Evening star., 1938-11-13
LatUia Holds Banner Heb
Ulmans Economic Policies Put Nation Firm Founda alton
By Leonid /. Strakhousky. D. Hist. Sc,
Professor OF European History at the University OF Mar

Twenty years ago the ancient red
white-red banner of the Latvian people
unfolded its colors over the citadel of
Riga, and new state was born. On that
day. November 10, 1918, the Republic
of Latvia formally proclaimed its inde-
pendence, thus joining the group of new
and regenerated states that emerged
from the ruins of the three empires
Russia, Germany and Austria Hungary.
Having been dominated successfully by
Germans, Poles. Swedes and Russians,
the Let's at last could breathe the air
of freedom. But it took nearly two years
for the provisional government under
the leadership of Karlis Ulmanis to free
the land from foreign foes and to estab-
lish its control over all Of Latvian terri
tory.
In these troubled times one is prone
to overlook the smaller states of the
world and to pay undue attention to the
so-called great powers. Yet in Latvia
during the last 20 years history was in
the making, and at present new type
OF state Is emerging under the benevo-
lent dictatorship of the same Karlis Ul-
manis, who presided over the destinies
OF his people in the first two years of
their independent existence and who to-
day combines the Office of President of
the republic and that of Prime Minister,
having seized power by coup d'etat on
May IS, 1894
Many problems which face countries
and people the world over. and their
adequate solution, can be studied through
the example of Latvia, although 1t occu-
pies only Is, 400 square miles (about half
the area of the State CT New York; and
has population of only 1880 900. AS in
a test tube, statesmen. diplomats, reform
ers and the average laymen can observe
in Latvian history of the past 20 years
the different reactions and solutions to
a variety of problems, such as dealing
with political liberty, with the rights of
minorities, with agriculture, with eco
nomic readjustment. with employment
and with a constructive foreign policy.
Fought to Keep independence.
No sooner had the Latvians pro-
claimed their independence than they
had to fight for it. The retreating Ger
man armies, which occupied most of the
national territory, were replaced by ad-
vancing Bolshevik troops which seized
the Latvian capital, Riga. city of 1885,
600 people, on January 3, 1919, forcing
the provisional government to flee first
to Jelgava (MitaW and later to Liepaja
LibaU, where it was protected by a Brit
ish naval squadron. The war against
the Bolsheviks was complicated by inter-
nal trouble arising from the opposition
of the conservative landed German aris-
tocracy to the democratic provisional
government. These Baltic barons, helped
by the German troops of Gen. Won der
Goltz, which had still remained in the
country, overthrew the provisional gov
ernment on April 16, 1919, but retained
power only until July of that year
when members of the provisional govern
ment made their triumphal entrance into
Riga, liberated from the Bolsheviks by
successful operations of the young
Latvian Army.
However, the foreign danger was not
over. The Germans joined hands with
reactionary Russians under the leader
ship of an adventurer named Avalov-
Bermondt, and on October 8, 1919,
opened an offensive against Latvian
forces. With the help of their neighbors
to the north, the Esthonians, and of Brit
ish and French naval units, the Latvians
repulsed the aggressor and cleared most
of the country by mid-December, thus
ending the threat to their existence from
the German side. They still had to face
the Bolsheviks, who held an important
part of their territory. On January 3,
1920, a campaign against the Red forces
was begun. It ended in complete victory
by the middle of February. Liberation
accomplished, Latvia could now begin to
build its national structure.
On April II and 10, 1920, general elec-
tions for constituent assembly took
place. This elected body proceeded with
the drafting of constitution as we'll as
with the PRONUNCIATION of new laws, the
most important Of which was the agra
rian reform which appropriated the large
landed estates aid distributed them to
small landholders after creating from
the appropriated lands large land re-
serve controlled by the government. The
new econstitution went into effect in
1922, and in the first days of November of
that year elections were held for the first
Latvian Parliament, composed of 100
members. Thus was Latvia finally estab-
nshed as democratic republic. The
Parliament really held all the political
power, as 1t elected the chief of state, a
mere fgurehead, and controlled the cabi-
net of ministers. The people, however,
retained the right to overrule Parlia-
ment by referendum.
New Political Parties Appear.
At first things went smoothly, but
soon the professional politicians de-
stroyed the very essence Of democracy
by making the formation of a stable
government impossible. Many new po-
Itical parties appeared, often created
merely to fulfill the ambitions Of some
individual politician, until finally the
100 parliamentarians were split into 18
individual groups, each fighting the
other, while the country's needs were
neglected. Then Karlis Umanis, who
before the World War was IN instructor