Poles Piqued, Offer Aid to N.Y. Homeless

Poland, piqued by Senate strings attached to the gift of American powdered milk for Poles affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, announced Tuesday that it will give 5,000 blankets and sleeping bags to the homeless of New York City.

Jerzy Urban, the government’s chief spokesman, also said Poland would require that the blankets and sleeping bags be handed out by private charities rather than U.S. officials.

In New York, Mayor Edward I. Koch called the Polish offer foolish and said the city’s homeless are provided with shelter, food and medical service. He suggested that the sleeping bags be donated instead to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.

Called Unfriendly

Urban’s announcement was coupled with a denunciation of “unfriendliness” by the Senate in the way 50,000 tons of surplus powdered milk was offered to Poles.

The Senate passed a resolution May 6 calling for powdered milk to be shipped to help replace milk tainted by radiation from the April 26 nuclear accident in the Soviet Ukraine.

In passing the resolution, the U.S. lawmakers stipulated that the aid be routed through church and other charitable groups to assure that it was distributed without regard to political considerations.

Urban said the Senate resolution treats “Poland as a whipping boy and making improvement of relations more difficult.”

“Sending milk to Poland could have been a gesture of friendship, but unfortunately it was contaminated worse than the milk of Polish cows contaminated with (radioactive) iodine. . . . It was contaminated with unfriendliness,” he said.

Questioning Honesty

Urban accused the Senate of “questioning the good intention and honesty of Polish authorities” by insisting that the powdered milk be distributed by private organizations.

He said Poland will accept the powdered milk but would first test it to make sure it was suitable for children.

Saying Poles were shocked to read about the “many thousands of homeless people” who sleep in the streets of New York City, Urban said the Polish government has decided to help the poor in the United States.