The Washington herald., 1920-10-07
Preliminary Peace Treaty
Marked by Complete Red
CapituIation.
GIVE UP 10000 MILES
Every Condition in II Point
Polish Program is En-
tirely Conceded.
BY s. b. CONGER.

Riga, Oct. 6.-Poland attains, un-
der the preliminary understandings
reached by NJ. Joffe and NJ. Domb-
ski last night, practically every
thing for which its delegation has
been contending. The agreement
amounts in it's essence to a com
plete diplomatic capitulation by the
Soviet which accepts in toto the
frontier line proposed by Poland,
surrenders 10000 square kilome-
ters 100000 square miles) Of terri
tory beyond the Curzon line, grants
a broad corridor reaching to the
Dvina River in the north, giving
Poland contact with Letvia, and
cutting communications between
Lithuania and Russia, and comedies
in principle virtually all the con-
ditions contained in the Polish
eleven-point program submitted on
the opening day of the Riga con-
ference.
FraternixinE Forbidden.
The Polish armistice draft pre-
pared by Gen. Kulinski is accepted
as the basis for a suspension of
hostilities. That draft provides
that the aTmistice, though to be es-
tablished for twenty-five days, may
be renounced at any time within
that period on thirty-siX hours no
tice. 1t also forbids fraternizing
or sending communications across
the line, to balk any Bolshevist
propaganda, and places a neutral
Of Lii
on the eastern or Soviet side of the
line. The armistice and all of its
terms will lapse If the preliminary
peace treaty goes unratified.
The new frontier runs from a
point opposite the town of Drissa,
on the Dvina River and the Let
vian frontier. to the norotheast cor
ner Of Eastern Galicia and cover
ing the main north and south rail-
road communications from Dvinsk
south through wilma. Branovichi.
Sarny and RoYno to GsIicia
Frontier Is Strategic.
Take any large-scale map of old
Russia and trace a line somewhat
east of that railroad and you have
a general outline of the frontier.
You must. in fact. 20 we'll east
ward on the northern sector, where
the line is traced enough eastward.
through Lake Naroch and Vileika,
to provide for the new Polish cor
ridor. REGARDLESS of the ultimate
issue of the POlish-Iithuanian con-
trOversv over wilma and other dis
puted areas. The frontier. is through
out most of its course well beyond
the BaranoviChi trench line of the
Germans and provides a broad basis
for Polish military dispositions to
cover those semi-permanent forti-
fications should hostilities again
occur.
Necessary Poles Claim.
The frontier is admittedly not an
ethnographic one. but is drawn as
a compromise on an ethnographic
and strategic basis. 1t leaves. ac-
cording to the Polish contention.
100000 Polish nationals in the Minsk
area and in the Ukraine beyond the
pale and places under Polish sover-
eighty a far greater number OF
White Russians, Lithuanians and
other nOn-POlish peoples.
Those frontiers are justified by
the Poles on the ground of strategic
necessity The BaranOviChi rail-
way is regarded as indispensable to
the proper development of Polish
communications in the eastern half
of the new state. The railroad in
question is one of the best in Rus
sia. and is notable for its easy
gradients, so that up to a few years
ago, fast expresses from Petrograd
and Kiev were routed that way.
The next line Of north and south
communications. far westward. is
poor. single track line through
Baranovichi.
(Copyright. 1870. by Public Ledger Coz