ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1920. THE POLISH CRISIS.

Marlborough Express, Volume LIV, Issue 189, 11 August 1920, Page 4

ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1920. THE POLISH CRISIS.

, The fall of Warsaw is imminent, and the next few days will have fate-, fnl issues for "anaemic Europe." The Bolsheviks nave refused to bo scared off by the Allies, and their hardihood nc-ed not cause surprise, considering the. impotent nature of the warnings that have been issued from London and Paris. Humiliating though it niay.be, the truth is that the Russians have been given very little substantial reason to be frightened, and up to the present point they have been able to snap their fingers quite safely at tho Treaty of Versailles and all it contains. Matters have drifted so far, as the London Times points out, that it is now militarily, impossible to sav;3 Warsaw, and it; seems doubtful whether Poland will

be delivered from complete subjugation. There has; been in existence some kind of a pledge, more or less tt-ngible, to defend the integrity of the Polish nation, but pledges in these days, of disorganisation are slippery things, and, however willing the spirit has been, the flesh has failed to stand the test of this heroic sentiment. Tho time has arrived, though, when the Entente people must for their own sakes take definite action, to stem the Russian onset; and, though the Poles may be sacrificed for the time being, measures must be taken to secure their ultimate independence. The situation may not find the Entente in a very chivalrous mood, but. the pressure- of expediency is overwhelming. The British Cabinet can hardly have a very clear conscience In. the matter. No close observer of events was deceived by -Che equivocations in which Mr Bonar Law indulged a few months ago when ha had to admit that Britain supported Poland's illfated adventure with munitions of war, and Lord Robert Cecil was met .with palpable evasions when he tried to get^at the reasons-why tho dispute was withheld from-the League of Nations. The plain inference is that the Government made the very common mistake of backing the wrong horse, or rather backed it too far, and ineii tried to cover up its transaction. If Poland had succeeded in its bid against Russia a brilliant stroke v ould have been exhibited; having been beaten she has to pay the penalty and no questions must be asked. But there is very little profit in discussing these original blunders now that the enemy is actually at the gates. The question of the moment is how the Allies should meet the most sinister crisis that has arisen sir.cc tho signing of the Peace Treaty. It is an open secret that France desires to* carry measures' a good deal further than her colleague is prepared to go; and, having flown some kites to see how public opinion ;is veering, the British Cabinet has evidently como to the conclusion that tho best thing to do is to wait a little longer and see what the Russians will do as the result of the Minsk Conference. But there will be no full--dress war straight away. Even if Mr Lloyd George wished to carry the sword in.full .strength against Russia tho labor classes in Britain would not permit him to do so. Apparently ho proposes to parley as long as possible with the Russians and at the worst place his reliance on the resumption of the blockade. But even the blockade, with all its terrors, may be "in- i sufficient to counteract the danger of a I? usso-Gorman Miick-rstanding. Tho outlook is full of anxiety.