Український Щоденник Ukrainian Daily РІК U. Ч. 9. VOL. ІЛ. No. 9. SECTION II. Щ>е Шгаіпіап Dedicated to the needs and interest of yonng Americans of Ukrainian descent· No. 3 JERSEY CITY, N. J.f SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 1943 VOL. XI GONAS ELECTED INDIANA JERSEY CITY UKRAINIANS Geographical Influences on Ukraine ASSEMBLY WHIP HAVE $160,000 IN WAR BONDS її» IIIWIIIIII —» IMIII mm > John S. Gonas, Indiana State Sen­ The Jersey Journal of January YyAR or no war, there are certain factors in the history of nations which ator, Ukrainian by descent, was re­ 12th reported that the Jersey City are beyond the pale of ordinary human control, and which play an cently elected Democratic Caucus Ukrainian War Bond Committee, Important role in the shaping of their destinies. Among the more influential Chairman of the Upper House of the formed soon after the Japanese of these factors are the geographical conditions. Their sway is so im­ State General Assembly at the State sneak-attack on Pearl Harbor, "has portant, although not absolute, that to lack knowledge of them is to leave Capitol, Indianapolis, Indiana. just gone over the $100,000 mark in unanswered many questions pertaining to the formation, development or Previous to his election to the Sen­ bond sales to parishioners and parish decline of a nation. To quote the pertinent remark of John Smith in his ate in 1940, Gonas was a member of organizations of SS. Peter and Paul "General. Historie of Virginia" (1624), "For as Geography without His­ the House of Representatives, during Ukrainian Catholic Church, Greene tory seemeth a carkaase without motion, so History without Geography which time he served on the im­ Street at Sussex." wandreth as a Vagrant without a certaine habitation." portant State Budget Committee, having been appointed to it by the The bond committee is headed by These geographical conditions make felt their influence upon the his­ Governor. Stephen J. Magura, who founded the tory of a »nation or state in many ways, and numerous examples can It is generally presumed that Sen­ War Bond plan in the parish with be cited here. Especially has this been the case with Ukraine. ator Gonas' activities in the last¦ the Rev. Wladimir Lotowycz; he is Ukraine, as we know, is a vast solid national territory lying in the ¦ session of the General Assembly assisted by William Wagner, As­ southern part of Eastern Europe, on the threshold to Asia, between 43 de· ¦ aided him in being elected to semblyman Marcel Wagner, and Wil­ grees and 54 degrees north latitude, and between 21 dg. and 47 dg. east \ his present important position, which liam Gel a, all of whom are active in longitude from Greenwich. Altogether it embraces an area of over 625 is sometimes equivalent to the so- Ukrainian affairs in the community. thousands square miles. called "Democratic Whip." The total sum invested in War Ukraine A Geographic Unit 0 Bonds by Jersey City Ukrainians to PRIEST'S MARINE BROTHER date is $104,425. It is believed that Geographically speaking, Ukraine is decidedly East European in char· KILLED IN ACTION a considerable number of persons racter, although as the prominent Ukrainian geographer, Prof. Rudnitsky, AT GUADALCANAL have not yet reported their War has pointed out, it occupies there a unique «position, which fully warrants George Lazar, a United States Bond purchases; when these people our conceiving of this great land as a geographic unit standing on an Marine and son of Mr. and Mrs. are heard from the total figure will equal basis with the other natural units, such as Russia proper, the Ural John Lazar of Scranton, Pa., was increase accordinkly. region, and the Baltic region. That this does not appear to be so at first killed in action late last November glance, is due to the uniformity of Eastern Europe, which factor makes during the fighting on Guadalcanal The Journal lists the names of it impossible to apply to Eastern Europe as a criterion the divisions of of the Solomon Islands. He enlisted many persons who had purchased in the Marine Corps in January, 1942. ·Western or Central Europe. bonds during the previous week. His brother is the Rev. John Lazar Heading this list was a $4,250 pur­ Effect of Deconcenlration of Population of St. John's Ukrainian Catholic chase by Mr. and Mrs. John Sopko, Church in Newark, N. J. - The vastness of this uniform East European region has had a mani­ followed by the names of other per­ - ··-~ sons whose purchases ran into four fold effect upon the peoples occupying it. The natural urge of the early PICTURES WANTED inhabitants to be constantly on the move was greatly facilitated in Eastern figures. Europe by the freedom from the constraint of natural barriers, such as The Ukrainian Weekly desires to publish as much as possible pictures in Western Europe. This deconcentration of the population was respon­ of young and older Americans of send such pictures to it, together sible for the creation of states of large areas and scattered populations, Ukrainian descent who are in the with the necessary data, and three which offers a striking contrast to the Western European states. The armed forces or otherwise distinguish­ dollars to cover cost of making a cut vastness of this territory and the deconcentration of its peoples were ing themselves in the service of their of th¾ picture. After being used by further responsible for their comparatively slow growth along cultural, country. the Weekly, the cut will be mailed to political and economical lines. Friends or relatives are urged to person ordering it. Naturally enough, this sluggish growth found its echo in the difficulty the Eastern European states encountered in climbing out of what might which intermingling with the native culture reached such a high state be called their political infancy stages. Furthermore, lacking consolidation of development as to make Ukraine one of the most cultured countries of and permanency of forms—which elements thrive best in rugged and Europe at that time. multiform soil and within natural barriers such as characterize Western Man Mastering Nature Europe—their history was marked by extreme vagaries of fortune. One has but to gaze upon the history of Poland, Lithuania, and Russia proper, We must bear in mind, however, that geographical influences vary with to see how true this is. the passage of time. Gradually man has learned to master nature, although Such has also been the sad fate of Ukraine, as exemplified by the he has not thereby dissociated himself from it and the geographic in­ fluences. He simply has learned to exploit nature more successfully and ancient Kievan state, the Kozak state, and the brief post· World· War-I in more diverse ways. Witness the example offered by the ocean, which Ukrainian National Republic. a thousand years ago was an insurmountable obstacle but which with the Ukraine the Shield of Europe advent of the compass, sextant, cartography, and the steamboat, has be­ Besides these considerations, however, the prime motivating cause of come one of the foremost aids to pr·ogress in the modern world. Better the sad lot of Ukraine has been its position at the southeastern edge of still, witness man's comparatively recent conquest of the air, and its Europe, on the threshold of Asia, at a point where the easiest overland g*reat significance in the present world·wide conflict. Thus, as we see, route connects the two continents. geographical influences are not of a determining character, as some scholars Historically speaking, Ukraine's border position was very disadvant· ¦ believed, but are, however, extremely important as conditioning factors, especially during the primary stages of a nation's development. With the ageous to her. Primarily because of two reasons: progress of science and technology, man has been able to win a progressive­ First, the Ukrainian steppe had always been the natural military j ly greater mastery over nature. The dormant possibilities which occupy road for the pillaging hordes of Asiatic nomads who—beginning with the the geographical frames, are beginning to awaken one after the other at Huns in the 4th century A. D. and ending with the Tartars of the 13th the hands of man. and the several succeeding centuries—overran southeastern Europe in great tidal waves, burning, pillaging, killing and enslaving, and becoming a Significance of Ukraine's Geographic Position Today real menace to even Central Europe. Many of these hordes or nations were Such again is the case with Ukraine. Embracing the entire northern annihilated by the ancient Ukrainians, but the constant warfare exhausted coast of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, Ukraine holds considerable Ukraine's strength and led to her downfall at the hands of her avaricious possibilities for overseas commerce. The proximity of Asia is no longer neighbors. If, therefore, anyone of the European nations has the right dangerous, but, on the contrary, very advantageous, for Ukraine is situated to claim th*e credit for being the shield of Europe against the Asiatic bar­ on the shortest land-route from Europe to the southern part of Asia and barians, it is the Ukrainian nation, which because of its geographical posi­ to India, and commands a good portion of the route. Also, Ukraine is the tion had to fight them first of all, and which, as history shows, fought only one of the Eastern European nations which through its location them most valiantly. stands closest to the Mediterranean countries. Furthermore, and most Effect of Distance From Western Europe important of all, the Ukrainian steppe, formerly always a place of danger Secondly, Ukraine's border position was disadvantageous to her in¦ and sparse settlements, has become one of the world's richest regions in the past because of its distance from the great cultural centers of West­ grain production and in natural resources.