Paris Peace Conf. 184.01102/25
Lieutenant R. C. Foster to Professor A. C. Coolidge 66
Subject: Conference with General Pilsudski.
- 1.
- At the invitation of Col. Wade67 I went with him to a conference with General Pilsudski on the question of arranging an armistice between the Poles and the Ukrainians.
- 2.
- Col. Wade had already talked over this matter with General Szeptycki Chief of Staff of the Army in a previous conference and had offered his services as middleman for negotiations. To this General Szeptycki agreed and consequently Capt. Johnson, assistant to Col. Wade had been sent to Lemberg on January 12th from Warsaw.
- 3.
- The basis of these negotiations was to arrange a neutral zone between the two armies, suspend all hostilities and leave the question of the settling of boundaries to the Peace Commission at Paris.
- 4.
- Capt. Johnson reported by letter to Col. Wade this morning that the Polish General Rozwadowski had refused to undertake negotiations on the basis that the “bandits” should not be treated with but be exterminated and stated that he would only move on direct orders from General Pilsudski whose authority he only recognized. (It is interesting to note that word had already been sent to him by General Szeptycki which evidently he did not want to recognize saying that the telegrams had been garbled in transmission.) He further stated that were he forced to negotiate he would resign.
- 5.
- General Pilsudski informed Col. Wade that a letter had been dispatched to General Rozwadowski yesterday instructing him that negotiations would be carried on by General Leswiewski. Pilsudski said that this General was chosen as he was of the Russian school and would therefore be considered as more impartial whereas General Rozwadowski was a large land owner in Ukrainia and therefore strongly biased in his feelings.
- 6.
- General Pilsudski was very firm in stating that Lemberg should be freed within a radius of twenty kilometers and the three lines Tuning to Warsaw, Cracow and Przemysl left absolutely at his disposal. He spoke most strongly of Lemberg as a Polish town stating that it was the very centre of the life of Galicia and to lose that would have a tremendous effect on the Polish people throughout Poland. From his own personal point of view it was vital for him to insist on this on account of the delicate position that he was in politically as the Poles attached so much importance to holding this town. All armistice [Page 369] terms should therefore consider the holding of Lemberg by the Poles as a necessity.
- 7.
- The second point that he brought up was that Drohobycz should belong to Poland and no terms should be made that would endanger the assurance of this. He stated that although the industries in this town were owned by outside capital nine-tenths of the workmen were Poles and the town therefor considered by Poles as being Polish. Public opinion in Poland was very strong on this point and it was the opinion of the public that must be watched in any terms that were made.
- 8.
- He felt sure that even if the Peace Conference decided against the holding of these two towns and this district of Poland, the population would not abide by it, their feeling was so strong that troubles would result.
- 9.
- Regarding negotiations with the Ukrainians, Pilsudski stated that he felt it was easier to negotiate with Petlura at Kieff than try to bring anything about in the Lemberg district as conditions at Kieff were more settled, there was order and that the “Bandit Atmosphere” was not felt there and had not taken possession of the Government as it had the troops in the vicinity of Lemberg.
- 10.
- My whole impression of Pilsudski was that he was working for Poland and he spoke with a certain force and conviction that I had not expected to find as a result of the impressions given me by other people. His greatest difficulty is no doubt the crowd that support him in power and form a circle about him that is inefficient and not to be trusted. It is reported that he and Paderewski are now in conference working out the details of a new cabinet and I will make that the subject matter of another report.
- 11.
- Col. Wade leaves for Lemberg tonight.
R. C. Foster
Warsaw
, January 15, 1919.