Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-08
FRENCH CAN'T PERSUADE
POLES TO YIELD CORRIDOR
Borah Has Ri ght Idea About Winning
German Good Will, But War Alone
Can Change Boundaries.

estates are heavily mortgages and de-
pend on vast subsidies from the Reich
to keep going. But at the frontiers are
waiting q vast Polish population ready
to take up the land and able to farm
1t successfully because of their low
standard of living. And East Prussia.
like Danzig, is thus in deadly peril.
In fact, GermaniSn itself, beyond the
Vistula, is actually threatened. If the
Polish Corridor endures permanently,
nothing is more likely than that, with
the passing of time, the pacific pene-
tration of the Poles, both into Danzig
and into East Prussia, must take place.
high birth rate, a low standard OF
living, great land hunger-these are
the factors which count for the Poles.
Thus the Germans are seeking the re-
turn of the corridor not merely to re-
lease the German minority or to restore
the unity of the Reich, but, beyond all
else, to prevent the gradual extinction
of Germanism in all the region beyond
the Vistula and in Danzig.
Corridor POionized.
"Give us 20 years and we shall have
nothing to fear" Ramon Dmowski said
at Paris during the peace conference,
and when talked with him in Warsaw
last January, he said smilingly, I'VE
need only 10 years more"
Every week the Poles are winning
battle in all this eastern region. Up
ward of 100000 Germans have already
departed from Pomerelia, Posen and
Upper Silesia. Today the corridor is
thoroughly Polonized and a plebiscite
would give a Polish majority of 2 or
to /. Tomorrow the flood may break
into Danzig. Beyond lies the prospect
of the eventual absorption of East Prus-
STA. The Poles are winning In peace q
struggle which could hardly be success
full If arms were employed. After 700
years of intermittent but tremendous
effort the Germans are faced with the
possible extinction of German civiliza-
ton east of the POLISH Corridor.
But it is necessary to deaI with one
clear misapprehension on the part OF
Senator Borah, one shared widely IN
this country-namely. that IN some we5
France could prevail upon Poland u
return the corridor to Germany peace
fully. Nothing Is less accurate. France
could no more persuade Poland to turn
over the million Poles Of the corridor
to Germany than the British. for ex-
ample, could persuade us to return
Southern California to the Mexicans.
Whether France supports Poland or
not. Poland will fight to the bitter END
to hold the corridor. But to defeat
Poland Germany would have to return.
and, having rearmed and conquered
Poland, would be able at once to unite
with Austria, overwhelm Czechoslovakia
and set up Mitteleuropa Of rsore than
eighty millions OF people In the race
of such a menace France would sink
to the level of a second-class state.
Poland Holds Upper Hand.
It is Poland, and not France, which
holds the upper hand in this question.
As long as the Poles are resolved to de-
fend their present frontiers France
must support them. She cannot afford
to permit them to be overwhelmed. II
the United States and Great Britain
had ratified the tripartite guarantee
treaty Wilson and Lloyd George gave
Clemenceau at Paris, French security
would not have been involved with the
corridor question. Now it Is too late.
Senator Borah is perfectly right IN
not voluntarily accept the present Sit
uation. He Is wrong, however. in sup
posing that the French could In any
way influence the Poles to resign their
present frontiers. Exactly as In the case
of Alsace-Lorraine, only war can change
the corridor boundaries. But such
war would involve all of the east OF
Europe from the Baltic to the Black
Sea, Russia, Rumania, Hungary. Czecho-
slovakia, and Jugoslavia would GER
tainly be drawn in, and eventually Italy
and France, as well.
1t is perfectly true, as Borah asserts,
that a peace of good will between Ger
many and her former enemies is out
of the question while the corridor
stands. but it is equally true that only
war can bring about a change in the
corridor. And while the Germans hail
the Borah statement. the Poles, Czechs
and French see In it dangerous In
element to war.