WHITHER POLAND?

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 235, 3 September 1937, Page 8

WHITHER POLAND?

(By Alan Bateman) King Carol of Rumania arrived in Warsaw on June 26 on a State visit. He was accompanied by the Crown Prince Michael, the Foreign Minister, M. Antonescu, and a large number ol Rumanian officials. During his stay lie resided at the Lazenki Palace, which was tlie residence of the last Kings of Poland and is normally used as a museum since it has come of the finest art treasures in Europe. During his stay he watched the manoeuvres of the Polish Army near the German Frontier, and it is understood that his conversations with Colonel Beck may have farreaching results. Since France despatched General Weygand in 1920 to direct the Polish Armies which rolled back the Bolshevists from the very gates of Warsaw, Poland lias been bound to France by a defensive alliance. In 1934. however. alarmed by the growing power of the U.S.S.R., Poland came to an agreement with Germany which, since it was aimed against France’s ally, Russia, may well lead to a weakening of her alliance with France. On tlie death of Marshal Pilsudski, who was practically Dictator of Poland and paid, very little attention to the Seyn, the Polish Legislature, it was believed that under the influence of Marshal Rydz Snugly, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and the President and former Premier Moscicki, Poland might again revert to the French camp in Europe. It seems however that Colonel Beck, the Foreign Minister, who like Pilsudski fears Russia more than Germany, lias been strong enough to carry bis colleagues with him in his Anti-Russian policy, and it is believed that the visit of King Carol has led to the defensive understanding between Poland and Rumania being converted into a definite alliance against Russia. The moral of this would seem to be that unless the League of Nations gives a clear lend as to how it propses to make its protective function effective, alliances of the pre-war type may be concluded which are directly against the spirit of the Covenant. Regional pacts, if accompanied by definite military arrangement and staff talks within the framework of the Covenant, may well strengthen the protective function of tlie League, for it was the absence of any pre-arranged plan as .to how sanctions were to be applied which led to the recent hesitancv and ineffective application of Article XVI.

Regional pacts, however, unaccompanied by definite military arrangements and staff talks, are but a reduplication of what is the essence of the Covenant, namely, the duty of all the members. to come to the assistance of any member if attacked and as such tend to weaken it, for the repetition of a promise too frequently instead of increasing the strength of the promise may weaken its solemnity and gravity.