The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-12-08

ment these command attention.
In the face Of this German policy
has long been preparing. Better than
all the rest of the world the German
has understood that Russia was still
not nation, it was a collection OF
nationalities united by a govern
mental machine and a dominant dyn-
asty. Now, when the machine has
been scrapped, the dynasty elimtn-
ated by revolution, Germany Is pre-
pared with a policy, while all her
enemies have neither a policy nor
comprehension of the exact situation
on which to base a policy.
This German policy is quite pat
ent: what Germany seeks is to ac-
celerate the pace of the disintegra-
ton, to encourage the several ele-
ments that seek independence, not
alone in getting independence, but in
dividing and subdividing until the
eastern world is transformed into a
series of totally divided races, NUT
ually hostile, reduced to anarchy and
capable of offering no resistance TO
German penetration, whether peace
full or otherwise.
And since there is one people in
eastern Europe capable Of supplying
new unity, possessing the cultural
and the political capacity for Great
ing strong and united state, the
German policy is predicated upon the
decision that this people must not
be permitted to achieve this unity.
And this people, Of course, are the
Poles. Twenty odd millions of Poles
tnhabtting the Russian. German and
Austrian territories about the Wis
tula. Joined with the several million
Ldthuanians. once included within
the Polish kingdom, and the several
races in whole or in part dwelling
also in lands once Polish, might
easily, given unity for q brief period
Of years. build a. Polish kingdom or
republic as large as Italy or Prussia
and bar the road to German lateral
expansion. More than this. were such
a state to develop without the GER
man Poles. it would unquestionably
draw the German Poles to it and
thus threaten to undo all the long
centuries Of German work along the
eastern marches.
Given this situation, then, Il ia
possible to understand the first Ger
man proposal to Russia for the maxi
ing OF peace. Germany is prepared to
make peace with the Russians on the
Bolsheviki basis Of mo annexations
and no indemnities," but with GER
tain qualifications. Poland-that is
Russian Poland-must be permitted
to seek its own form of government
in accordance with its own tradi-
tons. So must Lithuania- But IL the
Lithuanian be separated from the
Pole then there is no chance of a
development OF real Poland, for
Lithuanians occupy all the Baltic
shores of the ancient Polish state
not actually included within German
frontiers, and the new Polish state
without a sea front would be econ
omically at the mercy Of the state
which held not merely DantziR and
Koen1gsberg, but also Ldbau and
Riga. But Lithuania without a him
terland would be equally handicap
ped, would be merely an insignificant
state, dependent upon Germany for
its existence, since il would alike
bar Poland and what was left of
Russia from the open sea.
Recall that Poland was partitioned
at the suggestion and under the d.
rection of Frederick the Great orig
inally and that Russia was a partner
in each of the two succeeding parti-
tons. Recall that today Germany
that is. Prussia-holds four million
Poles in slavery of a sort far more
intolerable than that Of the people OF
Alsace-Lorraine. and it is possible to
understand how much of sincerity
there is in the new German plea for
the Polish people-of Russian Poland.
There was once an American poll