Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1923-01-10

. two new words irO play-words
which. like intelligensia. may be miss
I ing from many dictionaries. but which
- a long way toward explaining I'm
F portant facts about the new republic.
one Of these WORDS is "ralt." The
word does not refer. rs might be sus-
pected. 10 any indigenous resident OF
the former Baltic provinces Of Rus
STA. Just the opposite. A Bait Is a
uou-Lett. descendant of the Brethren
. of the Sword. an aptly named band
~ German merchants who settled
along the Gulf 81 Riga. near the pres
ent Latvia capital. Riga. and started
l On 10 convert or kill the Let's. Then
+ and there the Let's gave an inkling
Of their independent temper. They
I drove out the medieval missionaries.
I immersed themselves again In the
waters OF the Dvina where they had
been baptized az the point OF German
swords. and sent the waters back 10
I Germany as evidence that they re-
nounced the new religion.
Then and later Latvia shook OF
I German political control but welcomed
erOnomic cooperation OF Germans.
Z Riga became a prominent member OF
the Hanseatic league I'm the Thirteenth
century and kept an important place
In world trade until 1914 when II
stood second Only TO Petrograd among
Baltic cities IN its shipping.
Through the centuries Of political
scesaw the German merchants In Lat
via accomplished what Invaders could
not achieve. They gained control OF
the land and thus Of the local govern
ments and held "A position which has
been compared to that OF the landed
gentry In England OF century ago.
This squirearcny OF the Baltic COM
prises the Bnlts. And so enlightened
was their tyranny that when. about
the time Of our Civil war; the tsar
began 20 RuSSify the Baltic provinces,
the Let's and their neighbors resisted.
I They resented the replacement OF their
feudal barons by Russian bureaucrats.
"Literaten" Of Latvla.
The other new word which Latyia
brings Is "Literaten." IL applies 10
the professional men. the writers. art
lists. doctors and others. n group which
lies between the allen noblemen. on
the one hand. and the native farmers
and laborers. on the other. The Lat
via "Literaten," became the con-
FCrvers 81 literature. art. music. and
Ideals Of political Independence.
The present position OF Lettish mu-
sic may symbolic. In some degree.
Lettish national life. Invariably. wish
tors are impressed with :he musical
genius 81 the people. Critics explain
that the Let's have passed the folk
song period and are cropping toward
that stage OF creative genius where
great compositions may be expected
q them.
EsthOnia Is the northernmost Of the
three countries. Its northeastern cor
ner. In fact. extends 20 within about
80 miles OF kronsiadt. the fortified
gateway 10 Petrograd.
The Es;honians might we'll claim 10
be the peers Of any national sufferers
since medieval times because they
have been sore beSet both by Germans
and Russians. From the eighties OF
the last century until the World war
period Esthonia bore the double yoke
81 tsarist laws administered by Ger
man officials As one writer exclaims.
Heaven preserve US from Russian
law as interpreted by Germans. The
Russian official may not take Rus
sian law very seriously. bur one can
be sure thar the German officials will"
The Esths are an aboriginal people
- northern Europe who once terror
lied the Baltic by piracy. and later
clashed often with Swedes and Danes.
Within the PAST half century the Rus
slams undertook strenuous methods 10
gather the Esths into the fold OF their
I Orthodox church.
The ruggef endurance Of this north
T ern people. their vitality and spirit. Is
sufficiently shown by their bearing up
under oppression that was both re-
ligious and political. and from. the po-
litical standpoint both PrusSian and
i Russian. Perhaps their Mongolia de-
scent helps account for that.
Before the World war Esthonia was
accounted one ~ the most progressive
regions. ngricururally. in Russia. Ma
T ture is scarcely kind TO the Esths
as a nation. They live In a low
svumpy country. nowhere as high
al'ove sea level Ms rhe base n top
height ~ the Washington monEment-
Their summers are hot; their winters
. cold