Professor Julius F. Leo – Scientist, Municipal Manager, Politician, and His Economic and Political Views

The subject of the paper is the representation of the life and work of Julius F. Leo, his achievements and scientific opinions in the area of public finance, merits in the field of municipal ad‐ ministration as well as his views and political career. J. F. Leo was one of the outstanding personalities of Cracow in the early 20th century. He was the first President of the Polish Statistical Association found‐ ed in Cracow in 1912. He was a prominent lawyer and economist of his time, he worked on problems of public finances as a Professor of tax law and treasury sciences at the Jagiellonian University. During his studies and trips abroad he became acquainted with the issues of economic statistics, the validity of which, he had a great understanding for. A large part of his public activity was associated with the activities of the municipality. Since 1893 he was a councilor of Cracow, in 1901 he became the Vice‐Mayor and then in 1904 (until his death) the Mayor of Cracow. During his time in office he introduced a number of important reforms in the management of the city. J. F. Leo’s life’s work was a significant widening of the city limits, hence he was named “the father of the great Cracow”. Julius F. Leo was an important politician, the leader of the Galician neo‐conservatives. In 1901 he was elected to the Galician Sejm and in the year of 1904 to the Austrian Parliament. His political views have evolved from conservatism to liberalism. In 1912 he became the President of the Polish Circle in the Austrian Parliament. At the outbreak of the First World War he supported creation of Polish Legions by Józef Piłsudski. He was also the head of the Supreme National Committee. However, he did not live long enough to experience the moment of Poland regaining its independence, he died in Feb‐


Origin and early life of Julius F. Leo
Juliusz Franciszek (Julius Francis) Leo was born in the family of German origin. At the time many such families inhabited Galicia as a result of the so-called "josephinian colonization" 1 . German ancestors of Julius Leo came to Galicia from Bohemia, soon after the first partition of Poland. They had quite a high functions in the administration of the salt and sulphur mines in Galicia. Julius F. Leo's father, also Julius, first worked as the head of the State Mining Authority in Bukovina and then became the head of the Managing Board of Salt Mine in Stebnik, near Drohobych. There, on September 15, 1861 his youngest son Julius Francis, later President of Cracow was born. Around 1867 Julius Leo (father) was appointed the head of the salt mines in Wieliczka, so Leo's family moved to Wieliczka. After the death of his father in 1878, Julius F. Leo, his mother Christina née Holzträger and his siblings moved to Cracow. Julius Leo graduated from primary school in Wieliczka and began his education at the St. Anna Gymnasium in Cracow, known for the high level of educational provision. After graduating in the year 1879 he enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the Jagiellonian University (Bąk-Koczarska, Buszko, 1972).
Julius F. Leo's time at the Jagiellonian University coincided with the facility's extensive development. The University has now become a nationwide scientific facility, which attracts young Polish people from all parts of Poland. The completion of the Faculty of Law, opened great possibilities to J. F. Leo for further career in the judiciary, bar or administration sectors. The highest authority for young Leo was Prof. Dr Julian Dunajewski 2 for his awe-inspiring knowledge and individuality. He became a role model for J. F. Leo, both in his scientific and public activities. When J. F. Leo became a Professor of the Jagiellonian University and the Mayor of Cracow he stayed in close contact with Prof. Dunajewski and was a frequent guest in his house (Pociecha, 2018).
At the University, as before in high school, Julius quickly distinguished himself for his abilities, intelligence and exceptional exam results. These outstanding abilities have enabled him to obtain the scholarship and ensure financial resources for the period of his studies, which was necessary after the death of his father. He was a fellow of the Foundation of Kazimierz Petryczyn of Prussia and then received a scholarship of Emperor Francis Joseph and Elizabeth, which allowed him to complete his studies. In 1884 he received the Doctor of Laws degree, his doctoral thesis advisor was Prof. dr Mieczysław Bochenek 3 . During the time at the University, Julius Leo's political and ideological views crystalized. The overall atmosphere of the University influenced the evolution of the political views of the students. Professors of the Faculty of Law were in the vast majority conservative, and the most prominent of them supported the conservative manifest known as Teka Stańczyka (Portfolio of Stanczyk). Many university professors represented Cracow's Historical School, which was then experiencing some of its most significant years. Such outstanding individuality among the professors had to exert a strong influence on the young students. In this atmosphere, the prevalent conservative views shaped young Julius Leo's mind (Bieniarzówna, Małecki, 1979).

Scientific activities and economic views
Even before his doctorate, in March 1884, Leo began an annual internship in Galician State Attorney of the Treasury. Awakened research interests have resulted in a decision to prepare habilitation as soon as possible. Leo asked for a temporary exemption from duties at Treasury Attorney, and -despite his limited financial resources -moved to Berlin for post-graduate studies, in November 1885. There, he attended lectures in economics, political science, statistics and treasury and took part in seminars on economics and statistics. On top of the University classes, he used his stay in Berlin to work in the library of the Prussian Statistical Office, collecting materials for a book about the inheritance tax. After obtaining Adam Mickiewicz scholarship, awarded by the Academy of Skills, he went to Paris to continue his studies at the Academie des Sciences Morales et Politiques (Bąk-Koczarska, 1986).
After returning to Cracow in the spring of 1885, Julius Leo was already determined to devote himself to scientific career. He gave up his position at the Galician State Attorney of the Treasury and started his barrister practice. In 1887 he went to Warsaw to gather materials for his research presentation at The First Convention of Polish Lawyers, organized in Cracow, between 8 th and 10 th of September 1887. He delivered the lecture titled: Reformy skarbowe Sejmu Czteroletniego (Tax reforms of the Four-Year Sejm).
In the year 1888 he presented his habilitation entitled Podatek od spadków w teorii i polityce skarbowej państw europejskich (Inheritance tax and tax policy of the European States), and gave a habilitation lecture entitled Najnowsze teorie o podatku osobisto-dochodowym (The latest theories about the income tax). On the 20 th September, 1888 he received the degree of Assistant Professor of treasury sciences, tax law and political economy, and was employed at the Jagiellonian University (Pociecha, 2011).
Taking up teaching at the Jagiellonian University he devoted a lot of time for scientific work, and published works which formed his scientific achievements. They concerned mainly the taxes and customs fees. His most important written work was Finanse Galicji oraz projekt reformy skarbu krajowego (Finance and national treasury reform project in Galicia), (Kraków 1889). This book drew widespread attention and showed not only great knowledge of theory, but, above all, a clear political temperament of the author. J. F. Leo indicated that the most important objective of the financial policy of each country should be the creation of a relationship between the public needs of the society and the treasury resources. The first ought to be covered to a great extent by the tax income of the country. On the other hand, the tax system should not be a burden to the country. Therefore, each financial state should be assessed from two points of view: social needs depend on historical conditions of development, and the economic potential of the population, which unconditionally must be taken into consideration, depends on the tax system of the state (Leo, 1889). The author, using his extensive knowledge of financial systems and treasury-tax relations in European countries and countries of the Habsburg monarchy, compared them to Galicia's poor budgetary situation. He carried out an analysis and assessment of Galicia's budget and its prospects of success in fiscal policy. He pointed out the sources of the poor financial situation in Galicia. His main idea for fixing of Galicia's treasury was a statutory guarantee of a division of Galicia's development costs between the central government budget and local council budgets. He also called for the conversion of Galician debts (Broński, Szpak, 2010). A significant part of the book is devoted to a formulation of a country's economic development program. According to J. F. Leo, in order for such program to be effective it had to be the result of both private and public activities. In societies which lack sufficient resource of initiative and private entrepreneurship, public activities of the government administration and local authorities play a much greater role than private initiatives (Leo, 1889). We see him as a supporter of etatism in a situation of low level of economic development of a country. This book has contributed to some extent to the changes in economic relations in Galicia.
An important problem, reported at the time, was the way of financing of public expenditures (Krzyżanowski, 1913). Two essential ideas collided here: one was to raise taxes and the other, to borrow money. J. F. Leo advocated moderate borrowing, but only for investment, giving the ability to generate profits in the future. It should be noted here that the investment loans have become one of the main sources of financing of the modernisation of the city of Cracow at the time of his tenure as the Mayor of the city.
His article Finanse Galicji i budżet krajowy na rok 1898 (Galicia's finance and the national budget for the year 1898), appearing on the pages of "Ruch Społeczny" ("Social Movement") also sparked big response. Among other issues, it discussed the economic problems of Galicia, which demanded rapid solutions. The author has put a particularly strong emphasis on the expansion and development of higher education and the imminent eradication of illiteracy in Galicia.
In 1892 J. F. Leo became an Associate Professor of the tax law and treasury sciences at the Jagiellonian University. In the years 1892-1893 he lived and worked in France to become more familiar with the organization and activities of credit and agricultural societies.
Over time, the administrative and political activity of Julius Leo began to dominate his academic activity. In 1904 he became the Mayor of the City of Cracow, and has been granted temporary leave from work at the University. Although, until 1917 he formally remained a Professor of the Jagiellonian University, he did not perform any teaching duties, neither did he conduct any research.

The activities at the municipal government
Knowledge in the field of treasury, which Leo theoretically possessed, predisposed him to his duties in the municipal government. In 1893, Julius Leo was elected a Councilor of the City of Cracow. The position at the City Council opened a whole new field of work for him and gave him the opportunity to thoroughly familiarize himself with both the operation of the municipal government and the current city matters. J. Leo worked in the tax office of the Council, dealing with the running of the municipal property affairs, creating a budget and overseeing its implementation. Early on, he realized the importance of the city budged, and in 1896 he became fully responsible for it and for the creation of Budget Council. J. Leo quickly gained the trust of the City Council, therefore in 1895, the Council entrusted him with the representation of Cracow's interests in Lvov and Vienna.
The knowledge of urban issues, which Leo obtained during his foreign trips, was a point of reference and a base for the introduction of similar solutions in Cracow. During his activity in the city council, J. Leo suggested multiple reforms to increase the organizational and economic level of Cracow. In 1901, J. Leo was elected Vice-President of the City of Cracow. As the Vice-President, he focused on the investment activity and was appointed the head of the Investment Committee of the Council, looking at loans to finance the necessary investments.
On July 11, 1904, Julius Leo was elected the Mayor of the City of Cracow and he served this function continuously until his death on February 21, 1918. He held the Office for 14 years, the longest out of the six Presidents of Cracow at the time of Galicia's autonomy. In 1905, he finalized the purchase of the Wawel Castle from the Austrian Army and began its extensive revitalization. He transformed Cracow into a modern urban center. He is named "the father of the great Cracow" (the area of the city of Cracow was extended from 7 km 2 to 47 km 2 ). J. Leo carried out the extension of Cracow's territory with iron consistency and perseverance for 13 years. The last of his extension projects, in 1915, was the inclusion of the right bank of Vistula River, which was previously an independent city of Podgórze, into Cracow city limits (Bąk-Koczarska, 1986). The development and reforms of Cracow, started by the first autonomous Mayor of Cracow, Józef Dietl 4 , were continued by the next Mayor, Mikołaj Zyblikiewicz 5 . Julius Leo, the last Mayor of that period, was a talented and energetic continuator of his predecessors.

Political activities and views
While at university, Julius Leo was influenced by Prof. J. Dunajewski and became supportive of conservative points of view, which caused his later involvement in political activities of Cracow's conservatives. The Cracovian conservatism was of one of the most important phenomena in the history of Polish political thought of the second half of the 19 th and the beginning of the 20 th century. Its main leaders and leading thinkers were: Stanisław Tarnowski 6 , Stanisław Koźmian 7 , Ludwik Wodzicki 8 and Józef Szujski 9 . They propagated their conservative political views in the Cracow's press. In the absence of the Polish State, liquidated at the end of the 18 th century by the partitioners: Russia, Prussia and Austria, they condemned the struggle for independence through the organization of uprisings and in their place promoted "organic work" consisting in striving for socio-economic development of the Polish lands and the need for a settlement with Austria. Cracow's conservatives came from aristocracy, wealthy nobility, clerical and academic spheres. The press organs of Cracow conservatives were two daily newspapers: "Czas" ("Time") and "Przegląd Polski" ("Polish Review") (Bieniarzówna, Małecki, 1979).
Over time the conservative movement in Cracow was joined by many talented and ambitious people, who for a long time set the tone of the political life of the region. Many of them were holding high state functions in Galicia as well as in the government of Austria. The activities of the conservatives and their press bod- ies spread widely throughout the country and Cracow became the national centre for political thought and action. The most important conservative politicians in Cracow, at the time were Julian Dunajewski, and Michał Bobrzyński 10 . Julian Dunajewski was an Austrian Minister of Treasury in the years 1880-1891. He carried out a reform of the tax system which used a more flexible tax, he helped balance the budget of Austria, introduced indirect taxes, increased customs duty on coffee and increased the price of tobacco products. Michał Bobrzyński was the Governor of Galicia in the years 1908-1913. The conservatism in Cracow was a stable phenomenon at the time, and held an important role in Polish politics. Art and literature also contributed to the unique, in relation to other doctrines of the era, reception of the Cracow's conservatism (Jaskólski, 1990). Julius Leo, like many other conservatives, collaborated with "Czas" and published numerous articles on topics related to economic issues and tax on its pages, starting in the 1880's. He was even an associate of "Czas" and for many years (until 1904) directed the Department of Economics of that newspaper. In 1896, he strengthen his contact with conservatives by joining the Cracow Agricultural Society, which gathered landowners and aristocracy, and he also became a member of the Executive Committee within that Society (Pociecha, 2018).
In the mid-nineties of the 19 th century the conservative movement split into two fractions: the "old conservatives" and the "young conservatives". In 1896, the "youngsters" formed an independent Conservative Club. The initiators of the new club were Władysław L. Jaworski 11 , Adam Krzyżanowski 12 and Julius Leo (Bieniarzówna, Małecki, 1979). Julius Leo became a prominent conservative politician at that time. In 1901 the elections to Sejm Krajowy (Domestic Parliament) took place in Lvov. Neo-conservatives put forward the candidacy of J. Leo. He was 40 years old, he had 10 years of professorial experience, 8 years of membership at the City Council, and a long period of political activity in the conservative party. He belonged to the elite of the Conservative Club. As a result of an intense election campaign, he was elected to Sejm Krajowy (Pociecha, 2018).
At the beginning of the 20 th century political views of J. Leo evolved from conservatism to liberal democracy. As a student he took on ideas advocated by the creators of Cracow conservatism. After he had started his political career, he was influenced by the second generation of conservatives, at the same time gaining administrative experience as a councilor of the City of Cracow and later as its Mayor. He realised that the conservatives didn't have a precisely defined economic program, which would support an effective economic development of the country. He saw it in the joining of private economic activity with the activities and investments of the government, as well as the activities of local councils. Seeing that he would not be able to realize these plans with the neo-conservatives, in 1907 he created, along with Adam Krzyżanowski and Jan Kanty Federowicz 13 , within the Cracow Council, a Liberal Democrats Club and became a liberal democrat (Bieniarzówna, Małecki, 1979).
In 1911

Chairmanship of the Polish Statistical Association
The official non-existence of the Polish State prevented Polish statisticians from publishing reliable demographic, social and economic data concerning Polish lands. In this context, the Polish Statistical Association (PSA) was created and one of its main tasks was to merge the statistical information scattered in publications of Austrian, German and Russian statistical offices and produce yearly reports on the Polish lands and population. In other European countries, at the time, statistical societies were gaining popularity. Their task was to support the authorities of a given country in organising detailed statistical research not covered by the records of the official statistics. Such was also the main motivation behind the creation of PSA (Polskie Towarzystwo Statystyczne 1912-1992, 1992. Examples of other such statistical societies could be found, among others, in France and Germany. On the 24 th of March 1912 Kazimierz W. Kumaniecki 14 , the director of the Cracow Municipal Statistical Office, prepared the application for authorization of the Polish Statistical Association in Cracow. On the 9 th of April 1912 the Galician authority in Lvov approved the statutes of the PSA. This date is taken as the beginning of the existence of the PSA. After a formal registration PSA commenced its activity. It was based in Cracow City Statistical Office and it was governed by a board of 12 members. The board chose from among its members the President, Secretary and Treasurer, and their substitutes. The first President of Polish Statistical Association was Prof. Julius. F. Leo and the first Secretary was Doc. Kazimierz W. Kumaniecki. From the broadly designed publishing activity of the PSA, only one item: Statystyka Polski (Statistics of Poland), was published in Cracow, in 1915.
Year 1912 is the pinnacle of Prof. Julius F. Leo's political and administrative achievements. In this context, one should look at his election as the president of the newly formed PSA.
Professor Leo had an understanding and the appreciation for the validity of statistics. At the time of his studies in Berlin, he attended lectures in statistics, but he did not conduct any active statistical surveys. His choice for President of the PSA meant prestige for the newly formed scientific society, which united Polish statisticians from all Polish territories, since its President was the President of the City of Cracow, a well-known and influential politician, a member of Lvov Domestic Parliament, and the leader of the Polish Members of the Austrian Parliament.

Opening to change
The outbreak of the First World War inhibited J. Leo's ambitious administrative and political plans. Instead of focusing on the economic development of the City of Cracow and Galicia, he had to fight for the survival of Cracow's citizens in the time war. J. Leo sensed the arrival of new, post-war times. He supported the creation of Polish Legions by Józef Piłsudski. On his initiative Cracow's City Council donated one million Austrian kroons for the organization of the legions in 1914. As a result of an agreement between Galician conservatives and democrats, Naczelny Komitet Narodowy (Supreme National Committee) was established on the 16 th of August 1914, as the highest military, political and fiscal authority for Poles living in Galicia. It was to be a political superstructure over Józef Piłsudski's legions, fighting alongside the Austrian army. Its first President was J. Leo. But Józef Piłsudski did not want to be explicitly politically involved or subservient to NKN, and J. Leo resigned from his leadership position of the Committee.
During the war Julius Leo's health declined, and he died on February 21 st , 1918, on the eve of Poland's independence.