Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-13
The Story the Week Has Told

to Great Britain and the United States,
which have been satisfactorily funded.
Perhaps the most notable improve
ment has been in respect of education.
| There is practically no illiteracy, and
| the University of Latvia at Riga en-
braces IL faculties and about 5000
students. There is genuine religious
freedom and freedom of the press.
The area of Latvia is about $4,000
square miles, the population about l.
| 100000 (about the same as West Vir-
is the largest town; Libau comes next,
with $4,000. The Let's are close kin
to the Lithuanians. With the Lithua-
mans and the BoreaSSinS (the original
PrusSian now amalgamated with other
stockS) they formerly constituted
racial group of Indo European origin,
speaking kindred Indo- European Ian
guages (the Baltic subdivision') more
primitive than the Slavonic languages.
The Lettish and Lithuanian languages
survive, and the periodical Latvian press
tlourishes vigorously.
X
Russia.-The Grand Duke Nicholas,
second cousin of the late Gear, died of
pneumonia in France the other day at
the age of u. He was commander-in-
chief of the Russian forces at the out
break OF the war and in 1914 won
series of notable victories over the
AustrianS in Galacia, but the next year
suffered terrible reverses, due, it is gen.
orally conceded, not to inferior general
ship, but to lack of guns and ammuni-
ton. Indeed. his conduct of the retreat
is highly regarded, and he was, perhaps,
great general. In September, 1915,
he was denoted by the Car, because
| $50 lady rumor at any rate) Of plain
speaking to his majesty about the Ras-
putin scandals, and sent to command
on the Turkish front. In 1922 he was
elected by the so-called supreme
council of Russian monarchists, meet
ing at Paris, successor to Gear Nicholas.
He was Romanoff of the Romanoffs,
for splendor of physique, but, unlike
many Romanoffs, led most aScetic
life.
Afghanistan. victorious over
| his disaffected tribesmen, the Ameer
Amanullah of AfghaniStan has issued
proclamation announcing renunication
of almost his entire program of WESTERN
| ization.
The Afghan girls sent to Turkey are
| to be summoned back. the purdah (Se-
clusion of women) system is to be re-
| stored, CONSUMPTION is to be abolished,
women'S associations are to be dis
banded, European dress is to be con-
signed to the garbage can, the Mollahs
are restored to their old estate, etc.
Amanullah has, 1t would seem, taken
leaf out of the book of Henri w. He
made a little mistake: he Is not the
Mustapha Renal of Afghanistan.
II X X
China.-Chang Hsueh-Liang, super
tuchun of Manchuria, has caused the
summary execution of Gen. Yang Yu-
Ting, his fathers chief of staff and
one of China's ablest men. Several
explanations are suggested In dis
patches-that Yang was at the head of
a plot to overthrow Chang, that Yang
had expressed diSapproval of Chang's
hosting of the Nationalist flag; still
again (and perhaps more plausibie) ,
| that Yang was the victim of an intrigue
by Chang Tso-Chen, a rival. An ex-
PLANTATION that makes what might be
called a movie appeal is that Yang was
dispatched below the Yellow Springs be-
| cause Chang Hsueh-Liang gave credu-
lous ear to a plot story concocted at
! Marking. Still another explanation shows
Yang's fall due. not to his opposition to
| the rapprochement of sorts with Nam
king, but to his liberalism, dissatisfied
with the tenuous land hypocriticaD ma
| ture of that rapprochement. Whatever
the explanation, the business is per-
turbing. Perhaps the real explanation
| (more perturbing than any other) Is
that Chang Is very sick man and has
lost his grip and sense of values.
X X X y
| Sir Hubert Wilkins.-Sir Hubert
wilkins announces by radio that the
first phase" of his Antarctic enterprise
| is completed and that he is about to