Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-12-18
|CALLS PEACE PACT
/ UNFAIR TO POLAND
American Commissioner Tells
Ledger Forum How Lloyd
George Blocked Plans
PRAISE FOR PADEREWSKl

Tho life and death struggle of war
.orn Poland for her very existence ana
the imminence Of the foes that St'ii
,,oroce her were brought home force
,,,v last night to Philadelphians at the
,ocond meeting Of the PUBLIC LEDGERs
tor,,r on the peace conference, being
Mold in the foyer of the Academy of
Music. The speaker was DR.. r. II.
ord professor OF modern European
history Mt Harvard and chief OF the
iolish division Of the American Peace
Commission at Paris. george wharton
Pepper presided.
II was n significant index of the
changes that have been brought upon
T,n world by the war. that the historic
roof which has so often in past years
rihrateo with the applause TINT has
greeted Padcrewski as a musician, last
nirht again vibrated with applause for
MIN. but this time as a patriot and
savior of his crushed and bleeding ma
tive land.
The tribute to the pianist statesman
WAS brought out by question asked
Of the speaker at the conclusion of his
address. "How valuable have paderew-
axis services been to Polnnd?'
In answering Inut VutStiOH' N'tlu
Or. Lord, II might distinguish between
ski actually did wonderful service at
the start by ending a crisis between
the Polish parties and founding the
first government that everybody could
accept.
Later, te had so many tasks on
his hands. and foreign questions. par
t.mlarly at Paris, were so absorbing
tnat | fear he could not find time to
watch internal affairs and keep them
running as smoothly as might have been
desired.
"But you must remember tina,
Paderewsk is an orator Of the first
RANK. He was able to go into assem-
blies, both at home and in Paris, and
sweep them off their feet by his elo-
Quence.
Secondly, he is so obviously high
minded and disnterested patriot that he
commands confidence from everybody.
lie was able even to earn the friend
ship Of Lloyd George. He gained a
great many things for Poland that a
statesman would not have been able
70 do
His services we're inestimable to
Poland. They were not entirely un-
narred, but he did what probably no
other Pole could have done.
Settlement Not the Fairest
Throughout the address and in the
answers to questions. the speaker made
many illusions which plainly indicated
that the actions Of Lloyd George and
other British diplomats at Paris were
most distasteful to him. His speech,
in fact. left the impression that the
English premier was constant trouble
maker in the conferences.
The general tendency Of the French
representatives., he said. was extremely
favorable to Poland They were on the
side Of the Czechs against Poland, and
on the eastern frontier, tried to. keep
the aspirations of Poland in check in
order not to offend Russia. but with
these reservations France was for q
stronger Poland.
France and Poland were bound to-
gethcr by common interests and the
former also felt that the Poles might
become another France on the east of
Germany.
France, therefore, wanted strong
Poland, whereas England seemed to feel
tnat such n new state would be future
liability rather than an asset so far as
she was concerned.
One Of his most significant statements
came in answer to the question: WAS
the Paris settlement the fairest to Po-
land that could have been reachedT'
DIR. Lord hestitated a moment and
then said frankly:
mo. The Danzig settlement was a
very grave blow to the most vital in :
tereSts of Poland. The arrangement il
now reduced to definite treaty signed
Nh" other day and it whittles away
some rights that the peace treaty as
surcd to Poland.
''Danzig Is now governed by a mixed
commission composed of two Danzigers.
two Poles and one neutral. Poland has
now no control.
Last summer the Poles were fighting
for their lives against the Bolshevists
Through the hostility of the Danzig
Germans and the British high commits
sioncr, the port of DanZig was suddenly
closed to Polish munitions, and If the
action had not been righted. it might
have been fatal to Poland.
Conditions in that city now are just
ss bad as can be imagined. Poles are
constantly mobbed in the streets there.
What Is the present condition OF
sfairs?" was another question. "Is
the government likely to remain?'
That is difficult to say" replied
nr. Lord. THE whole eastern part OF
tine country was ravaged by war last
sumner. There is scarcity of food
famine; typhus and cpidemics sweeping
s"roSS the land from Russia, which is
sccthing with them.
Conditions Very Bad
Polish industry has received a ter.
rbI" setback. Their finances are bad
Their mark is now worth about one
tenth of q cent.
-. III !,
4 d"plOrablc and it cannot fail to be SO il
country which has been fought ovel
for six years without interruption.
II hesitate to advance an opinion o
4 the present government. The cabine
may not endure, but ] have an impres
sion that the President Is still decided!
popular and may remain for som'
. time"
DR.. Lord outlined the first recon
m"ndatiOns made by the commission
for til" settlement of the Polish Vies
ton and told how British opposition
was made manifest Immediately upOl
IN" submission of the findings to tn
F"Rr" Conference.
'I'n every question that came up,
h" aid. England adopted an attitud
much less friendly or more hostile thar
a ony other power. The Poles ascrib
sll their diplomatic defeats to. Lloy,
4 George.
4 But whatever divcrgences of opinio
thrr" were related to secondary qucs
lions at first. All we're agreed on tn
fundamental that an indcpenden
Polish state should be created with as
snr"d access to the sea. And it wa
4 agreed that the frontiers should b
i mar rkrd out on an ethnOgraphic basis. >"
4 The speaker described the ditiicultic
Of determining the real natiOnnlitie
n H'Slnhutrd through the various terri
tories adjacent to Poland proper, tn
mixture Of Poles and Germans in tn