New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05
Danziss and the
L ut ure Of
Poland

II N THE problem Of the restora.io,
n OF Poland one of the NEST impcr.
tant points to be settled is N.
future status of Danzig. or. !,
Polish, Gdansk. Poland claims the Bal.
tic port as her only outlet to the sea
without which her commercial develon.
ment would be welnigh impossible
Germany claims Danzig chiefly on the
ground of proportionate representation
IN the population. In the New Wit.
ness" of London, A. Staski sets forth
as follows Poand's historic claim to
Danzig:
'To realize the important part Cdsn.l
played IN Polish national history in the
past and may sustain in the future. il !,
necessary to make careful study Of the
'Nistula, the most important river in Pc.
land The Nistuia may be described a.
the main national artery OF the ancien.
kingdom, its basin the throbbinr heart Of
the country 1t was only with tho fall Of
Poland that the commercial value of thu
Vlstula declined; the partition Of the coun-
try meant the partition of the river Az
far as Sangonier it became Austria, 10
Neisrawa, Russian, while it was German
UP to Gdansk. The vistula, in the word
of French historian, was condemned N
the humiliating role of general useless
ness. She also is a victim of the partition
Of Poland.
Including her twenty-onc tributaries
the Nistula has total length Of 4s0o
miles, nearly 3,100 of which arc navicabc
Nevertheless, the enemy governments who
possessed her did practically nothing TO
develop the river a means of transport.
No canals have been dug, nor has any
thing been done to improve it's navigable
possibilities. except on very short length
of the Prussian section. The political re.
distribution of the Polish kingdom only
allotted minor share to Prussia compared
to that enjoyed by the other participants.
One-fifth of the area Of the rivers basin
was all that she possessed But II it was
the smallest it was at the same time the
most important part, for its area COM
prised the mouth of the river, where at
the estuary is the port called Gdansk
Gedanum in Latin, in German Danzig, is
beautiful old city, the Venice of the
north, with long history and vivid mem
cries of the period when for 500 years she
was part of the Polish republic con-
quered by Germans.
"ln both cases it is the national tyne
of civilization which is the determining
factor, and with Alsace SO with Gdansk
that civilization is not Prussian. In.
Vulnerable instances could be quoted show
ing that the attitude of the German-speak-
ing citizens of the city toward Poland.
right up to the beginning of the nineteenth
century, was identical with that of the
German-speaking Alsatians toward France
'Deprlved of the port of Gdansk, Poland
will be unable to develop the economic ad-
vantages Of the Vistua She will be un-
der German domination at her most vital
point. Her independence will be manned;
she viii be in the shadow of Teutonic ag-
gression liable at any moment to fresh
invasion. The argument that because
Prussia has planted a German colony in
this ancient Polish city it Is therefore
part of the Germany hegemony, is utter
ly fallacious. If Poland is to take her
place among the nations of Europe il is
imperative that her ancient possessions
should be restored to her, and that Gdansk
the Venice Of the north should he
wrested from the rapacious nav of Ger
many and restored in its full integrity
Thus, and thus only, will the independents
and the freedom of the Polish common
wealth remain secure