21 JUNE 1946, Page 14

THE PLIGHT OF THE POLES Sta,—The decision to bring upwards

of too,000 Polish veterans from Italy to England for demobilisation and " absorption " into civilian life may relieve a difficult international situation ; but it raises other and by no means easy issues, on the handling of which future good relations between two allies may largely depend. In carrying into effect this decision the authorities will be constantly exposed to two kinds of ex- treme views: (i) That these men are 'having too much done for them, and (ii) that they are not having enough done for them. More important than this kind of controversy is the realisation that Britain is now enter- ing on the experience, so long known to the U.S.A. and Canada, and more recently to France—that described by the term " melting-pot." It will not be always pleasant. One feature of it, and only one, con- cerns me at this time. It is understood that a good many thousand of these ex-Servicemen are to be given places in co,l-mining. That

is all to the good, but those in charge need to remember one thing. The coal-mines of pre-war Poland belonged to the best-managed and best-outfitted in Europe. The conditions of labour, both above ground and in the galleries, including those_ at the " face," were as nearly ideal as modern technical science and human good will could make them. Only those who saw the system at work, and know from ex- perience the pride of occupation and the dignity of the Silesian coal- miner, can appreciate the place he held in society. Whether correspond- ing conditions prevail in the United Kingdom in the coal-mines is not for me to say. One hears disquieting reports of something far different. Is it the case or is it not that miners on coming from work get a bath at the pit-head and Change into mufti before going home? That is only one of the amenities regarded by the Polish miner as a matter of course. If he is to be contented in his new surroundings he must be treated as a fellow human being, and not only as a cog in the " pro- duction machine." If this happens, he will prove to be one of the

best workmen in the world.—Yours faithfully, WILLIAM J. ROSE. University of London.