THE GREAT WAR

Slav spirit, and which regarded Polish indepen-
dence as a vain dream. In those circles a far-
reaching autonomy within the Russian Empire
would have been considered an entirely satis-
factory solution, the struggle for independence
was condemned and Pilsudski was held to be a
traitor. It was feared that the advocates of these
views might denounce the champions of indepen-
dence to the Russian police. It was the task of the
women to counter the agitation of these elements
and they did so within the framework of the
National Committees (Naczelny Komitet Naro~
dowy), which maintained its own Press Depart-
ment and secret information and propaganda
service.

Women also constituted the 'life and soul* of
the 'P.O.W.% the Polish secret military organiza-
tion which eventually attained such great import-
ance.

A tremendous power behind the Polish national
movement was represented by the Women's League
(Liga Kobiet) which was founded in Galicia and
Silesia before the Great War and supported the
rifle clubs from the moment of their formation*
The outbreak of war brought a tremendously
increased membership to this body—12,000 new
members in the first year alone. The Women's
League of Warsaw, formed in the year 1913,
already had a warlike character, like its branches
in Plock, Kielc and other localities, which had
thousands of members. It fell to the League to hide
and maintain the emissaries of the Legion, Polish

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