LTISTGUISTIC AEEAS IN EUROPE DOMINIAN. 431 



as elsewhere, they are rarely engaged in agricultural pursuits, but 

 show tendency to invade prosperous towns and cities,^ 



In addition to drastic educational measures compelling study of 

 their language, the Germans have resorted to wholesale buying of 

 Polish estates in the sections of the kingdom of Poland which fell 

 to the lot of Prussia when the country was partitioned. A coloniza- 

 tion law (Ansiedelungsgesetz), decreed on April 26, 1886, placed 

 large funds at the disposal of the German government for the pur- 

 chase of land owned by Poles and the establishment of colonies of 

 German settlers.- The measure was artificial and proved valueless 

 against economic conditions prevailing in the regions affected. A 

 decrease in the percentage of the Polish population of the estates 

 acquired by purchase was rarely brought about. The new settlers 

 could rarely compete with the natives. The most tangible result 

 consisted of a mere substitution of German for Polish ownership. 

 The mass of laborers and dependents on most of the large estates 

 remained Poles, as they had been prior to the transaction. The 

 breach between Poles and Germans was widened in part by the 

 change of masters. Nevertheless, although returns corresponding to 

 the sum of effort and money expended vere not obtained, the meas- 

 ure has contributed to the advance of Teutonism in northeastern 

 Europe.^ 



From the east, pressure corresponding to Teutonic battering, 

 although exerted with less intensity, is applied by Russian endeavor 

 to create national homogeneity. Of all the different members of 

 the widespread Slavic race the Poles and Russians are the most 

 closely related by speech. But the affinity ends here. The formid- 

 able barrier of religious differences hampers fusion of the two nation- 

 alities. Caught between the Slavic hammer of Russian orthodoxy 

 and the anvil of Teutonic reformation, the Poles have remained 

 staunch Catholics. Creed in this case has played a considerable part 

 in the preservation of national spirit. 



The problem of delimiting Polish national boundaries is compli- 

 cated on the east and west by the absence of prominent surface 



1 The Jews cluster especially in the eastern governments of Warsaw, Loniza, and Siedlce 

 where their percentage varies between 15.6 and 16.4. This ratio is lower in the southern 

 and western administrative divisions. In Kalisz it reaches only 7.2 per cent and is reduced 

 to 6.3 per cent in Petrokow. In the cities the Jews constitute on an average slightly over 

 a third of the population, although here again they are more numerous in the east. Cf. 

 D. Aitoff, Peuples et Langues de la Russie. Ann. de Geogr., 15, Mai, 1909, pp. 9-25. 



2 A law passed in 1908 authorizes the state to acquire land in the administrative circles 

 in which German interests require development of colonization. B. Auerbach, La Ger- 

 manisation de la Pologne Prussienne : La loi d'expropriation, Rev. Polit. & Parlem., 57, 

 July, 1908, pp. 109-125. 



^ P. Langhans, Nationalitatenkarte der Provinz Schlesien 1 : 500,000. Deut. Er„ 1906, 

 Sonderkarte 1 ; P. Langhans, Nationalitatenkarte der Provinz Ostpreussen 1 : 500,000, 

 Deut. Er., 1907, Sonderkarte 1 ; Die Provinzen Posen und Westpreussen unter besonderer 

 Beriicksichtigung der Ansiedlungsgiiter und Ansiedlung, Staatsdomanen und Staatsforsten 

 nach dem Stande von 1 Januar, 1911, Deut, Erde, 10, Taf. 1, 1911. 



