File No. 860c.01/32
The Ambassador in France ( Sharp) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 12, 1.10 p.m.]
2591. Your 2703, October 8. By appointment I was able to-day to see Mr. Dmowski, president, and Mr. Piltz, representative for France of the French-Polish Committee organized on the 15th of August and having its headquarters in Paris. The personnel of this committee is as follows: Messrs. Dmowski, Paderewski, Piltz, Rozwadowski, Seyda, all of them except Paderewski reside in Paris. In addition, Mr. Skirmunt, who represents the committee in Rome, and Count Sobanski, in London. I am informed that the committee is in continual and direct contact with Mr. Paderewski in America. A written statement given to me by Mr. Piltz, says that the committee holds its authority from a secret mandate of the Polish national organization forming the great majority of Poland. In order that it might be equal to the task which devolves upon it not only in [Page 767] regard to probable national politics, but also in regard to the Allied powers, it considered it indispensable that it should be recognized by the four Allied powers—the United States, France, Great Britain and Italy. The committee’s action does not extend to Russia, where a distinct Polish organization exists created by the National Congress at Moscow, with which the committee intends to be in continual connection.
The President of this committee, Mr. Dmowski, showed me a telegram which he had recently received from the national Polish organizations in America, in which it was stated they had unanimously agreed to unite with the National Polish Committee in Paris, pledging not only their cooperation but acknowledging the political supremacy of the Paris committee.
I was also permitted to see a copy of an official communication recently received from the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ribot, the message in which he stated that the selection of Mr. Piltz was particularly agreeable to the French Government as the representative of the National Polish Committee for France. He took occasion in the note to highly commend Mr. Piltz for his valued aid in cooperating with the Government for a number of months past. In another communication from Mr. Ribot to the president of this committee, it was stated that the Government of the Republic was very willing to recognize the Polish National Committee as an official Polish organization and to give its consent to the establishing of its central seat of government in Paris. Great satisfaction was expressed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs over the committee’s work. The attitude of France and her traditions in relation to the cause of the reconstruction of Poland was touchingly referred to in this communication from Mr. Ribot, and any assistance that might lie in her power to grant was promised to the committee for its efforts in behalf of Poland; grateful recognition was made of Polish arms in the cause of the Allies. The letter was an unqualified indorsement of the National Committee and its purposes.
1. The purpose of the committee is to represent all Polish interests with the Allied Governments above mentioned. The political questions affecting the Polish Army now organized on the western front for the purpose of fighting by the side of the Allies will be given earnest consideration with the view that on the western front there may be a distinctively Polish army that may fight valiantly not only for the common cause but in such a way as to reflect the greatest credit upon Poland. Mr. Dmowski said that though the history of his country had shown his people at times lacking in cohesive qualities which would build up a strong nation, yet they had always been noted for their bravery and splendid fighting spirit.
[Page 768]Another object of the committee was to protect the Polish people and their interests in western Europe.
2. The committee represents the two leading parties of Poland, the National Democratic Party and the Realist Party, the first having supplied all the Polish members to the Duma, and the latter having supplied all the members to the readjusted Council of Empire. The president, Mr. Dmowski, represented the first-named party for a number of years in the Duma, while Mr. Piltz—representing the committee in France—is a member of the Realist Party. It was stated that Mr. Paderewski and Count Sobanski do not belong to any definite party. Mr. Dmowski told me that while the Socialist Party was not now represented on the committee yet he hoped soon that it would have such a representative. He said that the Socialist Party in Poland championed very much the same principles as the Socialistic Party groups of Germany, and had, until the revolution in Russia, been in favor of the Central powers due to their hatred of that country. He stated that owing to this revolution the Socialists had now changed in favor of Russia and for that reason he hoped consequently that they would soon be represented on the committee. However, they had never, as a party, been strong enough to elect a member to the Duma.
Mr. Dmowski’s statement as to the absence of any Jewish member’ on the committee was [interesting]. He said that according to the census made by the Germans there were 2,300 Jews in Lodz who claimed to be Poles, while there were 150,000 in that city who claimed Jewish nationality. He expressed the belief that as the Warsaw money market is a branch of the Berlin stock exchange, practically all financial matters being in the hands of Berlin financiers, the wealthier class of Jews particularly were German sympathizers. In the written statement furnished to me by Mr. Piltz, it was stated that if it were a mere question of the Poles belonging to the Jewish confession there would be no obstacle for them to be named members of the committee, but as they considered themselves of distinct nationality they cannot consistently form part of a strictly Polish national committee.
3. The committee desires of the United States, as of all its other allies, an official recognition as representing Poland, and wishes to collaborate with and be consulted by all the Allied Governments upon questions affecting the war and the political future of Poland. Both the president of the committee, Mr. Dmowski, and Mr. Piltz, representing the committee in France, impressed me as men of a high grade of ability and as deeply in earnest in their work. They evidently belong to the best class of Polish statesmen and are men who have had a long and valuable experience in the political affairs [Page 769] of that country. The latter said to me at the Embassy that there is not a single Pole who did not feel that the independence and future autonomy of Poland depended much upon the United States. He said Polish people were most grateful to the President for having singled out Poland for reference in his famous address which preceded the Soviets’ reference to an independent Poland by fully three months.