The Fruits of Teheran

From London, New York Timesman Raymond Daniell reported that the decision to partition Poland was nothing new, that it had been agreed on last year at the Teheran Conference between Churchill, Stalin and Franklin Roosevelt.

Wrote Daniell: "Diplomatic circles held that the Prime Minister's report on Poland should be read as complementary to his defense of British policy in Greece, for it was said that both problems had had their roots in Teheran, where the leaders of the three major powers reached complete agreement as to the scope and timing of operations which will be undertaken from the east, west and south. . . .

"Premier Stalin would not agree to coordinate the Red Army's operations with those of his western allies until he had a definite assurance that Britain would support Russia's claim to Polish territory as far west as the Curzon Line. . . In Teheran, Mr. Churchill and Premier Stalin divided Europe into spheres of British and Russian influence. . . .

"Mr. Roosevelt's part in the deal in Teheran is not quite clear. It appears that he was not present at the time when Premier Stalin and Mr. Churchill reached their understanding on the division of the Balkans and the partition of Poland. But Mr. Churchill has said that at no time in all the negotiations to induce the Polish Government in London to acquiesce in the deal has Mr. Roosevelt indicated definitely that he would not go along. That is not to say that the Prime Minister indicated that the President ever gave his approval to a plan that would have given half of Poland to Russia and allowed Poland to compensate by territorial accretions westward at Germany's expense." All Settled. "

However, when Mr. Mikolajczyk [former Premier of the Polish Government in Exile] went to Russia, he found W. Averell Harriman, the American Ambassador, a silent neutral observer while Premier Stalin sat as judge and jury and Mr. Churchill had the role of public prosecutor. It was Mr. Churchill who did all the arguing for Premier Stalin at that latest Moscow discussion about Poland's future boundaries, diplomatic informants say. When Mr. Mikolajczyk pleaded for mercy by asking that Vilna and Lwow be included within Poland's frontiers, it is said, Mr. Molotov interrupted him by saying: 'There is no use discussing that; it was all settled in Teheran.' "

Moved perhaps by the season's religious spirit, the London Observer fast week described the Teheran agreement as "one of those great historic partition treaties of which the first example is given in Genesis 13: 8-9, beginning:

And Abram said unto Lot, "Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herd-men; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left."

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