The Archive · 1938

DELICATE SITUATION

The Polish Army's continued—demons trations on the Lithuanian frontier have again roused anxieties which wore allayed by. the prompt acceptance of the Polish ultimatum ast week. From the reports to hand it appears that, as with some other countries, the appetite 8 with eating, and there are suggestions that Poland may devise more demands for Presentation to "Lithuania. With the Polish, avy demonstrating off the Lithuanian coast it is not to be believed that in the event of War there would be much in the nature of naval conibat, for while Poland has a force consisting of two destroyers and three submarines, Lithuania has nothing. On land Poland can command overwhelming strength over the Lithuanians, and, if it came to a military trial of strength, there ly little to suggest that sooner or later, and most probably sooner Lithuania would not be vanquished. It is most likely because of that that such enthusiasm Is being shown in Warsaw for the suggested maveh on Kovno. The "Dziennil Narodoky" argues that Lithuania by capitulation last Poland nothing, and demands that the Polish Government should force Lithuania to unite with It, The technique is apparently to. be developed along lines so well established dur-Jing recent weeks, and if in a short while Lithuania becomes a mere appanage of Poland there need be no very great surprise, 'There are apparently still questions outstanding between the two countries, such as the status of the Polish minority in' Lithuania, the star of Vilna, seized by the Poles some years og Polish outlet to the north-eastern. Baltic, Poland's objections to Lithuania's friendship. with the Soviet Union and the normalizing of the Polish-Lithuanian frontier which has been closed since the Great War. It seems perfectly plain on the face of it that the Polish-Lithuanfan issue has not been solved by the concessions Which have already been made and that more will be required before all danger to peace in eastern Europe is removed.

Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.

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