As was stated in a previous paragraph the Finnish peoples have dedared their mdepend ence from Russia and their statehood has been recognized by leading Allied powers. The exact details of the Russo-Finnish boundary cannot be determined, however, until the final settle ment is arranged with Russia, and the Allies manifest an unwillingness to treat with the ex isting Soviet government The final arrange ment of relations between Finland and Fathoms is still unsettled, though it seems certain that ultimately a single Finnish state will be estab lished of a unitary or a federal character, though from the declaration of 1918 up to the present tinte Esthonia has asserted independ ence of both Russia and Finland. The Finns in both provinces have been involved in a serious difficulty in defending themselves against invasion by the Soviet government of Russia, which has shown as ardent a spirit of Russification and Pan-Slavism as was ex hibited by Pobiedonostseff and Nicholas II. The Letts of Courland and Livonia declared their independence of Russia in 1918 as the new state of Letvia. While the final disposition of the Lettish question must await the settle ment with Russia, Mr. Balfour, speaking for the Allies, declared that until the ultimate set tlement the Allies were willing to *grant pro visional recognition to the Lettish National Council as a de facto independent body.* The Letts, like the Finns, were attacked by the Bolshevik forces, and later their territory was occupied by the Germans under von der Goltz. He was compelled to begin withdrawal by an Allied ultimatum of 28 Sept 1919, but the Letts have been obliged to resort to force of arms to insure and expedite the evacuation. Lithuania declared her independence in January 1918 and on 4 April 1919 proclaimed herself a republic and elected M. Smatona as the first president. The Peace Conference, however, failed to recog nize Lithuanian independence. The aggressive Pan-Polish party, supported by the French at the Conference, have urged the incorporation of Lithuania within the new Polish state on the ground of the historic union of the two nations before the partitions. The final ad justment will doubtless wait upon the Russian settlement, but whatever the outcome, it has been clearly shown above that neither the facto of ethnography nor the principle of self-deter mination would warrant the inclusion of Lithu ania within the new Poland. In spite of no formal final action by the Peace Conference all of the Allied powers have recognized the in dependence of Finland, all but the United States the independence of Esthonia and Letvia, and some lesser powers and Great Britain have recognized the independence of Lithuania. The action of the 'United States in delaying the ad justment of the Baltic situation is hard to de fend; the only excuse stated being that it means a dismemberment of Russia, a process which has not acutely depressed the representatives of the United States when it has talcen place in other parts of the former Russian empire.
Of all the new states created or recognized by the Peace Conference Poland has advanced the most ambitious claims and has succeeded best in getting them recognized by the Confer ence. From Germany Poland has received about 28,000 square miles of territory, including most of Posen and West Prussia and some of southeastern Silesia. A plebiscite is to decide the redistribution in East Prussia. Danzig has been internationalized as a free city open to Polish trade. The delimitation of the bound aries between Poland and Lithuania, Russia, Hungary and Rumania must await the Russian and Hungarian treaties, though it is already evident that only vigorous opposition on the part of Lithuania and the Ukraine has pre vented the Conference from agreeing to Polish annexation of Lithuania and absorption of east ern, or Ruthenian, Galicia. In spite of such opposition it seems likely that the Allies will allow a far greater Polish occupation of Lithuanian, Russian and Galician territory than ethnographic facts would justify. Confirma tion of this opinion is to be found in the action of the Peace Conference on 21 Nov. 1919, when it turned over eastern Galicia to Poland for 25 years, in spite of the fact that the district is overwhelmingly Ruthenian in population. Poland, Germany and Czecho-Slovakia have engaged in a struggle of arms over the disposition of south eastern Silesia, prized by the contending par ties on account of its mines and factories. The general treaty of peace submitted to the Poles by the Allies on 28 June 1919 was opposed by the former on account of the guarantees to subject nationalities living within Poland. The ultimate fate of the Ukraine was not definitely decided by the Peace Conference, but will be included in the Russian settlement. The Allied treaty with Germany abrogated the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, and the Poles and Pan-Slavists have thus far prevented the Con. ference from recognizing the independence of the Ukraine by representing the Ukrainians as in sympathy with Bolshevistn. It would seem, howeyer, that die independence of the Ukraine will be sooner or later confirmed by the Allies, though there will be difficult boundary problems to settle, particularly the Galician boundary with Poland and the agreement with Russia over the disposition of Odessa. The Russian situa
tion is still further complicated by affairs in White Russia. Poland desires to annex much of this area, and there has also developed a distinct movement for independence.
The solution of the Czecho-Slovak problem has been in part reached by the Peace Confer ence. Its independence has been confirmed and some of its boundaries settled. The German treaty provided that the boundary with Ger many should be the old Austro-German bound ary with some slight cessions in Silesia to Czecho-Slovakia. The Austrian treaty, signed on 10 Sept. 1919, included the Austrian recogni tion of the independence of Czecho-Slovakia and the delimitation of the boundary with Aus tria, which followed, in general, the old bound ary of Bohemia and Moravia, with some slight gains for the Czecho-Slovaks, especially on the east. It was also stipulated that Czecho Slovakia should have access to the sea through Austrian and Hungarian territory. The bound aries with Poland and Hungary are still to be fixed. The nature of the union with Slovakia is unsettled. The Czechs desire the incorpora tion of Slovakia with Bohemia and Moravia; the Slovak extremists desire independence, and the Magyars urge autonomy under Hungarian oversight. It is probable that the outcome will be some sort of a union with the Czechs. The settlement with Hungary has been greatly de layed by the effects of the deplorable and in defensible treatment of Count Karolyi and his government by the Allies, which resulted in the establishment of a Soviet government with which the Allies would not deal. The Austrian treaty gave to Austria certain of the German districts of western Hungary. The remaining boundaries will await final determination until the Hungarian treaty is presented. It seems generally admitted, however, that Hungary will have to surrender the Jugo-Slav districts, Tran sylvania, Bukowina, the Banat and Slovakia, and is certain to become one of the lesser of the "small nations." The reconstruction of the boundaries of Rumania has nut as yet advanced to any definite stage, owing to the failure of the Allies to ad just matters with Russia and Hungasy, from wiuch states Rumania hopes to receive her chief cessions of territory. At the present time it seems generally conceded that the Conference will grant to Rumania the Rumanian portions of the Banat and Bukowina, Transylvania and a part of Bessarabia. Rumania has occupied both Transylvania and Bessarabia and has treated the latter with considerable severity. The pro-Russian party ht Bessarabia protested. against Rumanian methods to the Peace Con ference on 23 Sept. 1919. The Rumanians in Transylvania have expressed a desire for union with Rumania and were annexed on 11 Jan. 1919. It is doubtful, however, if the Allies will assign to Rumania any more of Bessarabia than can be shovm to be predominantly Ru manian in nationality, and thus far the Con ference has refused to grant any of Bessarabia to Rumania. On 1 Nov. 1919, however, Ru mania formally announced to the Peace' Conference the annexation of Bessarabia. The relations between the Allies and Rumania may be sotnewhat altered on account of the recent Ru manian occupation of Hungary and the refusal. of the Rumanians to evacuate it after Allied re quests for such action. Among all the small na tions Bulgaria has, with the possible exception of Hungary, received the most severe treatment at the hands of the Peace Conference. Instead of attemptinF to undo the injustices to Bulgaria which were included in the treaty following the second Balkan War of 1913, the treaty handed by the Allies to Bulgaria on 19 Sept. 1919 actually intensified and increased the unfair ness. While application of the principle of nationality to the readjustment of Bulgarian boundaries would require the cession to Bul garia of Macedonia south of the Shar Moun tains, of much of the hinterland of the north western coast of the iEgean, of Dobrudja south of Constanza and of eastern Thrace and Adrianople, the peace terms provide for no significant extension of Bulgarian territory whatever, but rather for some considerable con traction of Bulgarian boundaries. At four places on the Bulgarian-Serbian boundary slight ((rectifications° are made in favor of Serbia, and Bulgaria is forced to give up to the Allies for subsequent allotment a large portion of Thrac ian territory on the northern coast of the Xgean. This temporary postponement of a final award of Thrace led to a vigorous Greek propaganda directed toward proving the recti tude and justice of the claims of Greece to this area. The Rumanian boundary re mains unchanged, though there have existed some hints to the effect that Rumania will be urged to return to Bulgaria the strictly Bul garian Dobrudja. In addition to territonal ces sions, heavy economic burdens are imposed on Bulgaria by the peace terms and her army is mduced to an insignificant force of 20,000 men. An indefinite promise of conunercial access to the )Egean is included in the treaty. It is the opinion of the most alert and critical authori ties that the peace treaty with Bulgaria, was designed to make her continued independence so difficult, if not so intolerable, that she will seek union with the new Jugo-Slav state.