The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-01
THE BIRMINGHAM AGEHERALD, MONDAY DECEMBER l. 1919

ound 1t a serious menace and had it usbanded.)
 WANTED KAISER TO BE RULER
 The Lithuanians entered the lists against the Poles by expressing their ceilings and wishes more forcibly. In March. 1917. they submitted a rep esentation on the subject to the com Handerin chief in the east. The lat CT now sent in 8 memoir on the meth 3ds to be followed by German policy a the territory under his administra- ton
 We passed the memoir on to the i'm 2erial chancellor. with the request that le might give a definite decision to he policy to be adopted in regard to he nationalities in the area admins
 cred by the commander-in-c chief in he east. General headquarters con- sdered 1t out of the question to pursue purely Polish policy The establish ment of a Poland that would surround East and West Prussia was incom- patible with the security of Germany: German rule In the territory under the commander in-c chief in the east must be passed on the Lithuanians and the White Ruthenes.
 At the same time we suggested a conference on these questions. the early solution of which I very greatly de- sired. Tn this. as in all other matters l maintained that. the imperial chan ce1lor must lay down the guiding prin- ciples of policy, with the sole limita- ton that they must be compatible with military security. The execution of the political instructions was In this case the duty of general headquarters and of the commander chief in the east
 COLONIES FOR SOLDIERS
 On April we had the first confer ence with representatives of the i'm perial chancellor, under the presidency of the quartermaster general General Hahpdorff at Bingen.
 The field marshal and I considered that the territory administered by the commander in chief in the east should finally be divided into a duchy of Cour- land and a grand duchy of Lithuania, both with the further object of adjust ig their respective interests, in the closest relationship to Germany, and uniting them under the personal sov ereignty of his majesty, either in his capacity as king of Prussia or em- peror of Germany.
 Tn this way Germany would gain military defense against further sur prise attacks by Russia. and also land for the settlement of our troops after the war.
 The DOunu3rleS or COuIfduu WcFo ai- ready fixed.
 The delimitation of Lithuania was difficult Generally speaking, the mass of the Lithuanian people though in terspersed with big Polish landowners, lives north of the line Dvinsk Wilma Olita- -Suvalki. South of it they radiate into the country of the White Ruthenes, which. however, is permeated by Poles and very Polish in spirit. Wilma, Grod- no and other towns were Polish.
 The solid mass of Polish population only began at Byalistok. Jews were to be found all through Lithuania. Ger mans lived mainly on the East Prus- sian border. In the territory under the commander in chief in the east, south of Courland, the Lithuanians were slightly the more numerous, and so formed a counterpoise to the Poles. They were menaced by them In pre- cisely the same way IS we were on our eastern borders, and so were our natural allies. whom we must seek to strengthen and attach to ourselves by every possible means
 On April my argument dtd not go