The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-04
we l|"oS STRGErS II 0AhvziS.
Bismarck's Scheme of Buffer State Be-
tween Germany and Russia Real
lied in Poland, w hich Must
Have Port to Survive

Berlin. It's champions are not the
Prussians, but the Powers of the En-
tente. It's aim Is not to protect Ger
many and Austria from Russia, but
to preserve the latter from the politi-
cal. the economic and in natural Sc
quence the military domination of
Prussia
Berlin brought about the great war
which plunged the entire world in
welter of blood. of ruin. of unparal-
leled horror and misery. for the par
tlcular purpose OF securing this stran-
glehold upon the markets and upon
the riches. exploited or still undevel-
oped, of European and Asiatic Rus
STA. The break came when Nicholas
II. made it known at Berlin that his
Government would refuse to renew
the treaties Of commerce with Ger
many, due to expire in 1915, save on
terms far more advantageous to Mus
covite interests. and proportionately
unfavorable to the trade and industry
of Germany, and that for the sake OF
promoting Muscovite industries he
was about to adopt a policy of high
. protection.
Unless the Entente arranges for
strong Poland to serve az buffer be-
tween Germany and Russia, a pulwark
powerful enough to ..-ep them apart.
and to shield the latter from Teuton
aggression Of the economic or politi-
cal order, Germany will find herself
on the final conclusion of peace with
the spells of victory within her grasp.
She will have practically won the OBJ
iect for which she went to war.
Poland Needs a Port.
It may be argued that the Polish
nation has recovered its independence
and that 1t has secured the recogni-
ton Of the Powers of the Entente
as an entirely Independent State. But
as long as sovereign Poland. now en-
! bracing Posen, Galicia and the former
Polish provinces OF the Cars, with
population of some 35,000,000. has no
access to the sea she must necessarily
remain in economic and political sub
lection to the nations by which she Is
surrounded, or at any rate to that one
Of them which Is the most powerful
and the most INSCRIPTIONS with re-
gard to its treaties and pledges.
Poland, IL she receives full justice at
the hands Of the Entente. bids fair to
become once more one of the richest
and most prosperous nations OF
Europe. Before the war, even with
all the restrictions placed upon their
development by her Muscovite bureau
cracy, recruited almost entirely from
men OF German birth or origin, the
Polish provinces in Russia were the
most Furnishing OF the whole empire
of the Cars. The entire country was
dotted with manufactures and with
industries of every conceivable charac-
ter. The production was enormous,
1t was the most extensive cotton and
other textile manufacturing district
in the world. Its city OF Lodz used
often to be described as the Manchester
Of eastern Europe, and the population
showed a degree OF industry. enter
prise and thrift without parallel any
where in that part OF the world
Posen and Galicia, too, are very rich
in natural resources. OF course the
territory OF these former Polish
provinces OF Russia, Austria and Prus-
sia have been subjected to the most
appalling devastation during the war
They have furnished. so to speak, the
battle-ground of most of the hard
fighting on Germany's and Austria'f
eastern front. But II left free &c
reconstruct their industries, TO rebuild
their cities, their towns and their vii
lagos. TO restock their farms. to re.
open their mines, &C.. It will not be
long before Poland Is once more LAND
Of riches. a land flowing with milk
and honey, az in the days before hei
, piratical partitions In the eighteenth
century between Prussia, Austria and
: Russia
But Poland's rebirth. after all hel
generations of foreign tyranny, op
| preston and cruel persecution, will
depend entirely upon whether she Il
4 to enjoy free access TO the sea ant
D to the outer world by means OF tn,
< possession OF her former seaport o
f Danzig, which for centuries formed
Q part of Poland. And with Danzig the
= Poles must have the land around tn,
e city and a broad stretch OF territor,
t on either bank OF the Vistula, extend
n ing from its mouth seventy miles VI