Fire-eater

General Sikorski, Polish Minister of War, arrived in Paris. Ringing in his ears were the echoes of Germany's plain assertion that she would seek by pacific means "rectification" of the German-Polish frontier.

In an interview described as "unfortunate," the General let his own voice ring out. He said that, on the east, Poland has an enemy (Russia); on the west, Poland has an enemy (Germany); and on the north, Poland has an enemy (East Prussia, isolated German province). He pointed out that, from the last two places, Germany could launch an attack upon the Polish corridor (narrow strip of intervening territory leading to the sea), nip it off like a stalk of asparagus in the jaws of a crocodile.

"But!" ejaculated the fire-eater, "Poland has 45 good divisions and will perhaps have 70 in two years . . . 4,000,000 mobilizable men . . . war budget of 750,000,000 zloty [about $150,000,000 or 55% of the budget]."

"The world," he roared, "must know that the day anyone touches one inch of our national territory, all Poland will rise up and fight without mercy."