France--and Poland The visit of General Gamelin, head of the
French General Staff, to Warsaw is an event of some importance. His principal contact there will be with General Rydz- Smigly, the General Inspector of the armed forces of Poland, who is the spiritual successor of Marshal Pilsudski, a man of relatively liberal outlook, and Franeophile rather than Germanophile in tendency- Poland,• of course, holds a key-position, and ,at the, sane time a position of obvious danger, in Eastern Europe. The Danzig troubles have reminded her that French support against Germany may yet be of value, and French -mediation may do something to mitigate Polish hostility to Russia. There is even talk .of the, supply of Russian munitions to Poland, financed by France. Poland's interests are likely in the long run to accord with France's rather than Germany's, and she has obviously nothing to fear from Russian arms, though she may have from Russian ideas. Any increase of cordiality in Franco-Polish relations would be inter- preted in Berlin as a new step towards Germany's encirclement. Actually such a move would make for European stability, for whereas no State can be suspected of contemplating aggression against Germany, the con- stitution of a defence-front against Germany pending a general disarmament agreement cannot be considered superfluous.
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