NEWS OF THE WEEK
THE dispositions regarding Polish troops who are unwilling to return to Poland are as satisfactory as could be hoped for. A singularly difficult problem has been faced with both common sense and generosity. To bring the whole of the Polish Second Corps from Italy to this country, together with their families, is a bold decision to take, but it is fully justified. No undue consideration need be given to the views of the present Polish Government, but it would be provocative beyond all reason to keep the, anti-Warsaw troops embodied and usr them for garrison duty in Germany as Mr. Churchill surprisingly suggested. The creation in this country of a Settlement Corps, in which the Poles, under military discipline but not under arms, will be trained for civil occupations and gradually drafted into them, is a thoroughly practical proposition. Mr. Bevin mentioned coal-mining and agriculture as industries in which our new immigrants would be particularly welcome. The difficulty about the former is that the Poles' ignorance of English would make it hard to ensure that safety regulations were being properly observed ; but that might quite possibly be surmounted by manning a mine with Poles exclusively, on the assumption that managers could be found sufficently familiar with both languages ; many men in the Polish army in Italy have worked in coal-pits in France. In an- nouncing these arrangements in the House of Commons on Wed- nesday, Mr. Bevin made it clear that the Government recognised its obligation to troops who have fought gallantly beside our own in many quarters of the globe. That is as it should be ; but there can be no question of maintaining an integrated Polish force in Britain. The men must pass into industry as soon as practicable, and be scattered geographically.
