George Matulaitis Journal

sermon. At every opportunity he rebuked those political groups that he did not approve of. The sermon was in the Polish nationalist spirit and was more fitting for the Polish parliament. It turns out that during Mass they incensed Pi=sudski and gave him relics to kiss. Others told me about it with considerable indignation that such honor should be paid to a socialist. They sang the Polish national anthem, “God Save Poland,” and “Te Deum” afterwards. Then Pi = sudski and I went to the Chapel of St. Casimir to pray. They had asked me to do so. After Mass, Pi=sudski came to visit me and I immediately returned the visit. He made excuses for not stopping at the Gate of Dawn. He did not know he was awaited there. I tried to calm him and to rectify somewhat the accusations Maciejewicz had made in his sermon. In the afternoon the crowds accompanied the dead bodies of the Legionnaires to the Ra os cemetery. 1 Some members of the Chapter and some of the priests participated. On the 24th of April I said a funeral Mass for those who had died in battle. Father Lubianiec preached the sermon. I could not understand what he wanted to get across. Immediately after Mass, Mr. Ostrejko and another nobleman came to see me. Much of the food supplies left behind by the Bolsheviks had fallen into the hands of the Legionnaires. The Polish High Command wanted to distribute some of this food to the starving people. Those two gentlemen asked me to organize a committee to distribute the food. They made the following conditions: the Jews were not to get anything at all and the committee should also see that non-Jews holding progressive 2 views would not receive anything. I answered: “I cannot take it upon myself to organize such a committee. First of all, if I were at the head of this committee, the hatred of the people would be directed against the clergy and me. Usually, many are dissatisfied with such distributions. I know this from experience. In other places where I had to create such committees or was consulted about them, I always encouraged the lay people to take matters into their own hands. We priests can only help 255 1 The cemetery is right in the city of Vilnius and is noted for the graves of famous people and for its artis- tic monuments. It was opened in 1769 and at that time was outside the city limits. It is named after the Ra os hills. 2 A term used for socialists.