New York Tribune Poland Barrier In The East 12october 1919

GermanyAccept Again

Teutons Not Expected to Peace Terms as Dictated at Versailles After Regain-

Turns Toward the East

Poland, the Barrier in the East

ing Strength By Frank H. Simonds WITHIN the last week *we have passed th£ first an¬ niversary of the date on which Germany, by her application for peace, based on the fourteen points of Mr. Wilson, actually recognized the fact of defeat. In less than a month we shall pass the first mile¬ stone since the armistice definitely

established the surrender of Ger¬ many under conditions

as

completely

those France accepted after the fall of Napoleon. It is possible, then, to make a brief estimate of the developments of a ¦year, with a certain advantage of impossible. perspective hitherto A year ago it was the belief in America, at least, conceivably in certain quarters in Great Britain, that peace could be made on such terms as to open the "way for mu¬ tual understandings among the na¬ tions which had fought through the war. Frequently in American jour¬ nals, at least occasionally in Brit¬ ish, one encountered the phrases, "peace of understanding," "recon¬ ciliation," "a healing peace." Can it be said honestly or candidly that there is even the same shadowy prospect of reconciliation now, so far as Germany is concerned, that existed a year ago? It seems to

disadvantageous

me

as

not.

Germany Ha9 Emerged

From Shadow of Crises Yet in that same period Germany has passed through several crises and emerged from the shadow of various perils, contrary to the ex¬ pectation of many. We are reasonably certain now that Germany will not fall to Bolshevism, become a centre of anarchy comparable with that existing in Russia. Nor is it less plain that Germany is totally .nlikely to dissolve into those comonent parts which were fused into ational unity by Bismarck nearly alf a century ago. All of which means that after de~"e*n, after temporary eclipse, a

-"¦owerful Germany must emerge -f«*>m contemporary clouds. Ger¬ many has not been destroyed, she has not committed suicide, she reruins a nation of more than sixty millions of people, in the heart of

Europe,

with

tion and

a

genius for organiza¬

determination to live which must be reckoned with in a future not too distant. Precisely as France after her disasters of 1870 and her hideous domestic 'ragedy of the Commune in 1871 rallied and remade herself, Germany seem3 now certain to restore her old strength. Ti\A Germany that we shall pres¬ ently have to deal with, then, will be in population, aside from Russia, the greatest single nation of the Conti¬ nent. She will ha%*e at least twenty million more people than France; she will be, if she decides to fol¬ low old policies and ambitions: cuit« as dangerous as she was in the past, because, if she has somewhat declined in size, Russia, her old rival and enemy, has disappeared as 8 potential foe. Now, the great question the work has at once to ask, since German re¬ habilitation is approximately cer¬ tain, is obvious: Will this restore«: Germany accept the peace made a' Versailles in good faith.will sh< consent to live under its terms? O; will she observe it only while she ii constrained and endeavor to und« its provisions the moment the foro behind those provisions is relaxed In sum, can the Treaty of Versaille; become the basis of a reconciiiatioi between the German people an« the recent foes, as the Treaty o a

-

Par;:-«, following Napoleon's fall, wa the basis for ultimate adjustmen between the French and their neigh bors? People Won't Accept Treaty of Versatile* The answer is, it seems to me, a

emphatic and inescapable negativ« The German people cannot be c> .pected to accept the Treaty oí Vei «ailles, now or hereafter, except a H is steadily faced with force guai snteeing this treaty which make it Onwisfl to challenge it. Mor« »?er, nothing is more certain tha

that this force will

not

endure,

alrtsady beginning to crumble. united State«,

In ti in Great Britaii

there i» an ever-growing protest, w .gaiwet the treaty on moral ground Primarily, but against it as a do« Oment which impose«, a eontinuin borden upon the American and Bri ¦k publics, compels them to mail

tain

a

against

Allies Must Stand Guard on Vis¬ tula to Enforce Their De¬ mands or Give Up Poland to Beaten Foe

state of armed preparation some

infringement by Ger¬

French troops to maintain it and 1 east a powerful neighbor, ready to would abolish all hope of any per- join with France if the German manent return to international should set out on his old pathways amity. again. A Polish state of 30,000,000 inhabitants solidy allied with France Poland Not Granted containing conditions which pre¬ is a very real insurance against Full Rights by Treaty clude conciliation, understanding, a German aggression. restoration of amicable remuons be¬ But at this point French and Brit¬ contrast the Polish arrange¬ By tween the German people and the ment was not only an act of justice ish policies divide. The British rec¬ rest of the world. It is a treaty but a grudging and incomplete act. ognize the necessity of standing with which demanded and demands con¬ Poland did not receive all the lands France in any German assault upon tinuing force on the part of the con¬ stolen from her by Prussia in the the west. The eastern frontiers of querors of Germany to preserve it several partitions. She did not re- Belgium and France are the eastern intact. Up to this point I think ceive Danzig, to which her claim frontiers of Britain. But if Britain there is general agreement on all was far stronger than the Jugo¬ is ready to stand with Prance and sides, on the part of critics and de¬ slav claim to Fiume, which has up¬ for France at the Rhine, she finds fenders of the document alike. Both set the whole equilibrium of the herself less willing to stand with recognize that Germany, the Ger¬ world. If some thousands of Ger¬ France and Po!an«i on the lower man people, can not and will not ac¬ mans were placed under her rule, Vistula or the upper Oder. ¡-"he sees cept the terms, that the dream of a not less than 3.500.000 were given to with real anxiety and open protest year ago of a peace of reconciliation Czecho-Slovakia without any debate. the development of a French Con¬ has been shattered. Moreover, the Germans in many in¬ tinental policy which aims at pro¬ stances w*ere the descendants of col¬ tecting those states, particularly that France Foe » onists sent into Polish lands by the Polish state called into existence by To Revolt Terms Prussian conquerors. To protest at the Treaty of Versailles, but forevet But from this point of agreement giving the Sarre Basin to France dependent upon outside aid for ex« the opinion of various fractions of and at the same time argue against istence. the world travels in divergent direc¬ giving Posen or West Prussia to Eastern Problems Poland is to fly in the face of all tions. It is asserted by some that Cause a Division the German people will never ac¬ logic and all consistency. the loss cept of Alsace-Lorraine Yet'the truth was not less plain, American liberals, taking colof which was not only inevitable bul into was openly expressed by Americans from British, are echoing their a fatal revival of the age-long military venture now, given the re-, the French coal mines; they delib- Sarre Basin issue, an issue expli¬ in Paris.finds its echo in was accepted by the German note with increasing insistence. They gov hostility between the Slav and the turn of Alsace-Lorraine to France, erately sought to paralyze French cable not as a circumstance of any American journals now.that itmany ernment as a condition antecedenl was are accusing France of militaristic Teuton. The old Polish issue, since the Franco-German frontier is industry. Moreover, they, in their ¡French imperialistic sentiment, but to any armistice. It is asserted b] silenced only while the three states now restricted to the narrow gap be- turn, forcibly annexed nearly half of as a detail in the reparation justly unwise to return Polish lands to and imperialistic policies. But why? many others, with even greater em which had partitioned Poland re¬ tween the Rhine and the Moselle. this Poland, because it insured future Mainly because France is territory, which had long been demanded of the Germans for their war, seeking phasis, that the Sarre Basin pro mained friendly, was reopened, with An effort to reopen the question of French, permanent German hostility, and when crimes in Northern France. contentedly such, visions will result in a new Franco But on the same basis any return of to guarantee the integrity of Poland, deadly consequences when the war Alsace-Lorraine, then, would be to Napoleon fell.». German antipathy, will create i had stolen property can be criticised and of a Polish 6tate created under the reestablish an Anglo-French combiactually been lost. But the Sarre Basin is not a con¬ Germany Will Hope new Alsace-Lorraine. Finally, it i all application of the right of self- application of the v-ry principl« ennation, invite a new blockade, risk siderable area; it is little more than To Retain Silesia determination becomes dangerous, thusiastically affirmed by the liberargued that the provisions of th.« America Kept Odds all the old perils of 1914--18. Fur¬ 12 per cent of the area of Alsaceeven and inadvisable. To do justice als of the world one year ap;«>. Vet treaty reestablishing Poland and de Against the Teutons who can believe that By contrast, if the American Senate accepts Lorraine; it has no such history a3 ther, it was these same liberals who, in to Poland was to create a permanent of priving Germany West Prussia But for the Russian revolution the Anglo-French-American treaty bound Metz and Strasbourg to Germany will accept the provisions source of defiance of their principles, eucceedPosen and probably portions of Si this coalition of German resentment, but France, Britain and of insurance, there would be an France. Moreover, French annexation of the Treaty of Versailles which was it therefore to do jus¬ j ed in persuading Lloyd George to lesia and East Prussia make an; wrong Russia, aided by Italy, would have American opposition to reckon with is predicated upon a favorable plebi¬ divide East Prussia from Pomer- tice? It is in the Polish detail that use his influence to have the neck of but enforced German submissio: defeated Germany. When Russia also. In so far as Alsace-Lorraine scite fifteen years hence, and if the ania, exclude Danzig from German the so-called liberal argument, Crit¬ i the new Poland narrowed so that impossible. While these three con fell, America took the place vacated is concerned, therefore, I cannot be¬ vote went against France, if in the there could be no question that Ger¬ ditions are most frequently hear by limps most awkwardly. the Slav and restored the fatal lieve that the new German policy mean time French and German re¬ boundaries and by giving the Poles icism, The reason is patent. American many could encompass it with her in American and British comments odds against the Teuton. It was then will imitate the old. lations had improved, as«I feel sure Posen make Berlin almost a fron- liberalism derives its Poland was the plain prodthe French and Continental près established inspiration anc lingers. Nor is it even as likely that the they may, the whole difficulty might tier town? And it will be the more most of that Germany uct of their principles, but t« laj patently ideas its from British lib¬ generally sees Germany bound i could not even at the most Germans will renew their challenge be compromised. To attack France intolerable, this new situation, if eralism. But British the end to revolt from a situatio: favorable hope, ii they renounce the conclusion, which followed inevitably upon their pre moment, to conquer the to Britain. Their fleet is gone, their as a great power, however productive the inhabitants of upper Silesia, as far more practical. liberalism To commi' created by the forcible seizure o Slav, the Latin and the Anglo-Saxon. commercial navy has been taken of disputes in the future, the Sarre seems sure, vote to become Poles, Britain to a of maintaining mises. all of her colonies, all but a smai Now, the war over, German policy over by their victorious enemies. Basin does not seem to me certain or depriving the Germans of one of the integrity ofpolicy That we shall have war one da*« Poland the against per over British. fraction, by must some time begin to pick up They have neither colonies nor naval even likely to become the basis for the most valuable mineral districts Poland seems to me certain, manent German menace r seemed Now, in this welter of opinion the loose threads. It will find stations. To begin commercial exist¬ a war between Germany and France, in Europe or the world. cannot conceive of any undesirable in venture wholly seems to me it is possible to arriv itself in the manj presence of certain ence again they must give bonds since the stake itself is out of all Perceiving this fact, the liberal quarters, some of which had cpenlj nation.and Germany will }>«-¦ p »werat certain reasonable conclusion facts. Doubtless German sentiment to the British for behavior. to the risks of war, and elements in Great Britain early as¬ advocated British good proportion neutrality when ful.consenting to the condition! Germany lost the last war becaut will for a long time protest against Nor can I see any basis for Ger¬ the possibilities of a peaceful and sailed the Polish programme of the was invaded and the de- created in the Vistula Valley. That Belgium she allowed herself to become ii the loss of Alsace-Lorraine, but any man hope that what they did not ac¬ satisfactory adjustment are by no Paris Conference. It had been struction of France was .threatened. France would be involved as the volved in three great rivalries. 1 attempt to reconquer these prov¬ complish in the last war, when they means non-existent. that Poland should have Dan¬ As a matter of policy the criticism protector of Poland, Britain as taking Alsace-Lorraine from Fran« inces would not alone insure imme¬ had many advantages, now lost, could There remains the whole set of agreed zig and a wide corridor on either is incomprehensible; as matter of fatally involved in the maintenance in 1870 she sinned against the ligl diate war with France, but also with be won in any later struggle. France of France, the United States if we and against a proud and determine Great Britain and even, conceivably, after the wars of Louis XIV and problems growing out of the disputes hank of the Vistula, including the ethics it is hardly defensible. become the guarantor of tj e Treaty between the Slavs and the The Teutons Danzig-Warsaw railway. thing Yet everything which has hapnation ; it was always certain th with the United States. was compelled to accept and Napoleon in new was almost signed, sealed and de¬ .pened in recent months indicates of Versailles and a party to the the expressed to-day no real reconciliation was possib The reason is plain. British policy British supremacy on the seas. That phase of the Polish question. It is livered when British protest pro¬ that Germany, bowing to the West¬ leag-ue of nations, is .-it least likely. while this wrong was unrighted; was hopelessly muddled in 1871 Germany must make the same sacri¬ here that it s«iems to me the possi¬ duced a sudden reversal by Lloyd ern decisions, holds herself rigidly But what is the alternative -to turn was always inevitable that, whi when Germany was permitted to fice seems to me equally plain. of German compliance with George, the corridor was narrowed, against the Eastern terms. She is back to German tyranny 4,000,000 bility France would never precipitate crush France and mutilate her, with¬ Sarre Basin Decision the Treaty of Versailles breaks Danzig was assigned to the league doing everything to make the plebi¬ Prussian Poles, to recant our d< clarawar to regain her provinces, Ge out British protest. The consequence *lown. It is not difficult to imagine of nations, while even after the scite in upper Silesia a farce, she tion in favor of ;< I rmination in many would always have to reck« was to bring Germany within strik¬ Opposed by Liberals the completeness of German de¬ treaty had been drafted and served is holding on in Danzig and even in general and our peaceful pledge in that with French hostility if she ev ing distance of the Channel, to give As to the Sarre Basin, here we feat and the absence of all basis for upon Germany its terms regarding the Baltic.provinces. Every expres¬ the matter of the Poles? In my became involved in any other a her precisely the military situation sion which comes from Germany in¬ judgment a reconciliation, a peace touch upon one of the contested ques- hopeful resumption of an Anglo-Ger¬ upper Silesia were modified. fair. which made the opening campaign tions. So-called man contest for sea supremacy will The reason was dicates that the common thought of of undei standing, a healii simple. Every Liberals in the In the same way Germany open of 1914 possible. Never has Great in due course lead the Germans to re¬ sensible Englishman knew that Ger¬ all Germans is to revise the Eastern possible between Germany and her challenged Britain on the sea; s Britain consented that a Continental United States and England proclaim sign both their old ambitions and many would never consent to a con¬ settlement, at the earliest moment, to old foes, between Germa!.y and not merely became a commerc power should menace her from Bel¬ that this part of the peace treaty is their ancient colonies, as did the dition which cut her country in two, destroy the Polish kingdom, to do it France, even on the has..-- of '. rival, using the seas with her ni¬ gium, but possession of Alsace-Lor¬ a fatal defect, insuring future wars. French a century ago. L rra ne a-d drove a wedge betw*een East Prus¬ even at the risk of another world possession of A chant fleet in the fashion her do: raine made the invasion of Belgium But it seems to me this is a gross ex¬ Nor is it less easy to believe that, sia and the main bulk of German war. the Sarre. provided France and inant sea power has always perm possible, and it has cost the British aggeration. Certainly forcible an¬ given the inextricable intermingling lands, put some hundreds of thou¬ But the Polish question is not sim- Great Britain will forsake the Poles ted, but she at one time underto nearly a million lives to restore the nexation, disguised or open, of the of British and French interests, sands of Germans (a minority, be it nl- and single. France has under¬ as both did a century .¦e;o at the to build a fleet to challenge t old condition of safety. inhabitants of this district would be which makes British defence of undei'stood) under Polish rule and taken her ancient role of protector Congress of Vienna. British and made planB openly If Germany undertakes to come in direct conflict with one of the France and of Belgium essential to un lid tiie work of Frederick the of the Poles. The Polish army is of¬ But this is just the sort of bardestroy the British Empire and : west again, nothing seems more cer¬ fourteen points and would be to re- British security, Germany will ac¬ Great and his successors in the East. ficered by Frenchmen; it has derived pain which made the Congress of place British by German hegemo tain than that she will have to face peat the action of Germany with re¬ cept the restoration of Alsace-Lor¬ And every sensible Englishman also its spirit from the French. For Vienna notorious and preserved the in Africa and in Asia. Britain as well as France. Nor can spect to Alsace-Lorraine. But the raine to France and seek through understood that if this arrangement Frai for French safety in Eu- Balkan disease until it poisoned the Finally, she was drawn, larg< she, if she does not invade Belgium, circumstances are totally different. peaceful rather than warlike means were imposed upon Germany it r« pe, se, it is an important circumstance whole system of Europe. That ¡1 i through her alliance with Austr hope to defeat France, a doubtful The Germans wantonly destroyed to arrive at 3ome settlement of the would require British äs weil as that Germany should have on the possible, that it is v.inevi¬ table if the United Sti cut of Europe and turn* its upon the small nations for whose existence it is in no small degree re« sponsible, must be patent. This is the direction British p ?y is tak¬ ing. This is the policy that is being more and more forcibly urged upon France by the Briti is the AN OFFICER of high rank in the July 10, but I am not at liberty to dis- [ trams run very irregularly till 6 o'clock, These policewomen always patrol in plate of soup, consisting of hot water, against the Bolshevik!, the more so as policy which is more re findw 7 v ty former Russian army, who had close my means of departure. To get but are more than. sufficient to meet; couples. They carry leaded rifles ar.