The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-01-27

nation. 1t cannot, therefore, main
tain order except by the use of our
bayonets, and it cannot commit the
Italian nation to any European set
tlement.
BY these same standards, the
French committee is entitled,
whatever the juridical formula, to
recognition. For it governs the en-
pire, it has armed forces fighting
loyalty and well, it represents the
r gam zed resistance within
France, it has, or is about to have,
plan and procedure to enable the
French nation to elect a perma-
nent government. If we recognize
it, it can make the necessary COM
mitments on the character and the
enforcement of the German armis-
tice.
The Polish government is unhap-
PLY not at present in this posi-
ton, and only by reaching an
agreement with Russia can Po-
land be re-esta blished The mex
orable fact is that Poland can be
liberated from the German occu-
patton only by the Red Army, and
only by the subsequent withdrawal
of the Red Army can Polish indie
pendence be restored.
Now it would be theoretically
possible for us to say to Soviet
Russia that unless it recognizes
this Polish government, as now
constituted, and unless it agrees
to re-establish the 1899 eastern
frontier, we shall tear up the Mos
COW agreements, stop lend-lease to
Russia and give her no postwar
economic assistance But with a
grim war in the Pacific as well
as in Europe still ahead of us, we
should be cutting off our own nose
to spite our face if we took any
such absurdly romantic doctrinaire
line. And we should seal the doom
of Poland For we should have
made Palond, now in the grip of
the German Army, the irreconcil-
able enemy of Russia as well.
There is no way out of the i'm
passe of Russian-Polish relations
except by recognizing frankly that
an independent. Poland can be re-
stored only if it is allied with Rus
STA. The proof is in this unalter-
able circumstances: Poland can live
without the territory east of the
Cruzou line; Poland cannot live
without access to the sea. There is
only one way that Poland can OBJ
tain access to the sea. That is by
annexing what the Germans con-
slider German territory. If Poland
annexes such territory, then Po
land must be able to defend it. Po-
land alone cannot defend its west
ern borders against Germany.
Great Britain and the United State
cannot defend the western borders
OF Poland. Only Russia can defend
them. Therefore Poland must come
to terms with Russia, to terms
which make Russia the principal
guarantor of the Polish-German
boundary. If Russia is not guar
antor of the western boundary, if
indeed Russia has mo. tai griev>
ance over her own boundary as
well, then there is no chance what
ever that Poland can maintain her
self against both Germany and
Russia.
This is the way things are and
there is no use pretending that we
can make them different by talk
ing big and making threats at the
Russians. They have power and
the primary responsibility in that
part of the world as we have in
regard to whether we will deal
with the present Bolivian govern
ment. We can quarrel with Rus
STA it we choose. But that will not
help Poland. For if Poland can
not reach an agreement and an
alliance with Russia, we can never
afford to involve ourselves in lie |
extreme danger of letting Poland
annex German territory that she
would be unable to defend.
1t is, therefore, the vital inter-
est of Poland, and of the whole
cause, that a way be found by
which the Polish government be-
comes capable of settling with Rus.
STA.
One more point should be noted: