The Wilmington morning star., 1947-11-08
Odyssey Ends
Nv ANNE O'HARE MCCORMICK

StaniSlSW MikOia]cZyk neeQeu no us
euise but a pair of dark glasses in his tllght
from Warsaw to Berlin because ne LOOKS
like any farmer you would meet on Tie
roads of Poland or in the eastern part OF
Germany that is now settled by Poles. NOT
were the glasses needed except for the gov
eminent police, for wherever he went ne
was among friends. A stocky little man,
clear-eyed, slow-spoken, awkward in his
he is so typical that his odyssey
dramatizes the lot of the majority OF MS
countrymen as we'll as his own.
Mikolajczyk is not a Paderewski, the
renowned artist and great gentleman whose
eloouent voice became the voice of Poland
after the First World War. He is not a SOL
der on horseback like Pilsudski, whose
sturdiest opponent he was in the Sem the
old general and his "colonels" tried to ST.
'lence in the stormy struggles between the
wars. He lacks the charm of Slkorskl ana
the romantic character OF the LEGENDARY
Polish patriot, invincible defender OF lost
causes.
Mikolajczyk is the Poland OF the peas,
ant, the Flooding, poor, resistant Poland
that has endured through many subJuga-
tons. Whether he could have played a more
astute and skilful political game during ms
two-year fight for majority rule is a ques-
LlOn WHICH 1lllOS d j. dlloWGA AL III NNPNA
ence of the n~eighboring states. Thu Oppose
ton put up by Mikolajczyk and his follow
ers in Poland was stronger than elsewhere
and for a time seemed to have a chance
of succeeding.
But the story is the same in all the
countries within the Soviet orbit. Inc par,
ties representing the peasants, and that
means the bulk of the population, offered
the stoutest resistance to Communist con-
troll. Everywhere, therefore, their leaders
have been marked for liquidation. Petkov OF
Bulgaria is executed. The agrarian leaders
in Yugoslavia are imprisoned or in exile.
In Hungary the Stockholders, voted into
power by the majority, have been super
seeded by the Communist minority. In Ru-
mania Juliu MANU- is in the dock, doomed
before the mock trial started.
In every case the twofold crime of these
leaders is, first, that they are the spokes-
men for the majority, and, second, that they
have collaborated with the United States.
The voice of the majority must be silenced
by governments that could not rule by the
vote of the people, that could not rule in
any case, indeed, save in the cold shadow OF
Russian power. And in the new "collabora-
ton trials" the defendants are not the
friends of Hitler. Often, as in Rumania, the
prosecuting governments contain members
who served the NaZis as o~bedlently as they
serve Moscow. 1t is those who upheld the
Allied cause who are accused of "conspira-
cy." They are guilty of being friends OF
America. In one of the most fantastic
turnabouts in history, we see the govern
ments of former enemy states condemnlng
Western Allies. More, we see governments
under the orders of one Ally convict as
traitors those who "collaborated" with the
other Allies. We see the United States on
trial in the persons of Petkov, Manu- and
Mikolajczyk.
The Polish peasant leader is the last
to give up the fight. His flight marks the
end of open opposition in Poland. The peas
ants of Eastern Europe are now mute and
leaderless. The Manu- trial, the first since
the Balkan treaties were ratified, constitutes
a clear violation of Article 3 OF the human
ian peace treaty. This instrument, signed
by all the great powers, not only guarantees
but imposes free speech, free elections and
therefore the right of the opposition to ex-
press itself. Manu- will go down defylng hps
Judge and their competence to Judge MN.
Probably Washington and London WILL pro-
test against the conduct OF the trial. the
pre-ordained verdict and the violation of
the treaty. But there the case will rest.
The first chapter in the Organization" OF
the Soviet, security zone' is closed.
The effort to install democratic regimes
has failed. From now on legitimate oppo-
|sition will 60 underground, and 1t Will be
as ineffective as such movements must be
in a police state. The peasant leaders have
shown great courage-courage unto death
in many cases-but hopeless heroism has its
limits, and people VIII live free, well fed
and safe from the knock on the door at
night cannot expect other nations to die
for freedom unless there is some chance
of attaining it.
The chance now lies only in SUPPORT
of the struggle to maintain freedom in the
countries which are still open to support,
The turning of the political tide is clearly
visible in Western Europe. But the currents
moving westward must be very strong to
Eastern Europe also to cause the Soviet
strategists to throw away caution and act
as if they were losing a race against time
New York Times