The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-05-31
PRUSSIANS VS RUSSIANS

RUSSIANS VS RUSSIANS
 It must be remembered that the Prussian militarist, living on the other side of Poland from Russia, is not pure German. He IS also a Russian-Polish Slav. He has dominated the German army for years, just as his vast landed es- tates have dominated the econ- omics of Prussia and Poland. He is equally prosperous on either side of the line. Prince Hohen- lohe, a Pole, who married the suepdaughter of Tony Riddle, ex- ambassador to Poland, is also re- lated to the Prussian nobility The vast Polish acres of Count Count Jerzy Potocki, former Po- lsh ambassador in Washington, did not suffer when Hitler oc- cupied Poland, because his brother became a gauleiter under the Ger mans. He was perfectly at home among the Prussians.
 The Prussians and the Polish nobility understand each other, are Interchangeable. This is why Stalin began two or three months after Pearl HarbOr to make his views on Poland ab- solutely clear. It was in Feb ruary 1942 that Foreign Minister Molotoy came to London to urge a second front. Russia was then in desperate straits. The Red Army was fighting at Stal- ingrad. it's back to the wall. But even then. though MolotOv came hat in his hand, he made it clear that Russia must have Poland. up to the Curzon Line, restored.
 He asked for the same thing in Washington, as reported in this column on June 8, 1942. He begged and implored Roosevelt to start a second front, but he also made it quite clear Russia was yielding nothing on Poland. Mo- lotov got neither. We were not ready to start second front, and though the British were quite will ing to agree on Poland-in fact did sign a memorandum on it. Roosevelt asked Molotov to post pone any agreement with the United States until after the war. American tradition, he said, did not countenance secret agree ments.
 RUSSIA'S FRIENDLY"
 NEIGHBORS
 But year ago when Chur- chill flew to Moscow for con- ferences with Stalin, once again it was made clear that what Rus sia wanted was a series of friend ly governments, especially Poland along her border.
 This is the general back ground of the Polish controversy. This background does not neces- sarily condone the arrest of the 16 Poles, the Red Army's dog in-the- manager policy in Berlin, or various other Soviet mistakes. But it does show how strongly the Russians feel-just as strongly as we did when Wilson sent General Pershing into Mex ico to arrest and kill a lot more than 16 followers of Gen. Panch0 Villa. .....
 Villa, incidentally. had killed sixteen Americans. The Russians also claim that the sixteen ar- rested Poles had killed 100 mem- bers of the Red Army. Nobody from this distance can get the straight of the controversy any more than we can understand the intricacies of Mexican politics - except for this fact:
 It is know that British Am bassador Sir Archibald Clark Kerr, while in San Francisco, told British Foreign Minister Eden that at least three of the 16 Poles were questionable Fas- cists. lone is reputed to be a British agent now disavowed by LOndon).
 Kerr also told Eden he thought the missing tl6 Poles were a poor issue on which to make a showdown fight. Kerr even tried to persuade Soviet Hating U. s. Ambassador Aver