Inside Report (5)

The political climate in Poland has proved too hot for a visit from US labor leader Lane Kirkland. Kirkland and an AFL-CIO delegation were to visit Solidarity, the Polish labor federation, in Gdansk next week. But the required visas did not arrive in time for their scheduled departure. There was no explanation from the Polish government.

None was needed. Poland's Soviet patrons view Solidarity as a threat "to the interests of the entire socialist community." The Soviet government newspaper, Izvestia, also has attacked the "foreign backers" of Solidarity, particularly the AFL-CIO, which has given the independent union movement substantial financial aid.

AFL-CIO says only that Kirkland's trip has been delayed. The Polish Embassy in Washington says the visas decision is "still open" in Warsaw. But insiders consider the AFL-CIO trip off -- and the State Department, worried about incidents, is breathing easier.m