The Monticellonian., 1919-01-03

YF Germany had a natural
 eastern frontier-as she has
 natural boundaries 10 west
 and south-the establish
 IA ment of permanent peace might not require such extraordinary safeguards. But, Germany lying where she does and her people being what they are. the future of Europe depends on one thing-the reconstruc- tion of Poland
 The speaker was no less q person than Roman Dmowski, for twenty years q leader of 3he submerged vest ern Slavs in their aspiration toward n renewed national life, long the rep resentative of the city of Warsaw in the Russian duma today. by virtue of his position as president of the Poi- ish national committee, recognized by the governments of Great Britain. France, Italy and the United States as the official representative and spokesman of thirty-five millions of people.
 "Fo take up the German-ness of Ger mans first" he went on in the course of an interview with Rowland Thomss appearing in the New York World, they are people capable of talking about their drang mach osten-their responsiveness toward the east-as If 1t were something scientifically inev- itable and sacred. like the law of gray itation or the budding of trees In springtime. No such peculiar and spe- cifle force, of course, now exists. Na ture no more drove the Germans to the expansive eastward than up or down in any other direction. What did drive them was an alluring opppr- tunlty. Whereupon they invented Il mystical force which was supposed to be above even their own ideas and emotions-just as they later invented a special and sacred kultur when they felt the need of justifying oyerween- ing ambition In their own eyes and the sight of the world, and still later conjured up an ancient German Gott to make expediency and morality mu- tuaily self-supporting.
 "Such worship of mental straw men such confusing of formulas with forces, the sound of words with veri. ties. exeulpations with justificatlons- is the natural refuge of sentimental fists who shrink from looking their own impulses in the face.
 By special drang mach osten. then. Germans have sanetified for themselves their eupidity of territory and trade in certain directions. Many such canonized phrases will confront and trouble the peace builders in their coming work, for an orthodox formula may be deadly thing. Witness what was justified in revolutionary France by the cry of liberty. equality and fra ternity-what Is happening under the same watchword now in bolshevistie Russia. To guard the future against the force of the ancient and haloed dogma of drang mach osten Is there fore vitally necessary.
 Would Safeguard Future.
 And" interpolated Mir. Dmowslli. n faint smile lowering about his firm-set lips, "if certain step is taken the future will be effectually guarded. Germans hereafter will have to take their drang mach osten out in plain drang-ing. They will find themselves putting their heads against wall, to be colloqulal. And that wall will be Poland-the strong Poland which can and must be constructed. not easily. perhaps. but surely and firmly. if suf- f1eiently intelligent and foreseeing statesmanship is used at this time.
 That brings us to the second stand ing menace to permanent peace in Flu rope-the fact that Germany for gen erations has had no natural eastern boundaries that a tantalizingly easy way to aggression and conquest has lain always open before her-and, now that Russia is chaos, is easier than ever before.
 If this were not the case. if Ger many faced to the east some we'll defined physical obstacle. as she faces the Rhine gorge, the Alps. the Bohe- milan and Carpathian highlands to the west and south, the potentiallties might not be so grave. But as it is. Asia. through Russia lies open, un- guarded and dangerously inviting to Germany's thwarted ambitions
 Let us not in this collaborating mo- ment of victory permit ourselves 10 become unduly optimistic or too cred ulous. National psychologists do not