The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1916. MAKING USE OF POLAND

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2913, 8 November 1916, Page 4

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1916. MAKING USE OF POLAND

Though Germany is undoubtedly ( attempting to creatc an exaggerat- . cd impression ol the potentialities ' of Poland as a recruiting ground for the Teutonic armies, it would bo a serious mistake to dismiss' the measures she is taking in that country as mere bluff and pretence. Talk about a million, Poles being available in Russian Poland to be pressed or enticed into the Teutonic ser- ! vice plainly overstates the position. ; The further report that Hinden- ' burg has insisted upon seven hun-' ( dred thousand Polish levies boing j raised immediately is no doubt in- i tended to cheer the drooping spirits < of the German people. When the - war began Russian Poland had a ■ population of a little over twelve million souls, and if it were in a ] ■state of undisturbed prosperity it , would not be able to muster much more than a million men fit and i available for military service. Instead of being undisturbed and ■ prosperous it has been ravaged and harried during more than two years of war, and incidentally its ablebodied male population has been drawn upon more or . less heavily both'by Russia and by her enemies. Long ago it was reported that Pol- , ish troops were fighting for Russia, and Germany has certainly not waited until this hour to make use of the Poles who stand at her , mcrcy. It has to be/ remembered also that a great exodus of the Polish population, in which able-bodied men would naturally be represented in more than normal proportion, preceded the evacuation uf the Polish salient by the armies of the Grand _ Duke Nicholas. Taking everything _ into account, there is ample justification for heavily discounting the figures mentioned in connection with the German recruiting project, but no doubt .there are ■ still a considerable number of Poles of military ago in their own country, and if Germany succceds in ta'ppiug this supply of men to any large extent she will score over Russia and the Entente both from the military and from the political point of view. A great deal will, of course, depend upon the extent to which Germany and Austria succeed in enlisting the willing assistance of the Poles, or rather .of the remnant of the Polish population which remains in its own country. From this point of view Germany, as manager and prime mover in the affair, does not seem to have planned or acted very wisely. Poland is promised independent autonomy, but the promise is clipped and hedged about in a fashion that robs it of value. The frontiers of the proposed kingdom, it is stated, will be defined later, and the Austrian Foreign Minister has intimated that Polish autonomy will not take shape until after the war. The Poles will be strangely credulous if they do not see that these specious proposals are merely a bait for the moment, and have no real reference to the future. Probably the Poles, like other people, are well aware that Germany is not likely to have any voice in determining the, future of Poland when the war is over, and that if 6he had her present vague promises would be cheerfully thrown overboard. The weakness of the existing position is not that the German proposals are likely to awaken any enthusiasm in Polish hearts— it is tolerably, certain that whatever troops the Teutons may raise in Poland will be largely pressed men f and of limited value as soldiers —but that these proposals are not countered from the side of 1 the ! Allies by concrete proposals which . would givo the Poles an outlook and hope for the future. In the opening days of the war the Grand Duke Nicholas, on behalf of the Tsar, presented a proclamation to the in- ' habitants of Poland which promised them an hour of resurrection.

The Russian army (tho proclamation stated) brings you the solemn news of this reconciliation, which obliterates tho frontiers dividing the Polish peoples, which it unites conjointly under t'ho sceptre of the Russian Tsar. Under this sceptre Poland will bo born again, free in her religion and her language. Russian autonomy only expects from yon the same respect for the rights of those nationalities to which history has bound you.

Litarally interpreted, this implied that Poland would be granted au-

tonomy, though under Russian suzerainty, with the re-establishment of her aticicnfc frontiers which cmbracod West ancl East Prussia, Cour-

land, and Lithuania, portion oi Southern Russia, and Gajicia, as well as Russian Poland. The proclamation was hailed as heralding the adoption of a new and more liberal policy by Russia, and opening a.bright future for the Poles. Retaining its original force it would go far to counteract the efforts Germany is making to-day to enlist Polish aid in propping up her failing fortunes. But though some general promises of autonomy for Poland have been repeated at intervals on behajf of Russia, the effect of the original proclamation has been weakened by time and the failure to advance beyond the general _ promise which it contained. Russia has not had the opportunity of carrying her promise into effect, but there docs not seem to be any reason why she should not define the future boundaries of Poland. Action on these lines and a promise of autonomy made by Russia and guaranteed by her Allies would leave Germany very little ground to work upon. Refraining from this policy Russia is bound to awaken some suspicions of her sincerity in the minds of.the Polish people. For no good reason that is visible she is withholding from them a strong and positive incentive to resist German wiles, and it is on this account more likely than it should be that Germany may reap some definite advantage from her project of raising Polish legions.