George Matulaitis Journal

269 Bir i ka had spoken twice and at length with Osmo = owski. The Lithuanians could possibly agree with his and Pi = sudski’s program, but would the Warsaw Parliament accept it? Bir i ka guessed that it would not. As Osmo = owski was leaving, he said that if the Parliament approves of his program, he will return to Vilnius to continue his work. If not, then there is nothing left for the Lithuanians and the Polish progressives to do but to get ready to react and to stage an uprising. Mr. Bir i ka complained that the Lithuanian institutions cannot continue to function for very long if he cannot bring back some money from Kaunas. Apparently, he meant to go to Kaunas for that purpose, but since the Poles do not permit it, the Lithuanian institutions may stop operating. He does not know what the people in Kaunas have in mind. The Poles did not come to any agreement with the Lithuanian officers who came here by car and then went to Lida. It looked as if the Poles did not really want to negotiate with them. They did not want to talk to those who had gone to Warsaw either. In Kaunas, the Lithuanian Council and the government have accomplished a great deal and are functioning in a democratic manner, as even the Polish progressives have to admit. The Poles had intended to divide the Lithuanians by making an agreement with the Lithuanian socialists, but the latter did not consent. For this Mr. Jundzi == 1 had even been arrested in Kaunas. Now Romer 2 has gone to Kaunas to negotiate with the Lithuanians. Mr. Staniszewski, 3 a member of the Warsaw Parliament, came to visit me. He is an acquaintance of mine from Marijampole. His father was a teacher there and even taught the Lithuanian language. His mother is Polish. He considers himself half Lithuanian and half Polish, but has almost forgotten how to speak Lithuanian. He belongs to the Polish National Democratic Party and is convinced that Vilnius should be united with Poland. He spoke about the colonization of Belorussian territory with Poles. However, he was not sure what the fate of the Belorussians would be. The Entente might make them a separate national entity and place it under the protection of the League of Nations. 1 Zygmunt Jundzi == a Polish political activist with socialist views who advocated cooperation with the Lithuanian socialists. 2 Adam Romer: a major in the Polish Army. 3 Stanis = aw Staniszewski was the son of Vincas Stani kis who had been a teacher at the secondary school in Marijampole which Matulaitis had attended. Staniszewski was soon sent to Kaunas to negotiate about the borders between Lithuania and Poland.