Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-02-08

The White House and the prir
as far back as 1886 had adopted I
policy of keeping from the public
information regarding many actions
of foreign nations which EVENTUAL!
led to catastrophe.
The explanation that the execu.
tive branch can not reveal matters
held in confidence by our represent.
atives abroad without the consent
Of the countries involved is, Of
course, valid. But there is little ex.
cuse for the high priests of oul
foreign policy concealing from the
public pertinent facts which affect
the lives of 140,o00.000 people who
are called to foot the bill.
Complaints Brushed Off
Until today there has not been a
single Government official who
agreed that the American people
have not been properly informed on
the conduct of American foreign
relations. Whenever enterprising
Congressman or newspaper report
ers managed to worm out some OF
the many secret agreements or ma
terial facts, responsible authorities
explained their deliberate silence by
saying premature publication would
have been against public interest.
In the rash of memories which
have appeared since VI day, some
revelations are made by those who
played an important role in our
government. Most of these person.
al histories, however, contain the
whole truth, although the writers
as a rule skip over certain pertinent
matters because they do not suit
their own purpose.
An exception to this heretofore
general rule is Arthur Bliss Lane, a
foreign service officer who served
the United States for some 80 years
in many countries throughout the
world and who was American Am
bassador to Poland from 1914 to
1947. Mr.. Lane resigned his high
post in order to tell the American
people the true story Of Poland's
sellout for the sake of expediency.
His book, IT Saw Poland Betrayed
was published last week.
Says ENJOYS Kept in Dark
The former Ambassador to Poland
made a revelation in his preface
which is bound to startle those
outsiders who complained bitterly
about official secrecy. He says
bluntly that even American am
bassadors themselves were kept in
the dark about certain top-level
commitments regarding the coun-
tries to which they were assigned
as American plenipotentiaries.
I'm my concluding chapter,
writes Mr.. Lane, II have stressed
the essential importance Of keeping
the public informed as to interna.
tional relationship before these re-
lationships reach a critical stage
Yet, If the public has been insult
fciently advised of foreign relations
the reader may well wonder why the
United States Ambassador to Po-
land was not advised by his own
Government of the commitments
which had been made and were
being made in regard to Poland.
Such Observation-Disclosures deliberate
or not-are inexcusable."
There were rumblings in Wash
ington soon afer President Roose-
welt returned from Teheran In 1913
that the conference had done more
than reach a military understand
ing, and that among other things
Poland was part of the price paid
by the heads of the two great west
ern denocracies to keep Russia CO.
operating militarily In the war
against Germany. After that secret
agreement was reached the U. S.
S. r. proceeded to take over Poland
by Machiavellian methods.
Soviet Plot Indicated
Mr.. Lane speaks about the murder
of several thousand Polish officers
at Katyn. At the time when the story
was revealed by Prime Minister
Stains former associate-Adolt
Hitler-the Russians pretended to
be indignant at it and broke off re-
lations with the Polish government
in exile because it had the "effront-
cry" to ask for an investigation by
the International Red Cross.
Mr.. Lane gives all the circumstan-
tial evidence leading to the conclu-
sion that the Soviet deliberately
planned the destruction Of those
among the Polish officers who were
strong nationalist and who would
have made it difficult for Moscow to
carry out its plans to annex the
Polish republic.
BY the same token and for the
same purpose the Russian high
command chat is to say, Mr.. Stain
HIMSELF caused the underground
army led by Gen. Dor Komorowski
to open an attack against the Ger
man forces in Warsaw at a time
when a powerful Soviet army was
only within 7 miles Of the heart
of the city and could have destroyed
German resistance in no time. But 1t
refused to bulge and also refused
to permit the use of its airflelds for
American British shuttle bombing.
Gen. Boris army was destroyed.
Tens of thousands OF Warsaw citi-
zens were killed and the city was
reduced to shambles. Mr.. Lane is
telling a story which is well-known,
but he reveals from conversations
and comments. which have come to
his attention that the whole coup
vas MANNED in order to facilitate