New Britain herald., 1920-01-29
COMMUNICATED
Issuance of Polish Passports.

Editor or the Herald:
 As former editor of the Herald.
 it's columns always hold special in
 tcrest for me, particularly news there
 iu concerning Poland. in whose wet
 fare have been much concerned. stS
 you may know. ever since my soiourn
 in Warsaw as American vice consul
 f"ruaInS N"ur edition Of pecem Der
 -?. l9l". l observed an article on
 paSe six. pUrportng to he the re-
 marks of the Reverend Joseph Pele-
 choNNch. of the thrainian church in
 New Britain. who gratuitously at
 taCkS and malignS the consular repre-
 sentativcs of Poland accredited to the United States.
 It is not necessary for me to defend
 the Poles, either here or in their na-
 tive land. before the tribunal of Her
 aid rcaders The sterling example set bH those in New Britain and else
 where of Polish birth or blood. prior
 to, during and since the war. make it ouit2 supert.uous for me anyone
 else to assume the role of apologist in
 their behalf There may have been.
 however, various false impressions c"eated m tho minds of your readers
 hN the words of the Reverend Pele- rhoNNch as regards the functions of inc Polish consulate general in New York, anu il is to dispei these inn prc.lSlons, if there be ;.nN. that I pre-
 sumc to ask for space for what fol- lows:
 In paragraph three or tho article under dlSCr SSion your account states tlGt some O. the rariShionerS who plan 10 return to their native land, ikraioia. and especially to tho part N\ hjf,h flx- land, have met with great perpleXitE due to the IaCt that in order to oh- tain Polish passport. the Polish con- Sui refuses to grant such. unless the applicant rCEounCeS hls tl>rainian citizenship and takes the oath Of fidelity to l'olaud.''
 Surely there is nothing about thiS
 procedure to Cause "creat perple>ity." Naturally he Polish consul cannot is sue passport to any but Polish cit iZCus. and every Polish citizen. ipso facto pledges allegiance to Poland 10 the exclusion of any other power. in> 1 just the S;lmC manner as the grant, inS of an .\m' tican passport necessi- talCS :enunCiati m. on the part of thc applicant, of allegiance tC any other 1 country, nrd the taking of the oath of fidelity to che l'uitcd States. Fur tlrcrmorc. | know positively that the FOlISh consulate general in New York does l0t refuse passports to Ruthtn- ianS from Eastern Galitil. Passports to Polish citizens of former tialiti't arc now being iSsucd freely. except in vert;tin r1sCS where 4pniicantS de l sire to 90 to ;l" extreme eastern counties of former Eastern GaliCia. l This pohvN is adopted with regard to | territory rather than to t1" individual and l., dictated bN r"tcaution since | those countries ;lr" in tn" zone and the rraSonS for wit hholdiuS pass 1 ports in such instances arc thus Of a I trrritorIHl aud StrateEical but by no | niC0nS of d political ur racial nature. In view of in" foregoing l trust i Nnri will agree that your references in ] th" opcn'n- lines of para-rarh four 10 [ such "unwarranttd and urciviiIzrd
 ccmandH "r the Polish ro">lll" i3 in it. ! self ''unW&vlnntcd' and unfortunate. ! To N.,N the least.
 ] AS 10 the rest of the article. W NCre- 1 m the Reverend HelcrhoNNrh is re- l ported as d"N Uliu@ himself to general i irUdcS against the Polish army. l winch. he declares. committed whole ! sale atrocities ir Eastern GuliCi;l, , prefer to say nothing. as the repeat ! ed stories of alleged Polish atrocities ! have '"'lS since hCcn proved Ero"nd- l less ana false. I might reter to the 1 recent report of the American lnVeS- l tiSat.or commission in which eN- | Am hassador Morgcnthau'S associates