New-York tribune., 1919-04-14
Guarantees of Peace y
|. A Strong Poland


1t is another to put into such treaty
provisions which will effectually guaran-
tee peace.
The Paris conference seems to be more
concerned about peace than it is about
guarantees. 1t is shifting too many of
it's own problems to the shoulders of
legatee society of nations, which is fondly
expected to have the power and the
courage 70 do many things which the
conference finds it inconvenient to do.
But what reason is there to think that
the creature will be more potent than the
creator? The society of nations, in it's
present form, is anamic. 1t is a near
cousin to the Hague conference expert
ment. 1t can reach vital decisions only
by unanimous vote. That means that
its functions will be circumscribed and
formal. 1t can discuss. But it will be
slow to act
If the conference itself hesitates to
wrestle with the real problem to-day in
Europe--which is Russia-what chance
is there that the society of nations can
be induced to wrestle with it? The
powers represented at Paris still have
enormous armies in the field. But they
shrink from using those armies to bring
about a peace of compulsion. The soci-
ETY. of nations will have no armies at its
command. How can it deal with Russia
should she remain defiant and unruly?
How can it deal with Germany if, after
feel that they can afford to repudiate it's
provisions?
The society of nations, whatever other
merits it has, hardly can operate as
real guarantor of peace. The only de-
q pendable guarantees will be those which
the victors in the present war establish
by creating material bulwarks against
continued Russian terrorism and future
German truculency.
The first essential guarantee of peace
is strong Poland. The new Polish state
is the natural outpost of Western democ-
racy in Eastern Europe. 1t is national
istic in temper and nti-Bolshevist With
its population OF about 3O,00O,O00 it
should be able to serve as a barrier sepa-
rating Russian anarchy and German
malevolence.
In the main Poland's boundaries are
easy to draw. Adding to Russian Poland
Galicia, slice Of Silesia, Posen, the un-
deniably Polish parts of East and West
Prussia and most Of the former Russian
governments Of Grodno and Wilma, the
new state still would be nearly three
quarters Polish. That would be a result
in harmony with the principle of self
determination of races, for everybody
now recognizes that the intermixture Of
races in Central Europe makes impos-
sible anything like 100 per cent appli-
cation of this principle
The Allied governments are pledged to
create Polish state including "terri-
tories inhabited by indisputably Polish
populations" But they are pledged, in
addition, to give this state "a free and
secure access to the sea" Poland's
natural access to the sea is down the
valley of the Vistula to Danzig But be-
cause DanzIg has at present a popula-
ton largely German, and because a COR
ridor down the Vistula to the Baltic
would include other territory inds-
putably German, the conference has so
far refused to fulfil the second pledge Of
Paragraph XIII Of the Fourteen Arti-
cles. The excuse is that the second pledge
conflicts with the first pledge-that re-
n gardlng racial self elf-determnation.
such contention is unsound. The two
p'edges are complementary. 1t is clear
enac tney were meant to be so, because
u would defeat the primary purpose Of
ene creation Of a new and powerful
foiish state 70 leave that state shut off
from the Baltic and dependent for sea
outlet on the grudging courtesies of a
natural enemy.
1t has been suggested that Poland be
pu. "h WIN equal commercial privileges
az oanzig, transformed into a. free port.
6us socn a solution has nothing to rec
onfnend II. 1t is in line with the policy
of compromise and coddling which, mere
~ Ia order 70 get peace, would sacrifice
the guarantecs of peace
roland deserves sea frontier. And
c'nsideratlon for Germany ought to cut
no hgnre IN determining its character
ana extent. What the Poles need they
ought 70 have. For, az things look now,
strong Poland, forming part Of