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PAGE 6 - WATEjILOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY From a western perspective. it would be rather hasty to conclude that Poland is try- ing to shed the Soviet-type socialism that is the basis of its political system. The present government under Messrs. Kania and Pinko. wski, remains tied to the Soviet Union both ideologically and economically. The Polish workers movement, “Soli- darity." is not a form of national protest against Soviet influence. More accurately? the Polish labour movement is attempting to change Polish law. Unionized labour is trying to gain legal recognition under a revised Po- lish constitution. And, as a realtor contacted by the Chronicle noted. the addi- tional land could add a value of five to ten thousand dollars to each property. The Government's concern is not surpris- ing. T?te strength of Solidarity' is estimated at octagon 4 and 8 million. Communist Party membei'ship is approximately 3 million! The two factors that will decide the future of free trade unions in Poland are the future City council acted wisely in sending back an administrative committee report recommending the sale of strips of land to three residents on Twin Oaks Cresc. __ For the committee to recommend instead that Greenside get a parcel of land measuring 60 feet wide by 51 feet deep for a mere couple of hundred, dollars is. laughable. _ . __ . ' .a. Even more ridiculous is when one realizes some city lot sizes aren't much more, if not less, than the amount of land offered each resident. For $200 a shot, it's an offer any homeowner couldn't refuse, It's alright for the city to be accommodating and not unduly penalize Greenside. But to hand him an uncalled for and overly generous "bonus" for his mistake and infraction is ridiculous. Solidarity,' or its leaders, has repeatedly denied having political aims. The state ar- gument is that 'solidarity's' lack of political ambition does not allow it to side-step its political responsibilities under state socia- lism. When he confessed his error to city hall, the administrative committee recommended the city sell the land Greenside had built on, and make the same offer to two of his neighbours for parcels of the parkland at a token price of $200. rii‘icst off, G/eenside is lucky he 'doesn't have the sort of city council that would simply authorize works personnel to tear up tdt; concrete slab, lay down new turf , if necessary, and send him t e bill. "dkeviirrdsidents, Dave Greenside, says he accidentally built a concrete slab on the city-owned parkland that abuts the rear of his property when constructi.ng a tirlynirq pool. . The other neighbours would hive got the same depth, but with widths for their strips being 82 feet and 98 feet. A - - - As Alderman John ShortFeed pointed out to council Monday. the city would be selling the land at about five cents per square foot combined. Offer too generous WALTER McLEAN A-oo Ctvoruc" one. u toe-no who 'too' at m 0 w Spam custom woo-m w-Iouoo Sou-m Put-n9 on Km Saul on m Wan-Ibo square on... Mano" to from 900un toSO0trm M6 4 at Poland's foreign debt stands at 518.5 to $20 billion (Us. l. The cost of servicing and making payments on this total is estimated / to be $7.4 billion for 1900 alone. , b) The Soviet Union has already loaned $1 billion (Spring. 1980) to meet debt service commitments. In the past, the Soviet Union has also aided Poland with emergency grain sales. of the Polish economy itself, and the limits to which the Soviets are willing to tolerate what they call "interruption of work" in Poland. The following statistics indicate the pre- carious position of Poland's economy, C) Foreign bankers have had difficulty in raising for Poland a $500 million syndicated loan (only $300 million as of Fall, 1980) and only 1.2 million was raised of an intended 1.5 million l DMI loan from West Germany. d) The cost of the recent port strikes, alone, was estimated at $500 million. e) Poland's agricultural efforts received a severe set-back this year from natural disas- ters tfloods and windstorms). An estimated two-thirds of the total harvest was lost. JANUARY 2, 1g ‘atrway year In short, Poland is bordering on whwnpuon: In [bled States Pu bushel Manager: Editor: established 1854 and F '" a in: "' tartada ore-(n \‘wnlnes Bill [urges Ptul Jalsevu.‘ Paul Winkler On the Polish situation bankruptcy. Despite the concessions given to 'Solidarity's' leader, Lech Walesa. under the Gdansk agreement, Poland will not be able to offer much to its citizens for some time to come. Canada's response to this turbulent situa- tion has been confusing to our allies and to the average Canadian. Prime Minister Tru- deau has consistently refused to make pub- lic, Canada's views towards intervention. He argues that he does not want a repeat of the This brings us to the rather delicate sub- ject of how the Soviets will regard further unrest in Poland. One view has Moscow be- lieving that the new Polish arrangements are leading to unmanageable chaos. " the Kremlin perceives any possibility of this situation spilling over into other Warsaw Pact nations, the Soviets would. in that con- text, not' hesitate to intervene militarily in Polan4. The main thrust of the argument against Soviet intervention, is the cost to the Soviets both economically and politically. Many Western leaders have sent guarded warnings to Russian leaders. g5 T'" itiraetrt Law/70 Air (FF J7itS/MigiWiilirir" oe TN6u9NT1t)OK 0017031707: De' uUANTHATVqty DO . Mvwasnms / ' 'iYat W "i"i,"v",_'iv,_cr,'i',i'ila,,,,,,i',,,i,s"vi,":"'1'i fjih1, 'ii1'iiiil l Until the NATO allies offer a united stan- ce, the Russians will continue to react to Str lidarity' by exhibiting their well-known antics of threatening gestures, political con- solidation and economic coercion. . At the resumption of Parliament, the or. ficial Opposition will continue to press Mr, Trudeau to join Western leaders in a unified demonstration of preventative action. The history of Russian external political activity would indicate a high probability of armed intervention. All Canadians hope and pray that Poland will have a peaceful New Year. What the NATO allies must show the Rus- sians is joint economic and political mea- sures that will cause the Russians to think twice before launching any invasion. incoherent NATO response to the invasion of Afghanistan. There is a fault in this line of thinking. The reference to Afghanistan was after the fact of an invasion. Surely the point to make to the Soviets, in the case of Poland, is that NATO is ready right now to take unified non- military action when, and if, the Soviets make any move into Poland.