142 EMPLOYMENT OF THE PLEBISCITE [44O 



According to the German statement the sections of West 

 Prussia to be ceded, without vote, hold about 744,000 Ger- 

 mans against 580,000 Poles and Cassubians. 



The Treaty provides for a plebiscite in the southern sec- 

 tion of the Province of East Prussia to decide whether this 

 region shall go to Poland or remain with Germany, Ger- 

 many protests against this proposed cession and questions 

 the necessity of an appeal to the population. "These dis- 

 tricts . . . are not inhabited by an indisputably Polish 

 population. The circumstance that, in isolated regions, a 

 non-German language has survived, is in itself of no 

 moment, for, even in the oldest homogeneous States, this 

 condition may be observed; the Bretons, Welsh, and the 

 Basques may be mentioned in this connection. . . ." 



The Allied reply justifies the cession of West Prussia and 

 of Posen without a plebiscite on historical grounds. The 

 Allied promise of the restoration of Poland demands the 

 retrocession by Germany of West Prussia. The principle 

 of nationality has been the guiding line as far as the former 

 grounds would permit. However, slight rectifications of 

 the frontiers on stricter racial lines were embodied in the 

 final draft of the Treaty. 



The German objections concerning the Province of Posen 

 were overruled on the ground that the existence of German 

 conclaves, etc., were due largely to Prussianization and that 

 it would be impossible to draw a frontier which would not 

 meet with some objection. 



The plebiscite in the southern part of East Prussia is 

 insisted upon. 



The right of option is granted in the case of all these 

 cessions. ' 



By the Treaty of Peace, Germany is forced to renounce 

 in favor of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers all 

 rights and title over the City of Danzig and the adjoining 

 territory which is to be constituted the Free City of Danzig 

 under the protection of the League of Nations. 



