Composition of the Polish Cabinet in exile will be completed, it was understood today, when ex-Premier Wincenty Witos, leader of the Polish Peasant Party, who was reported to have been wounded in trying to escape from Poland, is located.
Witos, who is known for his democratic views and racial tolerance, is considered the most important figure in the expatriate Government next to Premier-nominate General Wladislas Sikorski. He had only recently returned to Poland after several years in exile.
Dr. Herman Lieberman, Polish Jewish Socialist leader, who was associated with Witos and also went into exile, but did not return to Poland, has been in constant contact with Polish Cabinet members. However, reports published abroad that he will represent the Socialists in the Cabinet are believed to be incorrect, as Tanczick, leader of the Polish labor unions, is slated for his post.
Changes are expected to be made in the Polish diplomatic service in Paris, one of the effects of which will be to make impossible any further such acts as that reported recently when Jewish volunteers for the Polish Legion here were rejected. The French Government is said to be supporting the changes.
New support for the Polish Legion came when a number of the Jewish passengers on the Polish liner Pilsudski, which was brought safely to an English port with a convoy of British destroyers, expressed a desire to join the legion. The prospective volunteers include seven physicians, two dentists and a number of students.
According to the continental edition of the London Daily Mail, about 160 Jewish and Catholic passengers were on the Pilsudski, which was en route from Poland to New York when war broke out. Provision for their accomodation has been made by local Catholic and Jewish communities.
Witos, some Polish circles are inclined to fear, may have fallen into the hands of the Soviet army of occupation. He was in his village of Verzcaslawieces near Tarnapol when the Nazis started air bombardments of Polish civilian population. The village was soon reduced to ashes, but a Polish nobleman, Count Droyevski, an ardent follower of Witos who returned with him from exile, rushed to the ruined village, brought him to a safe place and later tried to take him to Hungary.
En route to the border, their car was bombed, all the passengers being wounded. The extent of Witos’ injuries are not known here. Official inquiries made from Paris with the Hungarian Government brought the reply that he was not in Hungary.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
