Evening star., 1938-04-03

ground 1Or tne people OF this cOu
less thinks what is one mans los
Americans can spend their money at
home, where it is very much needed.
But with men as with animals there
Is too much the feeling that the
pastures on the other side of the fence
are much greener and more enticing.
DIR. Bilmanis Invites
You to Latvia.
Recently in touching upon the Euro
pean situation in a conversation with
Dr. Alfred Bllmanis, the Latvian Min
lister at Washington, We were surprised
to flnd what roseate view he took
relative to present conditions there
Touching is the word: For Washing
tonlans are aware that in time such
AS the present one only lightly touches
upon any world situation when talking
to diplomat, for they are as sensitive
as quicksilver. One might say the
Minister has apparently the cool
philosophical temperament of man
of the Far North, but when he becomes
enthuSed about the progress of the
little beehive republic which he repre-
sents he has a good deal of the tempo
OF the Latin. AS he strides up and
down the room. gesticulating with his
little short-stemmed pipe. he looks a
bit surprised that there is no smoke
coming from it-forgetting that he
has not lighted it-and describing the
beauty and allurements of his country.
one is seized with a yen to so there,
especially as the Minister says living
there is about a third of what it is in
many Europeon places and not nearly
as expensive as in the States
Those equity, rheumatic people who
60 annually to the European spas are
specially invited to the Baltic Riviera
at Riga this year and to Kemeri. where
one can enjoy the new luxurious hotel
or paint cottage life while he takes
the iodoriferous sulphur baths and
revels in the beautiful public gardens
and the natural loveliness of the
countryside. Americans being notori-
ously poor linguists will find their
native tongue generally spoken IN
Latvia because English is the chief
foreign language taught in all schools
there.
Ambassador and Mrs. Davies
Enjoy the Baltic.
DR.. Bilmanis became enthused as
he told of the pleasures of the yacht
ing season and the regattaS in the Gulf
of Riga, which begin in June and
last through July. Then on out into
the Baltic, where one sees the yachts
from all parts of the world Last
summer the American Ambassador to
the Soviet Union and Mrs. Joseph
Edward Davies were up there on their
tWo-masted -schooner-yacht, the Sea-
cloud. and we're quite intrigued with
the beauties of the Baltic, where the
sun sinks into the sea at 10 o'clock at
night. going down in gorgeous blaze
of red and gold glory, leaving behind
q blood-red streak on the horizon as
a warning that he will rise again be-
tween and in the morning in mag
nif1cent splendor. Can you imagine
anything more thrilling? And We
asked the Minister when one can sleep
in Riga. Well, it may be only artists,
poets and tourists who make habit
of watching the sun rise and set, but
in Latvia every one who possibly can
takes a summer holiday, for it is then
that the call of the sea is strong and
the great musical festivals and cho-
ruses. the pageants, folk dancing and
athletic sports are at their best.
Riga Is the Jewel on the Crown
OF Baltic Republics.
Riga, the Imperial City of the
North and that bright jewel in the
crown of Baltic republics, is where
Catherine the Great received the
warm welcome as the Princess Sophia
when on her way to Russia. After her
long winters drive over rough snowy
roads from Stettin, she stopped, heart
sick and despondent, but was cheered
by the spontaneous reception of the
people that were part of her empire
to be. 1t seems that later as the
Empress Catherine, she always visited
Riga with pleasure, because she felt
she was popular with all classes of
the people. One may condemn her
for joining with Frederick the Great
IN the partition of Poland, but she was
the victim of her environment. 1t is
sometimes wondered if the republics
OF Eastern Europe have forgotten their