The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1919-05-10
FOUR NEW STATES
FORMED IN EUROPE

Poland, Rumania, Jugo-Slavia and
/ Czecho-slavia tn. Four New Claim
ants for Recognition.
One of the tasks Of the Peace Con
ference which has consumed the great
est time and called for the wisest
planning has been the erection in
Europe of four new nations, and it is
not yet completed To draw the
frontiers OF even one nation might
well occupy the attention of states
men for weeks, and the difficulty of
planning four of them is more than
-FOUR times as great. Yet the task ap
pears almost to have been done. This
is rolling up the map Of Europe, in
deed, and there are still more changes
to come. Germany is to divide herself
up in some manner not yet known.
Austria-Hungary is likely to be fur
Their dismembered and there may be
two or three republics finally emerge
when the Bolsheviki earthquake final
ly subsidies in Russia. But these new
formations are things that the Allies
do not conceive TO be their particular
concern, unless it might be that they
should forbid the uniting of Austria
and Germany. They have felt con
cerned, however, to establish Poland,
Rumania, Jugo.Slavia and Czecho.
Slayia.
To those who believe that the Allies
have been wasting their time on high
ly idealistic problems in trying to set
these four nations upon their feet it
may be answered that the interest Ct
the Allies is by no means altruistic.
They are impeled, if not by wholly
selfish motives, at least by the prac-
teal consideration of self-defense.
For instance, in the late war Germany
and Austria were in control of man
power estimated at 30,O00,000 made
up of subjects races that were no
more racially akin to Germany than
are the French These millions were
Poles, Czechs and Slavs who had been
ruthlessly misgoverned by Germany
and Austria for generations. When
the opportunity occurred, these forced
soldiers surrendered in great mum
bers to their nominal enemies, who
were their racial kin, as, for instance,
when the Czecho-Slays threw down
their arms to the Russians and later
volunteered for service against Ger
many in France. The Allies are de-
/ termined that it shall, to taken. out OF
/ the power Of Germany and Austria
/ for all time to come to employ these
millions as cannon fodder The in
1 tention is to attach them permanent
4 ly. if informally. to the Allies They
viii be the buffer between Germany
and Western and Southern Europe
Poland is re-established as buffer
state between the militarism of Ger
many and the anarchy of Russia
/ Poland has a couple of sweet neigh
bors As all the world knows, the
4 Poles have never lost their race
identity whether under German, Rus
sian or Austrian domination. They
formed a solid rock OF about 200O0,
1 600 people in the heart of Europe. But
I when the task came of drawing III
/ the new Polish frontier grave prob
lem was encountered. and that was
/ the presence of a tier OF German ma
tionality among the Baltic, These
two and a half millions are the mos
German OF Germans. They shut Of
the new state of Poland from ser
outlet on the Baltic and Poland with
out a sea coast would be in economic
slavery to Germany. On the othe
hand, one of the Wilson fourteen
points seemed to forbid the annexa
tion of so great number of aliens a.
the Baltic Germans by the Poles. A
enc time the suggestion was mad
that Poland should be given CORR
dor through Germany 10 the Baltic
The objection to this course was tina
it would force on Poland two bound
airy lines that she could not defen,
against Germany. So now 1t appear
to have been decided that the Balti
Germans will have to become citizen
of the Polish state or move out Pc
land is to get her Baltic coast an
DanZig.