POLISH WESTERN FRONTIERS

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25092, 25 January 1947, Page 7

POLISH WESTERN FRONTIERS

“INDISPUTABLE AND SETTLED ” MINISTER’S STATEMENT IN WARSAW (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, Jan. 24. .1 ne Warsaw correspondent of “The limes says that the- Polish Deputy Foreign Minister (Mr Zygmunt Modzelewski), at a press conference, said that although the Polish Government believed in the democratisation of Germany and co-operation with her, hever agree to co-operate with a Germany which demanded revision of frontiers. Poland, he said, regarded her western frontiers as ‘/indisputable and settled,” and hoped that they would not even be discussed again. The correspondent adds that as Mr Modzelewski returned from Moscow only a few days ago it is reasonable to suppose that Russia fully supports the Polish Government’s attitude; but Mr Modzelewski was careful to add that although the Polish and Russian views on the German problem were similar, they were not quite identical.

POLISH ELECTION

MIKOLAJCZYK SEEKS ANNULMENT

MEMORANDA SENT .TO

BIG THREE • WARSAW, January 23. Mr Mikolajczyk, leader of the Polish Peasant Party, has announced that the party will ask the Polish Supreme Court to annul the recent elections.

He said that if the Government had allowed Peasant Party observers to attend at all polling stations the party would have received 60 or 70 per cent, of the votes instead of between 5 and 6 per cent. The party executive, early in February, would consider whether to boycott Parliament. The Warsaw correspondent of the Associated Press says that Mr Mikolajczyk said he had handed memoranda to the British, American and Russian Ambassadors in Warsaw contending that the Yalta and Potsdam agreements, guaranteeing unfettered elections, had been grossly violated.

The British Government received from the British Embassy in Warsaw a report on the Polish elections, says Reuter. It is expected that a statement will be made on the subject in the House of Commons. PART IN MURDER OF MATTEOTTI ACCUSED MAN SPEAKS IN OWN DEFENCE (Rec. 7 pjn.) ROME, January 23. In a three-hour oration, Cesare Rossi, who is charged with complicity in the murder of Giacomo Matteotti, vigorously defended himself. He said that although he was innocent, the crime had pursued him relentlessly through the years. “I have always considered myself a second victim,” he said, weeping, and not bothering to wipe away his tears. Rossi added that he did not know whether Mussolini gave the order for the murder, but II Duce, who was a violent and vengeful man, was often outspoken about parliamentary obstructionism. Probably his expressions of wrath had been overheard and a henchman gave the order to get rid of Matteottti.

AIR CRASHES IN U.S. QUESTION OF COMPANY RESPONSIBILITY (Rec. 8 p.m.) WASHINGTON, Jan. 23. The Civil Aeronautics Administrator (Mr T. P. Wright), giving evidence before the House of Representatives Commerce Committee, which is investigating the causes of air disasters, said that airlines should accept more responsibility for preventing crashes. The Government’s part should chiefly be concerned with drafting and enforcing regulations. Mr Wright said that fatalities for 100,000,000 passenger miles had dropped from 2.14 in 1945 to 1.24 in 1946. Nevertheless, he expressed “tremendous concern” over the number of accidents. _ Mr J. Miller (Republican, Connecticut), an airman in the first world war, who lost both legs in a crash, told the committee that *n epileptic had received a Federal pilot’s licence to fly passengers. Attempts to have the licence revoked had been unsuccessful. AMERICAN COAL FOR EUROPE DRAINING OF DOLLAR RESOURCES (Rec. 8 p.m.) LONDON, Jan. 23. The chairman of the European Coal Organisation (Mr J. Eaton Griffith) at a press conference in London to-day said the United States, which before the war was not the major supplier of coal to Europe, was now sending about 20,000,00 Q tons annually, using 500 Liberty typs ships and draining Europe’s dollar by 400,000,000 dollars annually, yet Europe aH the time had aU the coal it needed under foot.

BRITISH LABOUR PROBLEM OBTAINING MORE WORKERS EMPLOYMENT OF POLES (Rec. 10 pjn.) LONDON, January 24. As a result of the emphasis placed upon Britain’s manpower position in the recent White Paper, it is being pointed out that several avenues for the employment of additional labour immediately present themselves. Of 142,000 Poles in Britain, only 45,000 so far have been “screened” and found eligible for civilian employment. Of this number, only 1750 at present are actively employed, leaving 140,000 who are being supported by the British taxpayer, without making any return. Present indications are that the Minister of Defence (Mr A. V. Alexander) will succeed in his objective. of releasing 100,000 extra men from the forces this year, although it is emphasised that this will depend largely upon international conditions and the extent to which Britain can free herself of overseas military commitments. The Government has now agreed with the London Transport Board that 4000 women bus conductors who were scheduled for dismissal within the next few weeks should be retained. These are the last of the London wartime women conductors, and practically all of them are anxious to retain th A r suggestion that the. Government should postpone the raising of the school leaving age to retain n f S °hil 370 000 juveniles in employment has received no official encouragement and the Minister of Education (Miss Ellen Wilkinson) stated that the leaving age will be increased to 15 years, as originally prbposed^^^ 1