An ­Open-​­a-​­Program Walkthrough

1
2 ◆ Chapter 1 An Introduction to ­Computing and Problem Solving

1.1 An Introduction to Computing and Python

An Introduction to Programming Using Python is about problem solving using computers.
The programming language used is Python, but the principles apply to most modern pro-
gramming languages. Many of the examples and exercises illustrate how computers are
used in the real world. Here are some questions that you may have about computers and
programming.

Question: How do we communicate with the computer?

Answer: Programming languages are used to communicate with the computer. At the low-
est level, there is machine language, which is understood directly by the microprocessor
but is difficult for humans to understand. Python is an example of a ­high-​­level language. It
consists of instructions to which people can relate, such as print, if, and input. Some other
­well-​­known ­high-​­level languages are Java, C++, and Visual Basic.

Question: How do we get computers to perform complicated tasks?

Answer: Tasks are broken down into a sequence of instructions, called a program, that
can be expressed in a programming language. Programs can range in size from two or three
instructions to millions of instructions. The process of executing the instructions is called
running the program.

Question: Why did you decide to use Python as the programming language?
Answer: Many people consider Python to be the best language to teach beginners how to
program. We agree. Also, Python is being used by major software companies. Python is
powerful, easy to write and read, easy to download and install, and it runs under Windows,
Mac, and Linux operating systems.

Question: How did the language Python get its name?

Answer: It is named for the British comedy group Monty Python. Python’s creator, Guido
van Rossum, is a fan of the group.

Question: This book uses the editor IDLE to create programs. How did IDLE get its name?
Answer: Idle stands for Integrated DeveLopment Environment. (Some people think the
name was chosen as a tribute to Eric Idle, a founding member of the Monty Python group.)
The IDLE editor has many features (such as color coding and formatting assistance) that
help the programmer.

Question: Python is referred to as an interpreted language. What is an interpreted language?

Answer: An interpreted language uses a program called an interpreter that translates a ­high-​
­level language one statement at a time into machine language and then runs the program.
The ­interpreter will spot several types of errors and terminate the program when one is
encountered.

Question: What are the meanings of the terms “programmer” and “user”?
Answer: A programmer (also called a developer) is a person who solves problems by writing
programs on a computer. After analyzing the problem and developing a plan for solving it,
the programmer writes and tests the program that instructs the computer how to carry out
the plan. The program might be run many times, either by the programmer or by others.
A user is any person who runs the program. While working through this text, you will
function both as a programmer and as a user.
 1.1   An Introduction to Computing and Python ◆ 3

Question: What is the meaning of the term “code”?

Answer: The Python instructions that the programmer writes are called code. The pro-
cesses of writing a program is often called coding.

Question: Are there certain characteristics that all programs have in common?
Answer: Most programs do three things: take in data, manipulate data, and produce results.
These operations are referred to as input, processing, and output. The input data might be
held in the program, reside on a disk, or be provided by the user in response to requests
made by the computer while the program is running. The processing of the input data
occurs inside the computer and can take from a fraction of a second to many hours. The
output data are displayed on a monitor, printed on a printer, or recorded on a disk. As a
simple example, consider a program that computes sales tax. An item of input data is the
cost of the thing purchased. The processing consists of multiplying the cost by the sales
tax rate. The output data is the resulting product, the amount of sales tax to be paid.

Question: What are the meanings of the terms “hardware” and “software”?
Answer: Hardware refers to the physical components of the computer, including all periph-
erals, the central processing unit (CPU), disk drives, and all mechanical and electrical
devices. Programs are referred to as software.

Question: How are problems solved with a program?

Answer: Problems are solved by carefully reading them to determine what data are given
and what outputs are requested. Then a ­step-​­by-​­step procedure is devised to process the
given data and produce the requested output.

Question: Many programming languages, including Python, use a ­zero-​­based numbering system.
What is a ­zero-​­based numbering system?
Answer: In a ­zero-​­based numbering system, numbering begins with zero instead of one. For
example, in the word “code”, “c” would be the zeroth letter, “o” would be the first letter,
and so on.

Question: Are there any prerequisites to learning Python?

Answer: You should be familiar with how folders (also called directories) and files are managed
on your computer. Files reside on storage devices such as hard disks, USB flash drives, CDs,
and DVDs. Traditionally, the primary storage devices for personal computers were hard disks
and floppy disks. Therefore, the word disk is frequently used to refer to any storage device.

Question: What is an example of a program developed in this textbook?

Answer: Figure 1.1 shows a possible output of a program from Chapter 3. When it is first
run, the statement “Enter a first name:” appears. After the user types in a first name and

Enter a first name: James

James Madison
James Monroe
James Polk
James Buchanan
James Garfield
James Carter

Figure 1.1 A possible output for a program in Chapter 3.

4 ◆ Chapter 1 An Introduction to ­Computing and Problem Solving

presses the Enter (or return) key, the names of the presidents who have that first name are
displayed.

Question: How does the programmer create the aforementioned program?

Answer: For this program, the programmer writes about 10 lines of code that search a text
file named USpres.txt, and extracts the requested names.

Question: What conventions are used to show keystrokes?

Answer: The combination key1+key2 means “hold down key1 and then press key2”. The
combination Ctrl+C places selected material into the Clipboard. The combination key1/
key2 means “press and release key1, and then press key2”. The combination Alt/F opens
the File menu on a menu bar.

Question: How can the programs for the examples in this textbook be obtained?
Answer: See the preface for information on how to download the programs from the
­Pearson website.

Question: Where will new programs be saved?

Answer: Before writing your first program, you should create a special folder to hold your
programs.

1.2 Program Development Cycle

We learned in Section 1.1 that hardware refers to the machinery in a computer system (such
as the monitor, keyboard, and CPU) and software refers to a collection of instructions,
called a program, that directs the hardware. Programs are written to solve problems or
perform tasks on a computer. Programmers translate the solutions or tasks into a language
the computer can understand. As we write programs, we must keep in mind that the com-
puter will do only what we instruct it to do. Because of this, we must be very careful and
thorough when writing our instructions.

■■ Performing a Task on the Computer

The first step in writing instructions to carry out a task is to determine what the output
should ­be—​­that is, exactly what the task should produce. The second step is to identify the
data, or input, necessary to obtain the output. The last step is to determine how to process
the input to obtain the desired o ­ utput—​­that is, to determine what formulas or ways of
doing things should be used to obtain the output.
This ­problem-​­solving approach is the same as that used to solve word problems in an
algebra class. For example, consider the following algebra problem:
How fast is a car moving if it travels 50 miles in 2 hours?
The first step is to determine the type of answer requested. The answer should be a num-
ber giving the speed in miles per hour (the output). The information needed to obtain the
answer is the distance and time the car has traveled (the input). The formula
speed = distance/time

is used to process the distance traveled and the time elapsed in order to determine the
speed. That is,
 1.2   Program Development Cycle ◆ 5

speed = 50 miles/2 hours

= 25 miles per hour

A graphical representation of this ­problem-​­solving process is shown in Fig. 1.2.

+PRWV 2TQEGUUKPI 1WVRWV

Figure 1.2 The ­problem-​­solving process.

We determine what we want as output, get the needed input, and process the input to
produce the desired output.
In the chapters that follow, we discuss how to write programs to carry out the preceding
operations. But first we look at the general process of writing programs.

■■ Program Planning
A baking recipe provides a good example of a plan. The ingredients and the amounts are
determined by what is to be baked. That is, the output determines the input and the process-
ing. The recipe, or plan, reduces the number of mistakes you might make if you tried to
bake with no plan at all. Although it’s difficult to imagine an architect building a bridge or
a factory without a detailed plan, many programmers (particularly students in their first
programming course) try to write programs without first making a careful plan. The more
complicated the problem, the more complex the plan must be. You will spend much less
time working on a program if you devise a carefully thought out ­step-​­by-​­step plan and test
it before actually writing the program.
Many programmers plan their programs using a sequence of steps, referred to as the
Software Development Life Cycle. The following s­ tep-​­by-​­step process will enable you to use
your time efficiently and help you design e­ rror-​­free programs that produce the desired output.

1. Analyze: Define the problem.

Be sure you understand what the program should ­do—​­that is, what the output should
be. Have a clear idea of what data (or input) are given and the relationship between the
input and the desired output.
2. Design: Plan the solution to the problem.
Find a logical sequence of precise steps that solve the problem. Such a sequence of
steps is called an algorithm. Every detail, including obvious steps, should appear in
the algorithm. In the next section, we discuss three popular methods used to develop
the logic plan: flowcharts, pseudocode, and hierarchy charts. These tools help the pro-
grammer break a problem into a sequence of small tasks the computer can perform to
solve the problem. Planning also involves using representative data to test the logic of
the algorithm by hand to ensure that it is correct.
3. Code: Translate the algorithm into a programming language.
Coding is the technical word for writing the program. During this stage, the program is
written in Python and entered into the computer. The programmer uses the algorithm
devised in Step 2 along with a knowledge of Python.
4. Test and correct: Locate and remove any errors in the program.
Testing is the process of finding errors in a program. (An error in a program is called
a bug and testing and correcting is often referred to as debugging.) As the program is
6 ◆ Chapter 1 An Introduction to ­Computing and Problem Solving

typed, Python points out certain kinds of program errors. Other kinds of errors are
detected by Python when the program is executed—however, many errors due to typ-
ing mistakes, flaws in the algorithm, or incorrect use of the Python language rules, can
be uncovered and corrected only by careful detective work. An example of such an
error would be using addition when multiplication was the proper operation.
5. Complete the documentation: Organize all the material that describes the program.
Documentation is intended to allow another person, or the programmer at a later
date, to understand the program. Internal documentation (comments) consists of
statements in the program that are not executed, but point out the purposes of vari-
ous parts of the program. Documentation might also consist of a detailed descrip-
tion of what the program does and how to use it (for instance, what type of input is
expected). For commercial programs, documentation includes an instruction manual
and ­on-​­line help. Other types of documentation are the flowchart, pseudocode, and
hierarchy chart that were used to construct the program. Although documentation
is listed as the last step in the program development cycle, it should take place as the
program is being coded.

1.3 Programming Tools

This section discusses some specific algorithms and describes three tools used to convert
algorithms into computer programs: flowcharts, pseudocode, and hierarchy charts.
You use algorithms every day to make decisions and perform tasks. For instance, when-
ever you mail a letter, you must decide how much postage to put on the envelope. One rule
of thumb is to use one stamp for every five sheets of paper or fraction thereof. Suppose a
friend asks you to determine the number of stamps to place on an envelope. The following
algorithm will accomplish the task.

1. Request the number of sheets of paper; call it Sheets. (input)

2. Divide Sheets by 5. (processing)
3. If necessary, round the quotient up to a whole number; call it Stamps. (processing)
4. Reply with the number Stamps. (output)

The preceding algorithm takes the number of sheets (Sheets) as input, processes the
data, and produces the number of stamps needed (Stamps) as output. We can test the algo-
rithm for a letter with 16 sheets of paper.

1. Request the number of sheets of paper; Sheets = 16.

2. Dividing 5 into 16 gives 3.2.
3. Rounding 3.2 up to 4 gives Stamps = 4.
4. Reply with the answer, 4 stamps.

This ­problem-​­solving example can be illustrated by Fig. 1.3.

+PRWV 2TQEGUUKPI 1WVRWV

 HQTOWNCU 

Figure 1.3 The ­problem-​­solving process for the stamp problem.

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90 Letters on Polish Affairs III Before we enter on our

subject it is necessary to make one preliminary remark. The Jewish
people are a very remarkable people, endowed with many wonderful
gifts. But no more than any other people can they claim to have a
monopoly of all the private or public virtues. Like other nations they
have made many grievous mistakes. Like other nations, they contain
to-day many undesirable elements. And granting that they have
been unjustly persecuted, it is also true that those very persecutions
have left those taints which oppression and slavery often leave in
their train. To state unpalatable facts is not to proclaim oneself an
Anti-Semite. Yet the Jewish Press has acquired the very unpleasant
habit of starting the warwhoop of Anti-Semitism whenever a writer,
however friendly to the Jews, ventures to state any facts which may
in any way reflect on the Chosen People. Two years ago, at the
request of the Jewish Literary Society of Edinburgh, I gave an
address on "The Future of the Jewish People." In the course of my
address I pointed out the danger to the Jewish race arising from the
decisive part which Jewish leaders were taking in the Bolshevist
movement. This statement of mine roused an indignant protest from
the Jewish
The text on this page is estimated to be only 29.28%
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Seventh Letter 91 Rabbi in Edinburgh, who simply and flatly

denied a fact which was patent to all the world. The incident is a
characteristic illustration of an attitude which we may observe every
day in every country. The sooner the Jewish Press drop this
intolerable attitude the better it will be for the Jewish Cause. Jewish
writers have never hesitated to make ample use of their own highly-
developed critical faculties in order to expose the weaknesses and
shortcoming's of every community and of every class in the Gentile
world. They ought to allow the same liberty to others. They ought to
allow Gentile writers to apply their much less developed critical
faculties to the scientific investigation of the Jewish problem. IV The
main factor of the Jewish problem in Poland is the demographic
factor. It is the concentration of an enormous Hebrew population in
a comparatively small area. It is not easy to get accurate statistics,
but it is computed that over five million Jews are located within the
limits of the New Polish State. It ought to be specially noted that this
formidable concentration is the result both of Polish tolerance and of
German and Russian intolerance. Again and again during the last
few years the Jewish Press have been systematically
The text on this page is estimated to be only 28.85%
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9 2 Letters on Polish Affairs accusing the Polish people of

intolerance. It does not seem to occur to them that the very
presence of the Jews in Poland in such overwhelming- numbers is a
refutation of that accusation. Poland has given a refuge to the Jews
at a time when they were being massacred, despoiled, and hounded
out of every other country in Europe. And not only were the Jews
given shelter, they received special privileges and they formed
autonomies and communities. If there exists any such thing as
collective gratitude, then I submit that, by their magnanimous policy,
the Polish people ought to have earned the undying gratitude of the
whole Jewish race. We ought, therefore, to remember when making
any inquiry into the condition of the Polish Jews, that Poland has
been from the Middle Ages the " promised land" of Israel, that in this
"promised land" the Jewish people have been able to establish self-
governing communities and have multiplied exceedingly. Even by the
mere operation of the Malthusian law, by the mere natural increase
of a very prolific race which encourages early marriages and large
families, the problem of the Jewish population in Poland would have
become very acute and a point of saturation would have been
reached. But the already large existing Jewish population in Poland,
has been enormously increased in recent generation by the
The text on this page is estimated to be only 29.29%
accurate

Seventh Letter 93 insane policy of the Russian Government.

The Jews have been driven from the greater part of the Russian
Empire, and have been cooped up within the so-called pale of
settlement whose limits very nearly coincided with the limits of
historical Poland. Whereas in the Middle Ages Poland became the
refuge of all the European Jews, in modern times it also became the
dumping ground of all the Russian Jews. V A large alien population
in any State, however strong, is always a serious problem. The
difficulty is greater in Poland, not only because the alien Jewish
element is disproportionately large, but because the new Polish State
is still very weak. The problem is more difficult still because that
alien population has not been assimilated. And let it be noted that it
has not assimilated, by the deliberate policy of the Jews themselves.
In other countries the small minority of Jews has gradually been
merged in the population. They may for some time retain the
gregarious habits of the Ghetto as they are doing in the United
States, where over one million Jews continue to press together in
the slums of New York, although they have a whole continent open
to colonisation. But in other countries they are gradually absorbed in
the community. In Poland the Jews refuse to
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94 Letters on Polish Affairs be absorbed. The Polish State is

quite ready to give equal privileges and opportunities to the Jewish
population. They are anxious that all the barriers between Jew and
Pole should be removed. But the Jew does not want to become a
Pole, he prefers to remain a Jew. We are familiar with the radical
denationalised progressive revolutionary type of Jew. We are not
familiar with the conservative, reactionary nationalist Jew of Poland.
We are familiar with the Jewish internationalist, we are not familiar
with the Jewish nationalist. Yet the Polish Jew is the most bigoted,
the most fanatic of nationalists. He continues to live in the Middle
Ages, he feeds on the Talmud and on the Zohar. He retains his long
gabardines and his corkscrew curls. He continues to dispute whether
an egg which is laid on the Sabbath may be eaten and whether that
Sabbatical egg is not an unclean egg. The women continue to shave
their hair on the day of their marriage. They continue to speak and
to write their GermanYiddish jargon. And lest a Christian might know
what it is they are writing, they camouflage their German writing in
the disguise of Hebrew characters. We must emphasise the
importance of that racial separation of that Jewish nationalism if we
are to grasp the Jewish question in Poland. When we consider any
misunderstandings between the Jew and the Christian in Poland, we
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Seventh Letter 95 must not forget that the

misunderstandings are due not to the attitude of the Polish people
but to this deliberate Jewish policy of isolation. VI But even if the
Jews did desire to be assimilated, the fact is that they cannot be
assimilated. There are too many of them. During the war I had the
honour to act as Chairman in a Debate between a Jewish gentleman
and Mr Roman Dmowski, the Polish Plenipotentiary at Versailles ; as
the controversy was getting somewhat too animated, I intervened
for one moment in the discussion in order to relieve the tension of
the atmosphere. I am sure, I submitted, that Mr Roman Dmowski is
prepared to admit that the Jews are the "salt of the earth." On the
other hand I feel sure that Sir Leo Levison would also be prepared to
admit that there may be too much salt in the Polish dish. I believe
that those words did sum up the gist of the problem. Normally, in all
human communities, social life depends on a certain equilibrium of
social forces, on a balance of the population as between town and
country, as between sex and sex, as between class and class, as
between profession and profession. There was a time in the Middle
Ages when there was an unhealthy preponderance of the clerical
population, because
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96 Letters on Polish Affairs each man wanted to enjoy the

advantages and immunities of the Church. There are cities to-day,
such as Edinburgh, where every tenth member of the community is
a lawyer. There are countries where there is an alarming-
overproduction of women, where, as in Great Britain, there are two
million more women than men. There are countries like the Central
American Republics where everybody has the ambition to be a
politician. Similarly there are countries such as Great Britain and the
United States where the town population is steadily growing at the
expense of the country. This unhealthy disturbance of the balance of
social forces, this unequal distribution of the population, is part of
the Jewish problem in Poland, that his activities are bound to be
largely parasite. It is not attacking the Jew to say that he is not an
agriculturist or an artisan, but a trader and a middle-man. Nor am I
attacking him when I state the fact that he has had to concentrate
more and more in the towns precisely because he is a trader. We are
not unfamiliar with the same problem in other European or American
countries. New York is suffering from the Ghetto habits and the
commercial idiosyncrasies of the Jews, as there are now more than
one million Jews in the American metropolis. But in Poland this evil is
not the exception, but the universal rule. Every Polish and Lithuanian
town, Warsaw,
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Seventh Letter 97 Lodz, Vilna, Grodno, Kovno, Krakow, and

Lemberg all suffer from the same congestion. VII The abnormal
proportion of Jews in the Polish towns has had one disastrous social
effect amongst many others. It has prevented the emergence of a
Polish middle class. It is the fashion to-day to attack the Bourgeois.
He is reviled by the Socialist agitator, exploited by the trader, and
taxed out of existence by the State. Yet it is one of the safest
generalisations of history that a strong middle class is essential to
the welfare of any nation. There is no instance known to the
sociologist where any State has maintained its stability or where a
nation had achieved any conspicuous success without the assistance
of an intermediate class of burghers. Now it has been the misfortune
and weakness of Poland that no large middle class has ever emerged
in Polish history. To that cause more than to any other can be traced
the downfall of the Polish Republic. And the absence of a Polish
middle class in the past has been largely due to the presence and
pressure of an abnormal number of Jews. There is a vicious circle in
the economic life of Poland. On the one hand a Polish middle class
cannot rise as long as the present concentration of the Jewish
population persists. On
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98 Letters on Polish Affairs the other hand, if a Polish

middle class did become both conscious as a class and sufficient
unto itself, the Jewish population in the cities could no more make a
livelihood. The Jews would have to live by taking in each other's
washing". Here again present difficulties are not of recent origin.
They are rooted in the past. One remarkable incident which
happened immediately before the war illustrates the economic
antagonism between the Jewish population and the rising Polish
middle class. About 1910 the national party declared an economic
boycott against the Jews. It was an inopportune and a dangerous
move, as Mr Roman Dmowski found out to his cost. But the
Christians were able to urge that they were only applying to the
Jews those very economic methods which the Jews were applying to
the Poles. The Jews maintained the strictest economic solidarity and
clannishness amongst themselves. The Christians were merely
retaliating. It was not a conflict between the nationalism of the Poles
and the internationalism of the Jews. It was a struggle between two
nationalisms. To the solid Jewish block, the Poles opposed their own
block of equal solidity. Once again it was, I admit, a dangerous
experiment, and one which could not lead to internal peace. But the
whole relations between the Jew and the Christian on the present
footing were them 
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Seventh Letter 99 selves abnormal and unhealthy. And the

fault lay with the Jews much more than with the Poles, although, as
I said before, the original responsibility rests with the policy of the
Tsarist regime. VIII To the economic difficulties of the Jewish
problem we must add the political difficulties. The Poles are as
intensely patriotic as the Jews. They are more intensely patriotic
than any other European people. Their patriotism may be measured
by their sufferings and by their sacrifices. For 1 30 years they have
lived and moved and had their being in an ideal Polish State. And
now, when in the fulness of time that State has been restored, they
discover with dismay that the Jews, on whose support they had a
right to rely, are the secret or overt enemies of the State. They
discover that the Polish Jew is primarily a Jew, that he is secondarily
a German, but that in the majority of cases he refuses to be a Pole
pure and simple. In this connection there is one very important fact
which is not generally realised, the fact, namely, that 95 per cent, of
the five million of Polish Jews speak a German dialect. It is almost
universally assumed that what is called the Jargon or Yiddish is
merely a Hebrew slang with an admixture of Polish and German
words. But Yiddish is nothing of the kind. It
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ioo Letters on Polish Affairs is a German dialect with a

sprinkling- of Hebrew and Polish words. Every traveller in Poland can
apply a very simple practical test. A Warsaw Pole cannot possibly
understand a Polish Jew. Even a Spanish Jew could not possibly
understand a Polish Jew. On the other hand a German would have
no difficulty in understanding- him, whether that German hails from
Breslau, or from Berlin, or from Aix-la-Chapelle. And not only do the
Jews speak a German dialect, which they have a perfect right to do,
but they claim that this dialect shall be used and recognised in the
public schools of the Polish State. Such a claim is intolerable, and
would not be admitted by any Government. What would the English
people say if the Jews of Whitechapel insisted on eliminating English
from the board schools of England? What would the American
people say if the Jews insisted that English should be eliminated
from the public schools of the Bowery ? And it is obvious that no
English or American Jew would dream of urging such a demand.
Why, then, should they urge it in Poland? IX But not only do the
Jews insist on retaining their German language ; what is even more
serious, a large section do not conceal their political sympathies for a
Russo-German
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Seventh Letter 101 Alliance. A political contingency, which

the Poles consider as their greatest peril, the Jewish nationalists
consider as their fondest hope. One may understand that during the
war the Jewish population in Poland should have sided with the
Germans, because the issue was uncertain, and because it may have
been safer to side with the strong. But now that the Polish State is
established, the Jewish attitude is more difficult to understand, yet it
has scarcely changed. Many Polish Jews still believe that the
Germans will eventually win, and they are prepared to help the
Germans to win or to do nothing to prevent them from winning.
There is one quite reasonable explanation for the Jewish attitude,
although there can be no justification. The Jews seem to think that
their future is bound up with Russia and Germany. They have
everything to hope from a German- Russian Alliance. Under present
conditions in the New Poland, the Jewish activities will be
circumscribed within very narrow limits. On the contrary, in a
RussoGerman Empire extending from the Baltic to the Pacific, there
would be boundless scope for the commercial expansion of the
Jewish people.
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102 Letters on Polish Affairs X To the extravagant claims of

the Jewish nationalists for the recognition of the YiddishGerman
dialect, to the sympathies for a RussoGerman Alliance, must be
added another cause of political friction, namely, the part which the
revolutionary section amongst the Jews is taking in understanding
the foundations of the present order. Bolshevism in Poland, as in
most other Central European countries, is largely controlled by Jews,
and the Bolshevism of the Polish Jewish Bunt is fiercely resented by
the average law-abiding Pole. For the average Pole is a law-abiding
citizen. The Polish State is no doubt a democratic State, but it is a
democracy of peasants. Two-thirds of the representatives in the
Polish Parliament are simple crofters. And it is in the nature of a
peasant republic to be conservative, because a peasant is rooted in
the soil, he has his feet firmly planted on the mother earth, he has a
stake in the prosperity of the country. It is inevitable, therefore, that
in Poland, as in Russia, Bolshevism should have no more determined
enemies than the peasants. This is one more political and social
cause for antagonism between the Polish peasant and the Jew.
There have been Bolshevist riots in which a large number of Poles
and a smaller of Jews have been killed. But, as I already pointed
out, let it be quite clear that those
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Seventh Letter 103 riots have been Bolshevist riots and not
AntiSemitic riots, as they have often been described. The Jews that
have been killed have been killed because they were revolutionists
and not because they were Jews. To call the resistance to Jewish
Bolshevism an attack on Jewry would be as absurd as to call the
resistance to Sinn Fein an attack on the Roman Catholic religion. XI
From what has been said in the precedingpages, the reader may I
realise how much explosive material has accumulated in Poland.
Between the Pole and the Jew there are a hundred differences :
differences of language, of religion, of race and of manners, of
economic interests and of political sympathies. Every cause which
makes for hostility has been operative in Poland on a large scale,
and for hundreds of years. And when we calmly and impartially
examine the situation, the wonder is not that there should have
been sporadic outbursts of violence, the miracle is that there should
have been so little, and that any outbursts which did occur should
have been stopped so quickly and with so little effusion of blood. In
any other country civil war would have been almost unavoidable.
That there should have been no pogroms in Poland as there have
been in Hungary or in Ukraine, that there should be no civil war
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104 Letters on Polish Affairs as in Ireland, is one more

proof of the pacific and tolerant spirit of the Polish people. There is a
superficial way of looking- upon every racial or national struggle as a
melodrama, where perfect heroes are at war with consummate
villains. But truly the struggle between the Pole and the Jew is not a
cinematographic melodrama. It is a human tragedy, where both
sides have been victims of historical, geographical, and economic
forces over which they had no control. Therefore there is no short
cut to a solution of the Jewish question in Poland. Patience,
forbearance, justice, and charity may do a great deal. But even after
statesmanship has done its best by mutual concession and
compromise, the Jewish problem will still remain the riddle of the
Sphinx. Zionism was believed by some enthusiasts to be the great
remedy, but it now turns out that the Jewish State of Palestine is
less hospitable to the Jews than the Polish State has always been. As
the British High Commissioner, Sir Herbert Samuel, himself a Jew,
has already declared that Jewish immigration into Palestine will have
to be regulated. Failing Zionism, the great countries of Europe and
the United States and Brazil may help the Polish Government by
relieving the Jewish congestion, and by absorbing a fraction of the
congestion of the cities. Before the war, hundreds of thousands of
Poles, both Christians and Jews, had to leave
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Seventh Letter 105 their country every year. The necessity

for such emigration may continue for years to come. But whatever
may be done in that direction, it certainly will not relieve the present
racial tension. It certainly will not help the cause of the Jewish
people if irresponsible Jewish writers continue to hurl unjust
accusations against the Polish Government, and shake the credit of
the Polish people. As long as the Jews remain in Poland they will
have to cooperate with the Polish nation, who have been more
hospitable to them and more tolerant than any other Christian
people. And they will have to be loyal supporters of the Polish State
which has proved itself ready to extend to them all political and
social rights which are granted to every Polish citizen.
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EIGHTH LETTER1 LIBERAL FIRST PRINCIPLES AND THE

SILESIAN CONTROVERSY As a student of international politics I
followed with the keenest interest the controversy on the Silesian
Question, not only in the British but also in the French Press. In
comparing the thousand and one articles which have been poured
out on both sides of the Channel, one cannot help being struck by
one strange paradox. In this controversy, the French papers are
unanimous, whereas in England they are divided. And what is even
more perplexing, in France it is especially the Liberal Press which is
enthusiastic in support of the Polish cause, whereas in England it is
the Liberal papers who are the most determined opponents of the
Poles. What is the explanation of the paradox? The facts of the
Silesian Controversy are surely the same whether they are
interpreted by a 1 This letter was sent to the Manchester Guardian.
Its Liberal logic was unanswerable, and as the Manchester Guardian
could not answer it, this great Liberal organ followed the more
prudent course of not publishing it. 107
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io8 Letters on Polish Affairs Frenchman or an Englishman,

and the creed of a Liberal is the same whether it be held in France
or in Great Britain. Who then is right ? Is the clear French intellect
bemused by the terror of another German aggression ? Or are
French journalists, in supporting the Polish cause, simply loyal to a
tradition which for one hundred years has been the Liberal tradition
in France as well as in the whole of Europe? And if this French
loyalty to a Liberal tradition be the true explanation, shall we then
conclude that it is the British Liberals who are betraying their
convictions in a vital matter of foreign policy, just as they recently
betrayed those convictions in vital matters of domestic policy? The
only way to answer those questions is to go down to the bottom
rock of first principles. We shall not get nearer the truth by
discussing the Polish Question with reference to alleged French or
British interests, or by an appeal to the necessities of the Franco-
British Alliance, or by an appeal to the Treaty of Versailles. We shall
only find out the truth by asking ourselves, as Cobden or John Bright
or Gladstone would have done : What is the logical connection
between the Silesian Question and the Liberal programme, and quite
especially in relation to those four cardinal tenets of the Liberal
creed— namely peace, free trade, agrarian reform, and self-
determination ?
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Eighth Letter 109 I Inasmuch as Liberalism stands for

international peace, a consistent Liberal ought obviously to favour
such a solution of the Silesian Question as would increase the
chances of peace and lessen the chances of war. If we are to decide
by that test, I submit that we ought to support the Polish solution
rather than the German solution. Upper Silesia is the armoury of
Germany. Without it Germany could not have carried on the war.
Without it she cannot dream of ever again realising her plans of
revenge. The military importance of Silesia has been again and again
recognised by the Germans themselves. In the Central Hall of the
German Government Buildings of Oppeln, which are at present the
headquarters of the Inter- Allied Commission, the attention of the
visitor is attracted by a huge shell, bearing two dates, 7th May 1816
— 7th May 1916, with the superscription, " On the occasion of the
first centenary of the foundation of the Arsenal of Breslau. Four
million shells coming from Upper Silesia." Ought not those four
million shells cause the pacifist to pause and ponder ? Is it safe to
hand back such an arsenal to the people who are still dreaming their
dreams of revenge, and who are still convinced that the war policy
of their Government was right and that they are the innocent victims
of their enemies ? And what
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i io Letters on Polish Affairs is the alternative before us? If

Upper Silesia is given back to the Prussians who stole it two hundred
years ago, Germany may use it and probably will use it for military
purposes. If the industrial triangle in Upper Silesia is given to Poland,
Poland can only use it for industrial purposes. If we adopt the
German solution there is at least a considerable risk of war. If we
adopt the Polish solution, there is a certainty of peace, as it is
inconceivable that a small Power hemmed in by two formidable
neighbours should ever be the aggressor or enter into an unequal
conflict with one of those neighbours. II Inasmuch as Liberalism
stands for Free Trade, a consistent Liberal ought to favour such a
solution as would promote the unhampered commercial intercourse
in Central Europe and as would least interfere with the natural
channels of trade. What are the natural channels of trade so far as
Upper Silesia is concerned? To which economic area does Upper
Silesia belong? Does it belong to the German area or to the Polish
area? Here again the answer has been supplied by the Germans
themselves. During the war, at a time when the Germans were still
hoping to win the war and were resolved on annexing
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Eighth Letter in Poland, they tried to prove in pamphlets

innumerable that the prosperity of Silesia was bound up with that of
Poland. They asserted that, economically, you could not separate the
one from the other. And, in point of fact, the German economic
thesis was perfectly right. Upper Silesia does belong to the economic
system of Poland. Berlin got its coal from England and from the
West. Poland got its coal from Silesia, and, conversely, Silesia got its
food supplies from Poland. Poland is the agricultural Hinterland of
industrial Silesia. The main trade route was not via Silesia to Berlin,
but via Silesia to Warsaw. That is the fundamental economic issue.
Poland is more dependent on Silesia than Germany, and Silesia
needs Poland more than Germany. We are confusing that economic
issue when, like Mr Keynes, we are adducing misleading statistics
which refer only to one section of Poland and which refer only to
pre-war times when Poland belonged to three rival commercial
systems. And we are even more obviously confusing that issue when
we measure the needs of the enlarged Poland of to-day by the pre-
war needs of Russian Poland, where a reactionary Government did
everything to hamper production and to interfere with the natural
trade routes.
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H2 Letters on Polish Affairs III Inasmuch as Liberalism

stands for a comprehensive land reform, a Liberal ought to support
such a solution as would secure in Upper Silesia the land for the
people. Again judging by that test, I believe that we ought to
support the union with Poland. Upper Silesia is at present a land of
magnates and captains of industry. Six German noblemen, Prince
von Ujest (110,000 acres), Prince von Pless (105,000), Prince von
Ralibor (80,000), Prince von Stolberg (66,000), Prince von
HohenloheIngelfingen (65,000), Count von Donnersmarck (50,000),
own between them about one-fourth of the territory. Fourteen coal-
owners control 92 per cent, of the production of the coal-mines. One
single nobleman, Count Ballestroem, owns five coal-mines, eleven
iron-mines, seven zincmines, and two explosive factories. On the
contrary, Poland is now a land of peasant proprietors, and has
already carried out a gigantic scheme of agrarian reforms. Her Prime
Minister, Mr Xvitos, is himself a peasant, and two-thirds of the
members sitting in Parliament are small peasants. If the Polish part
of Upper Silesia be given to Poland, agrarian reform, the
democratisation of the country, must be the inevitable consequence.
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Eighth Letter 113 IV Inasmuch as Liberalism stands for self-

determination, a Liberal ought presumably to support the solution
which is in accordance with the wishes of the majority of the Silesian
people. And the enormous majority of the people of Upper Silesia
are Poles. The German Census of 1910, which if it erred in any
direction did err on the German side, declared a Polish population of
1,200,000, and a German population of 800,000. Even the
adulterated plebiscite has allotted in the industrial triangle the
majority of the communes to Poland. That majority would have been
considerably larger but for the oppressive methods of Germanisation
carried on for fifty years before the war, but for the presence and
pressure of a German bureaucracy still in control, but for the
200,000 votes of the German immigrants, and but for the
unscrupulous propaganda of the German landowners and captains of
industry, who have made the most of the present internal difficulties
of Poland, and of the present bankrupt condition of the Polish
finances. We have tried to prove that whatever may be the Liberal
principle which we apply to the investigation of the Silesian
Question, the application will prove to be favourable to the Polish
solution. If that be so, how shall we explain that the
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ii4 Letters on Polish Affairs Liberal Press should be almost

unanimously on the side of the enemies of Poland ? One simple
explanation is that Poland is far away, that we are ignorant of Polish
conditions and unable to read the Polish newspapers, and that for
Polish news we are almost entirely dependent on German
newspapers. But an even more obvious explanation is that the
British Liberal Press has been made the unconscious tool of powerful
financial and political interests. Anyone who happened to travel in
Germany on the eve of the Silesian plebiscite can have observed for
himself the frantic efforts displayed by the German nationalists and
the huge sums of money that were being- spent. Upper Silesia is
largely owned, as I stated, by a few landed magnates and by a small
number of captains of industry. These men know that the retention
of Silesia is for them a question of life and death, that if Poland gets
part of Upper Silesia there is an urgent danger of a drastic agrarian
reform, and that under Polish rule their economic monopoly is not
likely to endure. Therefore they have spared no sacrifices to ward off
an imminent catastrophe. And we can see to-day the fruit of their
sacrifices and the result of their propaganda in the attitude of the
British Press and in the present collapse of the Polish Exchange. I
hold no brief for Poland and I certainly hold no brief against
Germany. On the contrary,
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Eighth Letter 115 my hopes for the future are based on the
liberation of Germany from the materialistic, imperialistic Prussian
regime which still holds the German people in its grip. All I have
attempted to do is to solve a grave question of European policy by
the test of fundamental principles. And all I want to impress on
consistent Liberals is this, that if they really believe in peace, if they
believe in free trade, if they believe in agrarian reform, and if they
believe in self-determination, they are bound, even more than their
Conservative opponents, to support a Polish solution of the Silesian
Question.
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NINTH LETTER THE GERMAN OCCUPATION DURING THE

WAR : A POLITICAL TRAGI-COMEDY I THERE is one thrilling episode
in the history of the World War which has not received the attention
which it amply deserves, namely, the vicissitudes of the German
occupation of Poland. And it is easy to understand why our attention
should have been hitherto turned away from that chapter. During-
the war Poland was cut off from the West by the German victory.
She was hidden from our view behind an impenetrable veil. To-day it
is still cut off by our ignorance of the Polish language and of Polish
conditions. Even to those who try to gather some information about
what did happen between the years 1914-18, the situation appears
extraordinarily complicated. There are currents and cross-currents.
There are wheels within wheels. We can see threads running and
intrigue spinning between 117 H
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n8 Letters on Polish Affairs Cracow and Warsaw, between

Lublin and Lodz, from Berlin to Vienna, from the German
Headquarters at Pless to the Austrian Headquarters at Teschen. To
add to our difficulty of getting at the truth, Polish historians
themselves do not seem particularly anxious to reveal the strange
history of the German occupation, and of the relations which existed
between the conqueror and the conquered. They seem to feel that
in some way the Polish politicians did compromise themselves by
playing a double game and by serving the German Devil. They seem
to feel that there is some colour of truth in the accusation of Lloyd
George that the Poles were enlisted in the ranks of the enemy. II A
dispassionate study of the German occupation will prove that the
Poles have no cause to be ashamed of the difficult part which they
were called upon to play. I am convinced that the history of the
relations between Germans and Poles will be looked upon one day
as one of the most creditable pages in the annals of the Polish
people. They revealed during the war the same indomitable spirit,
the same passion for liberty, the same resourcefulness which they
showed throughout their national history.
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Ninth Letter 119 If we look at it from one point of view, the

history of the German occupation of Poland is a ghastly tragedy, for
no people suffered more than the Poles during those four terrible
years. But looked at from another angle, it will rather appear as a
political comedy. It shows us how German intrigue and German
duplicity was confronted by Polish patriotism. It shows how the Pole
caught the German in his own net, how at every stage he outwitted
and out-manoeuvred the enemy. It exhibits the struggle of two
temperaments, of two races, and two ideals, of two policies and two
diplomacies. It is the conflict of spirit against brute force, of brain-
power against military power. And in that conflict the spirit emerged
triumphant. In August 1915 when the German conqueror entered
Warsaw, Poland lies crushed, prostrate at the feet of a ruthless
conqueror. Yet, in the end, it is Poland that wins. "Polonia victa
ferum victorem cepit" The moment of the final disaster is also the
moment of supreme victory. The history of the German occupation
of Poland presents us with one of the supreme paradoxes of modern
times. Having attempted in vain to interest Europe in her righteous
cause, having struggled in vain for 140 years to recover her
independence, Poland at last received that independence at the
hands of a reluctant enemy. If the conflict between the Polish patriot
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120 Letters on Polish Affairs and the German bully during

the occupation demonstrates the characteristic qualities of the Polish
people, it also demonstrates the fatal weakness of the Germans.
There is a startling contrast between the perfection of the military
machine and the political incapacity of the invader. The Germans for
200 years looked down upon the Poles as the inferior race, as the "
minder wertige Basse" Yet when we examine the relations between
the two nations during- the occupation, the Poles prove themselves
immeasurably superior as a political people. The German shows
himself to be totally devoid of tact, of a sense of realities. He has no
resourcefulness, no imagination, no adaptability, no gift of sympathy.
At every move of the diplomatic game his defeat seems a foregone
conclusion. Ill It is especially interesting and illuminating to compare
the occupation of Poland with the occupation of Belgium. At first
sight there are many striking resemblances. We find the same heroic
temper in both conquered peoples, and in the conqueror we find the
same brutality, the same duplicity, the same rapacity. We also find
the same methods of oppression. The Germans in Poland as in
Belgium rob the
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accurate

Ninth Letter 121 factories of their machinery, they

requisition all the available food and all the raw material ; they
deport in tens of thousands the workers who refuse to do the
bidding of a ruthless soldiery. And we also find in both countries the
same inevitable material results — starvation, financial bankruptcy,
and economic ruin. IV But great as are the resemblances, the
differences are even greater. The problems of the occupation were
much simpler in Belgium, both for the Belgians and for the Germans.
The Belgians knew their duty and did it. They opposed an
uncompromising resistance to the enemy, they waited confidently
and patiently for the final victory. In the case of the Poles the
problem was not any doubt as to whether the people were
determined to do their duty, but the difficulty of finding out exactly
where their duty lay. There were hundreds of thousands of Poles in
the Prussian Army and in the Austrian Army, confronting hundreds of
thousands of Poles in the Russian Army. The duty as it appeared to
the majority of the people was a divided duty. They had a choice of
enemies and of evils. The Belgians had only one enemy, the Poles
had three, even if we count the three million Jews as loyal Poles
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