Ascribe Delay in German Polish Commercial Treaty to Fear of Jewish Influx

(J. T. A. Mail Service)

That anti-Semitism has been made one of the main issues in the negotiations now pending for a Polish-German Commercial Treaty is the charge of a well-known German financial publicist, writing under the penname of “Morus” in the radical-pacifist “Weltbuehne.” The writer accuses the German representatives of dragging out the negotiations deliberately, because they are fearful of a heavy influx of Polish Jews into Germany under the new treaty.

“Morus” asserts that “in concluding a commercial convention for a long term, both parties should have mutually guaranteed the citizens of each country the right of residence and business in the other country. This, however, is where the difficulty arises. On the German side the official apprehension has been lest Poles should emigrate in large numbers to East Prussia; but unofficially the real trouble has been the fear of Polish Jews entering Germany in large numbers. This problem is fundamentally, merely a Jewish problem. It is high time to raise the question, the writer says, as to whether the Germans ought to forego the right to settle in Poland because of the fear of Polish Jews entering Germany.

The article has created a mild sensation in Germany, and the Central Union of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith has sent an inquiry to the Vice-President of the Province of East Prussia as to the reliability of the charges made by “Morus.’ The Vice-President, in his reply, denied existence of any official anti-semitic considerations on the German side, whose sole considerations are political and economic.