The Washington herald., 1921-06-05
PRESENT

2
ounce taken on the burden Of
France ON her own frontiers. when
Germany regains her strength.
But, and the fact IL capital. Ger
many clnnot and will not accept the
Polish settlement. II an accident Of
war should bring an American de-
feat and. as Zimmerman in his no.
torious proposal suggested, Califor-1
mia, New Mexico. Texas and Arizona
should be returned to Mexico, can
any one Imagine the American ma
ton accepting the decision? 1 am
not suggesting the situations are in
trinsically Identical. Polish rights
to Posen, West Prussia and upper
silesia are. something far more s1l-
idly founded on present ethnie con-
ditions than the Mexican title TO
certain American states, but the
German feeling In the present situ-
alton Is precisely what the Ameri-
can would be In the instance have
suggested.
Lose TraAftiessi Cities-
Prussia remains the dominant
factor in. Germany and will remain.
The greatness Of Prussia was found
ed on the seizure of Siiesia and the
partition of Poland. Berlin, the
Prussisn as well as the German cap
ital. Is an open city barely 100 miles
from the New Polish boundary
post. SEsst Prussia is divided from
PomersniA by the Danzig corridor
and DanzIg. one of the truly great
German cities is lost to Germany.
while konIgsberg. which has a Pc
culiar hold upon Prussian sentiment
is now the capital of an enclave in
slav territory.
Now British policy, as contrssted
with french. has always looked at
the question of peace. France has
sought and seeks security. B.itsin.
secure within her islands. aims at
such adjustments In Europe as will
avoid any war and above all. any
war which may affect Britain. a
century and a quarter ago British
policy consented to the last parti-
tion of Poland. because II was a de-
tail In obtaining Prussian and Aus
trian assistance in the war against
the French revolution. which was a
menace to British security. At ParIs
two years ago, Britain was ready to
make any sacrifice OF Polish inter
ests to avoid the certainty Of a later
German challenge to the Versailles
settlement.
War L. Inescapabie.
The American must clearly grasp
the essential difference in objective
of the Briton and Of the Frenchman,
to see the truth in the latest Euro
pean AFFAIR. Britain desires to avoid
another continental war. so perilous
to her commerce and industry. In
any war between Germany and
France she would almost inevitably
be dragged in, as she was before,
because a victorious Germany at Ca
lais and Antwerp would be a deadly
peril for her. But such a war is al
most inescapable, il Poland be
erected into a state, occupying most
il not all Of the truly Polish lands
which were stolen by the russians
under Frederick the Great and have
been held in political servitude and
against the will of their inhabitants
ever since.
Recall British policy in the Bal
kans and the parallel Is illuminst-
ing. The British under Beacon field
were always ready to turn back
Christian populations to Turkish
butchers. because British policy
aimed at restraining Russian ad-
vance upon Constantinople and the
Christian population of the Balkans.
being mainly Sia"s, seemed to Brit
ish eyes certain to become tools Of
Russian ambition. British policy In
the Baltic today is quite like British
policy In the Near East in the days
of the congress of Berlin.
At Paris the British were ready
and eager to make Poland the sac
rifice essential to insure , going
peace. They fought both the F-e nch
and the Americans successfully.
seeking reductions of the territories
assigned to Poland, because they
saw in such assignments the Ger
tainty OF a later German war. which
would involve the rest of Europe.
almost ineluctably. And they were
just as ready to sacrifice Poland to
Russia, when the red armies ap-
preached Warsaw and European
stability seemed endangered by the
bolshevist invasion.
Willing to Sacrifice Feles-
French policy, on the contrary,
supported the Poles in all cases, lot
primarily because there was a pro-
founder French appreciation of the
imminent justice of Polish claims
but because Poland was q factor, q
vital factor in French security. As
for the Americans. they wandered
between the two policies, on the
whole seeking larger concessions
for the Poles than were allowed.
because Mr.. Wilson adhered to fis
Il points. Of which self-determ.na-
tion was one OF the nearest 20 his
heart In the end. il was Lloyd
George who prevailed upon the
President to reduce the Polish cor
ridor and provide a plebiscite for
upper Silesia, originally assigned to
the Poles.
Today, in upper Silesia. British
policy follows the same course. 1t
will necessarily continue TO follow
IL. The more that is taken from
Germany. irrespective of the moral
claims Of Germany to it, the more
Germany is. when she becomes
strong, to seek to recover the lost
ground. But such an effort spells a
new European war. Therefore, the
British deem it the wise course to
take as little as possible fro-h Ger
many. Even the return ot Alsace-
Lorraine to France found British
unoficial opposition before the ar
mistice and finds present critics to-