Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-08
BY FRANK H. SIMONDS.


rah's bombshen which burst
CAIing the Laval visit in Wash
ington have served to direct
American attention again to the
most considerable of the achievements
of the II points at Paris. For the
Polish Corridor, which has become the
Alsace-Lorraine Cf postwar Europe, was
created solely through the influence
of Woodrow Wilson and had been fore
cast in his famous formula for a peace
OF understanding in Europe.
During the past three years l have
twice visited this disputed AREA. First
in 1925 I stayed in Danzig and was
conducted by the representatives OF the
Free State, and later was the guest OF
the Prrssian governor Of what remains
of the Cd Prussian province OF west
Prussia staying at his residence in
Marienwerder. Last Winter, to balance
this exploration under German auspices,
I Travelled the corridor from Thorn to
Gdynia with an official Of the Polish
foreign Office.
Before 1925 the region between the
Netze and the sea on the west bank OF
the Vistula was Polish. In that year
the Teutonic order crossed the river,
conquered the Polish province OF Pome-
relia and DanZig and established them
selves. They remained in control until
Poland in accordance with the second
treaty of Thorn. It remained Polish
until the first partition, in 1772. 1t re-
turned to Poland by virtue of the
treaty of Versailles.
During the past 600 years, therefore,
the Poles have possessed the corridor
for something more than 300 years. the
Prussians for something less. During
all this time in this territory which
y. nOIf - riv1rn Nf
relia the Slavs have always outnum-
bered the Teutons, but the former have
been divided into Poles and Kashubes.
While the Germans insist upon a dis
tinction between the two tribes, the lin
guistic difference is slight, and In the
pre-war elections Poles and KaShubes
voted together and invariably carried
the parliamentary districts which today
| constitute the narrowest portion OF the
Corridor.
In the first Polish census of 1921
there were in Pcmerelia 1000 Poles
and Kashubes anj lie, 900 Germans. AT
the same time lhrle were in the DanZig
Free State 100000 Germans and $4,000
Poles. Since that time the Germans in
Pomerelia have dwindled to less than
100000 while the Poles have increased
enormously. Thorn, the capital, had
| 10000 Germans and 5000 Poles before
1000 Germans. Gdynia, the new port
had 200 inhabitants in 1919 and now
has $4,000, all Polish.
Return Of Netze Also Sought.
In addition to the Danzig Free State
and Pomerella the Germans demand
, the return of the Netze district, also
taken by Frederick the Great in the
first partition. This has roughly some
iYIh a NJ has hal
were Germans before the war but today
! 1t is doubtful ii more than $4,000 re-
main. Bromberg. for example, which
counted 10000 Germans and 10000
Poles in 1910, has now 10000 Poles
and 5000 Germans.
In the Polish Corridor itself, there
fore, there are today not more than
10000 Germans and somewhere be-
tween 100000 and 100000 Poles.
Thus even with the Danzig Free State
added the Poles would number 10000
against 100000 Germans. Revision of
the treaty would mean turning more
than million Poles and Kashubes-
and the Kashubes are fewer than 200,-
O0O-over to Germany. Where there
are today 10000 Germans living under
Polish rule there would, under Senator
Borah's program, be more than a mil
lion Slavs, 100000 of them Poles, placed
under German rlie
No nation wCuId voluntarily surren-
der million Of It's nationals to foreign
rule. This is the fact, utterly aside
from any question of the strategic or
economic character Of the territory on
which this population lives why do
you talk of territory?" M. Zeleski, the
foreign minister CT Poland, once asked
me. What we Poles think of is our
own people"
Nevertheless 1t is necessary to con-
slider the territorial aspect. One of the
major reasons for Wilson's advocacy of
the corridor was the fact that 1t was
the sole feasible means of providing
roland, nation with a population
greater than that of Spain and an area
In excess of that of the British Isles,
WIN an outlet to the sea. If the cor
aioor were restoi ed to Germany, Polish
access TO the sen would be over German
sou and Poland would be at the mercy
OF the Germans exactly as the German
communications with East Prussia are
at the mercy of the Poles now.
FOR Poland the suppression of the
corridor would mean the loss of
million Poles and all access to the
sea over Polish territory. On both
counts the proposal would be un-
thinkable. All Polish leaders, political
parties, regional groups are agreed
upon the fact that Poland must fipht
to the death rather than cede a
single inch of the corridor. No public
man or political party could survive
agreement to any such proposal of re-
vision. Poland is organized and pre-
pared to fight to the de ,th to hold
the. territory which was restored to
1T by reason of the insistence of an
American President.
over against this Polish case one
must set the German. Loss of the
corridor cut of something more than
two millions of Germans living in
East Prussia and the fragment of
west beyond the Vistula. left to the
Reich, from the Fatherland. The
erection of the Danzig Free State shut
of $4,000 more. In the corridor
upward of half million Germans
were assigned to Polish rule. But In
the corridor nearly $4,000 Germans
have already emigrated. They have
been replaced by an onrushing Slavic
wave.
Able to Shut OF Traffic.
In Danzig the laws of the free state