would not pass Mr. Ptak." Witos commented that "although these details have discouraged him a bit and prejudiced him, he decided to go to the inn", the more that he and his friend were only about fifty steps away from it. Then Witos goes on describing his first direct encounter with Ptak. "Having entered a very large inn, we found there a crowd of workers sipping vodka and beer, smoking pipes and cigarettes, talking loudly to each other. At a separate table Mr. Ptak was sitting with only few older hosts. In front of them stood a large, yet unfinished glass of beer. We put ourselves in a corner, and started reading the paper Przyjaciel Ludu (Friend of the People), which just lay on the table in front of us, heavily crumpled and stained. Not to be thrown out of the inn, we ordered a small glass of beer. At one point Mr. Ptak got up and went to another table. I looked at him closer. He was a tall, upright, handsome man of good corpulence and posture, a perfect model for a painter, sculptor or even a poet. His face was full of pride, contentment, self-confidence and disrespect for the people who surrounded him. I tried to talk to him in vain, he pushed away the intervening waiter and did not even look at me. And no wonder. I did not belong to those who would impress him with their property or office, or those who would make him earn more. He did not recognize others. I remembered his neighbor's chatter and I could not refuse him right. Although I went out a bit resentful from Mr. Ptak's inn, I did not fail to go there every Sunday afternoon, to read a newspaper and drink a small glass of beer, this way saving myself from being thrown out the door. I did not try to communicate Mr. Ptak any more, he also did not turn to me, always having a more urgent engagement." Beginnings in the people's movement Ptak went to politics, becoming a member of the Polish People's Party (PSL). He was associated with the Christian-folk movement of Father Stanisław Stojałowski, a priest. In 1892, unsuccessfully he stood for the supplementary election to the Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria. From 1898 to 1902, he was an editor of the magazine Obrona Ludu (The Defend of the People) issued