Evening star., 1921-03-27
PLANNING TOPLACE
ALLIES IN DILEMMA
Germans Seek to Create Diff
ficuIt Question Over Up
per SiIesia.
BY PAUL SCOTT MowRER.


BY Gable to The Star and Chicago Daily News.
Copyright, 1921
PARIS France March 26.--The am
biguous result of the Upper Silesian
Dlebiscite promises to prove another
fertile source of disagreement between
the allies. The report of the plebi-
scite commission will be submitted
in the near future to the supreme
council. which will be obliged to hold
a special meeting to decide upon the
partition of the plebiscite territory.
Meanwhile the Germans have been
lying low with the obvious intention,
as one diplomat said today. "of plac-
ing the allies before this dilemma
either give Germany the whole of
Silesia or reduce the reparations fig
ure They calculate that the powers,
swayed between sympathy for Po-
land and their own selfish interests
will act on the latter and sacrifice
Polands claim to Silesia.'
however. that the allies are not united
in the matter. 1t is believed here
hat the ambiguity Of the plebisclee
result will furnish an excuse to the
Rome and London cabinets Tor pro
posing a compromise involving either
a partition of the industrial region.
or Observation-Disclosures or Polish
sovereignty with special regime Tor
the Germans and municipal autonomy
for the German towns.
The writer is able to say authorlta-
lively that any such proposals will
,e opposed by France. which Will
maintain that human beings cannot
be weighed in the balance against
sums of money.
Terms Of the Treaty.
According to the treaty. the new
frontier must be drawn in harmony
with the wishes of the Inhabitants
expressed by communes; therefore. il
the treaty were strictly enforced.
Germany would receive the iasricui-
turaI and Poland the industrial region
for geographic and economic necessi-
ties as provided in clause of the
annex to article So of the treaty.
1.-THE clause referred to reads: ION
the conclusion of the voting, the num-
ber of votes cast in each commune
will be communicated by the commits
sion to the principal allied and asso-
ciated powers, with a full report as
to the taking of the vote and rec
ommendation as to the line which
ought to be adopted as the frontier of
Germany in Upper Silesia. In this
recommendation regard will be paid
TO the wishes of the inhabitants as
shown by the vote. and to the geo
graphic and economic conditions of
the locality."l
This rule. moreover. has already
been applied in the Marienwerder. AL
lenstein and Schlcswig plebiscites and
it's application in the present case
will be strongly urged by France.
France, Furthermore, will insist that
the loss of the Silesian industries will
by no means keep Germany from pay
ing the reparations.
View of French Official.
A high official in the ministry of
foreign affairs said to the writer to-
day:
The reparations clauses were drawn
up with the idea that Upper Silesa
would become Polish. Full account
was taken of this probable amputa-
tion Of German territory. Even
without Upper Silesia the normal de-
velopmcnt of the other German coal
fields on the 1914 basis will give a
sufficient impetus to German exports
and Industries to insure the payment
of the annuities forCseen in the recent
Paris agreement
The writer is informed that the re-
port which the plebiscite commission
Will make to the supreme council will
show that the results of the plebscite
| are contradictory, according AS one
envisageS the whole territory or the
| agricultural regions separately, or
| even agglomerationS of working peo-
! pie and middle-class towns within the
| industrial region. The majority of
| the people, in the whole territory, in
| cluding 100000 German emigrants,
voted for Germany. The German vote
was 81 per cent. as compared with AZ
per cent for Poland. Germany's sue
| cess is said here to have been due to
| the German emigreS and to Polish
peasants living on the great German
| estates. who were influenced by their
| landlords to vote for Germany.
Poland's majority in the Industrial |
| regions was $4,000, but within this
| region there Sis antagonism between
! the Polish Workmen of the country
side, who are greatly in the majority,
and the neonle Of tho town; .,,ha,.e
| large number of German merchants
anu UnIcIa.s IcsI.c.