POLAND: A Pigsty for the Sejm!

Into Brooklyn's noisy harbor last week sailed the Gdynia Amerika steamer Polonia, first passenger vessel ever to cross the Atlantic under the Polish Flag. Simultaneously, Warsaw was host to the East European Agrarian Conference. These commendable commercial pursuits, however, were vastly overshadowed by the political activities of blustering, oath-some Dictator Josef Pilsudski. Last April all the Dictator's shouting and all of his men—including President Ignatz Moscicki—could not prevail upon Parliament to make his brother Jan Prime Minister (TIME, April 7). The best Dictator Pilsudski could do was to get the job for one of his "colonels," Valerian Slavek. Last week he grew weary of eternal bickering and backbiting from Parliament, principally because its parties could not agree on certain constitutional alterations which Josef Pilsudski thinks necessary. So he had the President declare him Prime Minister (his only office hitherto has been Minister of War) and dissolve the Sejm and Senate pending November general elections. For his cabinet he chose five of the "colonel group." With the aid of his War veterans' organization, he may be able to elect a sizeable majority of his supporters next November. Aperiodically Dictator Pilsudski calls in the newspaper reporters and pours out a string of abuse on the Sejm (Lower Chamber), its members and the present Polish constitution. The worst expletive newshawks have felt free to print to date has been the famed "The Sejm is a prostitute!" (TIME, July 9, 1928 et seq.). Last week the Dictator enlarged a little on his usual theme of excoriation. Said he of the constitution: "It is like a bad stew; no stomach is able to digest it." And then: "It exudes such an odor that the street in which Parliament is located smells unpleasantly!" And finally: "A pigsty for the Sejm!"