THE POLISH FRONTIERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 73, 26 March 1923, Page 4

THE POLISH FRONTIERS.

After a dispute which has lasted for over two years the difficult question of the Polish boundaries has been settled by the Council of Allied Ambassadors, acting in conjunction with the League of Nations, and a new protocol to the Versailles Treaty has been signed carrying out this decision. In the main the boundaries have been fixed in accordance with the treaty signed on July 12, 1920, between Russia and Poland, and those provisionally established between Poland and Lithuania will be maintained, except that Vilna is given to Poland and in return Lithuania is to have the important port of Memel. It was originally proposed that both Memel and Vilna should form independent autonomous states, but this suited none of the different States most concerned. In regard to Memel it was claimed that historically this region had always been Lithuanian, and geographically the port ought to belong to Lithuania. The Germans wanted it retained as part of Germany, and neither party to the dispute wanted it placed on the same footing as Danzig. The Memel River is to form the new boundary, and this

will give Lithuania a good outlet to the Baltic. The cession of Memel helped to settle the much more difficult question of Vilna. To the Lithuanians Vilna represented their largest town, their most important railway centre, and their destined capital. The Poles saw in it a Polish island amid a Lithuanian sea, a bulwark against the Bolsheviks, and a place rendered memorable in Polish history as the. birthplace of their greatest national hero and their greatest poet. To Lithuania Vilna was a commercial necessity; to Poland it was a reminder of past greatness. Memel satisfied the commercial needs of Lithu s ania even more than Vilna, so Poland was given the latter town without encountering the same opposition .as formerly. Lithuania is one of the most progressive of the new States created since the war. It is noted for its agriculture, its horses, poultry, timber and grain. The land has been subdivided, and a large number of model dairy farms have been established on the Swiss methods. Specialists in agriculture go about to teach the peasants farming, giving lectures and distributing bulletins in the country districts. Many farmers go iv for poultry raising

on a large scale. In six months 12,000,000 eggs were sold to Germany. Lithuanian cattle are nOw being shipped to London for slaughter, and it is expected that this year the country will have 3,000,000 tons of grain for export. The finances of Lithuania are being rapidly placed in a sound position, and the last deficit was easily met by an internal loan, while the Lithuanians in America have assisted with a loan of £500,000, redeemable in 15 years. Now that the boundaries are definitely fixed there is no reason why Lithuania should not become one of the most prosperous of the smaller States of Europe.