“Bear well in mind,” insisted the Boer general, “the friendly attitude of the great Allies toward your country at a critical period of its history.  They restored it.  They meant and mean to help it to preserve its status.  It behooves the Poles to show their appreciation of this friendship in a practical way by deferring to their wishes.  Everything they ordain is for your good.  Realize that and carry out their schemes.”  “For their help we are and will remain grateful,” was the answer, “and we will go as far toward meeting their wishes as is feasible without actually imperiling their contribution to the restoration of our state.  But we cannot blink the facts that their views are sometimes mistaken and their power to realize them generally imaginary.  They have made numerous and costly mistakes already, which they now frankly avow.  If they persisted in their present plan they would be adding another to the list.  And as to their power to help us positively, it is nil.  Their initial omission to send a formidable military force to Poland was an irreparable blunder, for it left them without an executive in eastern Europe, where they now can help none of their protegees against their respective enemies.  Poles, Rumanians, Jugoslavs are all left to themselves.  From the Allies they may expect inspiriting telegrams, but little else.  In fact, the utmost they can do is to issue decrees that may or may not be obeyed.  Examples are many.  They obtained for us by the armistice the right of disembarking troops at Dantzig, and we were unspeakably grateful to them.  But they failed to make the Germans respect that right and we had to resign ourselves to abandon it.  They ordered the Ukrainians to cease their numerous attacks on us and we appreciated their thoughtfulness.  But the order was disobeyed; we were assailed and had no one to look to for help but ourselves.  Still we are most thankful for all that they could do.  But if we concluded the armistice which you are pleading for, this is what would happen:  we should have the Ruthenians arrayed against us on one side and the Germans on the other.  Now if the Ruthenians have brains, their forces will attack us at the same time as those of the Germans do.  That is sound tactics.  But if their strength is only on paper, they will give admission to the Bolsheviki.  That is the twofold danger which you, in the name of the Great Powers, are unwillingly endeavoring to conjure up against us.  If you admit its reality you cannot blame our reluctance to incur it.  On the other hand, if you regard the peril as imaginary, you will draw the obvious consequences and pledge the word of the Great Powers that they will give us military assistance against it should it come?”