The Washington herald., 1920-04-18
Wod FLASHED Dnect tie National Capaa By Gable and Wireless
Plight Of Poland Pictured
As Economic and Political
Chaos By Warsaw Observer
Especial Correspondence wa.hiAstoa
Herald.D

Hernl0sb
warsaw, March 2s.-tBy MaIl.)-
The present political, situation in
Poland is determined entirely by the
status OF British relations to Boil
shevik Russia The Poles have bsen
following the injunction Of the en-
tente to swat the Bolsheviks to the
eastward as often as the opportunity
presented. In the beginning of the
idea of the Gordon Sanitare II wes
the understanding that the Poles
were to do the swatting and The en-
tente was to furnish the'imptenents
and to pay portion of the bill. The
experience of the past few n,onths
has taught the Poles that while they
do the swatting today the entente
will pay the bill in the futre.
The position OF the Polish people
towards the problem of the east
ward border Is not accurately un-
derstood either in Western Europe
or in the United States. The Poles
never have acted except under en-
tente guidance. The frontier of the
I'oles has not yet reached the line
of the original border of Poland in
1880, except in Lithuania, where this
line has been passed.
Two Policies Are Explained.
The migration of the Russians
during the past hundred years has
been. westward from this line SO
that today the ethnographic line of
Poland is distinctly to the west of
the line of the original kingdom.
Two wings. of Polish policy may be
distinguished, those of Dmowski
and Pilsudski. The principle of
Dmokski runs to the effect that the
boundaries of the new Polish State
to the eastward should be rigidly
retracted to the points where the
Poles had at least so per cent of
the population. This would be in
some places several hundred miles
behind the lines of the present from
tier. The position of Pilsudski and
of the present Polish government is
a direct expression of entente in
fiunce.
They recognize there Is an inter-
mediate erea. They believe Lae peo-
pie of this intermediate area should
have the right to choose the ccndi-
tions Of their future. They wish to
hold plebIscite in this intermediate
0rea and allow the inhabitants to
determine whether they w;sn to re-
turn to Russia. to become incurpor-
ated into Poland, or 20 soTm inJe-
pendent buffer states.
The Poles secretly prefer the last
but the inhabitants of the inter-
mediate are afraid of being a
buffer states. In any event. nothing
ir the league of nations. or in the
doctrine of the determination of free
nations. empowers the Poles to act
In the capacity of a plebiscite com
mission and critics OF the present
Polish policy must no. blame tine
Poles as being imperialistic because
the Poles have lone thing but
what the entente up to December
1919. desired them to do.
Claim Lloyd George Confuses Them
The turh-about movement OF
Lloyd George toward Soviet Rus
sia has had the effect of introduc-
ing complete confusion into the
program of Polish policy. and the
Poles complain, not without rea-
son. that international equity should
have dictated that they be advised
in advance of a reversal jof entente
or. British policy. and that II their
position of Influence in the political
or military sense was to be safe
guarded in Central Europe, Pilsud-
ski should not be left in the posi-
tion of holding the military bag
while Lloyd George was extending
the olive branch.
The matter is made all the more
dif1fculS for the Poles by the fact
that the wishes of the entente have
usually been extended to. the Poles
through the medium of France This
is the statement of competent Po-
lish authority in reply to the asser-
tion that Poland is pursuing a pol
icy of imperialistic military aggres-
sion.
Agricultural Poland presents few
points of announcement. The acre
age of fall-sown wheat and rye
including that of Posen, will be less
than last year. Spring sowing is
limited by lack OF seed. The con-
dition of the soil in the fall of last
year was very unfavorable. If Po-
land requires 100000 tons OF i'm
ported bread grain to maintain q
normal ration during the present
year. she will require as much. OIL
more, next year. Work animals are
very scarce. The high price of fer,
tilizer makes importation impossi-
BILE. and 1t has been found not feas-
ible to so raise the price of bread
grsins to the peasntry as to induce
him to increase the acreage. Ter
thousand crowns per ton would rep.
resent thirty times the pre-war