THE CITY OF DANZIG.

NOTES OF A VISIT.

BY A. F. E. STEWART.

The staitling rumour of the Polish intention to seize Danzig comes as another reminder of the many buried mines in the Peace Treaties that lie ready to explode at anv moment with devastating results. It will be recalled that after the war the newly-constituted Poland demanded access to the sea, access that could only bo given by dismembering Germany. Poland's natural outlet was the port of Danzig, at the mouth of the Vistula, and so a strip of Prussian Pomerania, about fifty miles wide, following the left bank of the river and including Danzig, was to have been handed over to Poland. Tho anomaly of handing over a population ninety-six per cent. German to Polish rule, in the name of self-determination, was too glaring, arid so as a final compromise it was decided to make Danzig and the surrounding territory into a Free City under the aegis of the League of Nations and to leave the rest of the " Corridor " in Polish hands. On January 10, 1920, the new State was inaugurated. It comprised an area of 700 square miles and a population of 385,000, of whom 231,000 lived in Danzig itself. That by the way of preface to this story of a visit to this interesting port. Io has always seemed to rne to be a mistake to arrive at an ancient seaport in a smelly train, slinking furtively through miles of evil suburbs, and so, having occasion in 1925 to visit East Prussia, I took steamer from Copenhagen to Danzig. Lack of funds compelled a passage steerage, and gave the doubtful privilege of consorting with some hundreds of Polish emigrants who were returning from America for a holiday. The shipping companies run cheap transatlantic excursions to enable these people to take part in the extensive Easter celebrations which are a feature of Polish life.

Entering the Port

The first day on board was passed in attempts to understand what the emigrants called " American," and was, in fact, a blend of Middle-Western oaths and Polish. Next morning Hel was in sight, a little town at the end of the long, sandy promontory that shelters the Gulf of Danzig. Rounding Hel, a stretch of low coast appeared on the horizon, relieved by mountainous, pine-clad sanddunes, except where the mouths of the " Dead Vistula " broke through. In olden times the main channel of the istula flowed through Danzig, but now the river has taken a new course, flowing into the Frische Haff. or fresh-water harbour, a bar-bound lagoon some thirty miles further east. The old channel is kept open by constant dredging, and being icefree at all times it makes Danzig one of the great ports of the Baltic. Just after passing Hel a grey smudge of smoke on the western horizon showed where a Polish warship was heading for Gdynia, the new naval base which the Poles had to construct at great expense owing to the refusal of the independent State of Danzig to allow its harbour to bo used as a base during the operations against the Soviet in 1920. Drawing nearer, the shipping and cranes of Xeufahrwasser loomed, while a few miles to the right the pretty timbered houses, the pavilions and bathing boxes of Zopott. the popular holiday resort, made a picture for all the world like the New Brighton Beach.

The steamer berthed at Neufahrwasser, and I was not sorry to leave my drunken, dirty fellow-passengers and mount a tram to take a fourpennv ride into the heart of Danzig. The route lay along the miles of wharves and through the suburb called Now Scotland, a reminder of the clays when an independent Scotland used to traffic on the Continent and her sons to sell their swords to the warring nobles of Europe. In 1640 there were 30..000 Scots in Poland; to-day there are five million Jews. Vanished Glories.

At the time of my visit the city had a dilapidated, vanislied-glories air. Things had been allowed to slide during tlie war and were not yet normal. The city is built mainly of red brick and yellow sandstone, and is full of examples of the ornate architecture of the Renaissance. Palaces of merchant princes and guilds carry one back to the days of the Hanseatic League, when adventurers like Paul Beneke levied toll of all shipping not carrying the llansa flag. Much valuable booty was brought to Danzig by these privateers, including the Lord Mayor of London, who was ransomed for a goodly sum. and Hans Mending's great painting of " The Last Judgment," which hangs in Ihe cathedral. This vast and cloomy building is the largest brick building in the world, and the fifth largest church. It is jostled on all sides by quaint old houses which hang out over the narrow lanes and make it impossible to appreciate the fine exterior. To do this one must climb the ancient ramparts to Steffan's Park, from which the great Marienkirchc can be seen, a gracious giant brooding over the city. The old harbour is another picturesque scene. Ihe red-roofed gables of the tall old warehouses jut out over the water. Great barges laden with grain and ore fioni W; irsaw and Krakow jostle each other on the turbid waters, while busy gangs on the jetties load up the empty barges with machinery and fertilisers for the return trip. Huge floes of timber from the Carpathians slide down with the current, each with a neat little shack on board, in which the forester lives during the six-weeks' trip. The scream of the saws in the timber mills adds its note to the busv scene.

Politics in Danzig

Every afternoon the citizens used to crowd into the restaurants. Having accomplished the serious task of consuming their " Danziger Allerlei," as the lui-o mixed grill is called, they would fill their tankards with " Dunkel " and drink to the confusion of ihe " confounded I'olaks."

Listening to the excited talk one could not but be aware of the divergence of opinion. On the one hand were those who, loathing Polish inefficiency, longed for reunion with the Fatherland; on 'the other the hard-headed business men who urged an understanding with Poland, Danzig's natural hinterland. It would have bc/ii well for Danzig if horse-sense had prevailed Instead, the city put every obstacle in the way of Polish development. In exasperation the Poles decided to connect Gdynia directly with Poland by a new railway and to build there a great modern harbour so that they need no longer depend on Danzig. With the aid of French capital this task has now been completed, and the battle between Gdynia and Danzig for the trade of Poland has begun in earnest. In such a struggle the new port is naturally at a disadvantage, and the impetuous Poles, disappointed at the slow growth of Gdynia's trade, are now talking of using sterner measures with her rival.

Danzig has only her own folly to thank for her predicament. She strove to forbids the bails of Poland's marriage with the Sea.