Evening star., 1943-02-23
Lotvion Envoy Differs
With Realistic View
Dr.. BiImunis Quotes
American Statements
On BoItic independence
To the Editor of The Star:


To the Editor OF The Star:
As usual, it is interesting to read Con-
stantine Browns articles and his personal
views expressed in them, although I
cannot always share them. For instance,
in his current Sunday editorial, Events
Viewed, Etc" he states that in the
Baltic countries or 'in their section of
Europe" mixture of races, interests
and ideologies exists, making it dim
cult for the average American to take
sides one way or the other"
AS far as know, present-day Amer
lean high school geography textbooks
do not find it difficult to discern between
Slavic Russians and Penno- Urgic Firms
and Estonians, nor between Russians and
Baltic Latvians and Lithuanians. The
Firms and Estonians are of the same
race and speak akin languages. Also
the Latvians and Lithuanians are related
and speak akin languages. South of
Latvia-L -Lithuania is Poland, inhabited by
Poles. Everybody knows the Poles are
not Russian. The Baltic peoples are
neither Russian nor German. They are
also mostly OF Lutheran or Catholic
faiths, whereas the Russians are or were
Greek orthodox.
After the Germans left the Baltic
countries the only small non-Baltic
racial minorities left in the Baltic coun-
tries were the Jews and the Russians.
These minorities enjoyed full cultural
autonomy and equal political rights.
Concerning the mixture "of interests and
tdealogies" expressed by Mr.. Brown, I
would like to emphasize that with re-
spect to their interests, all the Baltic
countries are agricultural and seafaring
countries with local industries, and their
chief interest was to preserve their Ian
guage, culture, families, private property,
self government and the freedom of the
Baltic Sea, granting freedom of transit
to their neighbors, including Soviet Rus
sia. 1t was a good neighbor" policy
and 1t was in the interests of the Baltic
states themselves. Their theology was
sound and based on religion, democratic
principles and the principles of CO.
operation. There was no mixture what
soever of ideologies. The Baltic peoples
by their ideologies are Western Euro
peans.
1t is worth while to remember what
the then Secretary of State Charles E.
Hughes stated about the Baltic peoples
when granting recognition 20 years ago
to the Baltic states:
''The United States has consistently
maintained that the disturbed conditions
of Russian affairs may not be made
the occasion for alienation of Russian
territory and this principle is not deemed
to be infringed by the recognition at
this time OF the governments Of Es-
tonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which have
been set up and maintained by the
Indigenous population"
Again, on July %, 1910, Undersecretarv
Of State Sumner Welles stated that
from the day when the peoples of
these republics first gained their indie
pendence and democratic form Of gov
ernment, the people of the United States
have watched their admirable progress
in government with deep and SYM
pathetic interest" In the same state
ment, the policy OF the more powerful
neighbors of the Baltic states was quail
fed as presenting devious processes"
whereunder the political independence
and territorial integrity Of the three
small Baltic republics, Estonia, Latvia
and Lithuania, were to be deliberately
annihilated.
Now Mr.. Brown evidently has forgot
ten all these statements and facts He
even takes the liberty of quoting too
freely diplomatic statements. evidently
from memory. He says: THE repre-
sentatives of these three republics main
tain that the elections took place a
month after Soviet troops had entered
their country to preserve law and
order and the elections consequently,
were held under duress. -" The first
part Of the quotation and the last are
right, but I have never said that the
Soviet troops entered Latvia ito preserve
law and order" To the contrary, that
Is what the Bolsheviks said. I depicted
the true state of affairs when stated
that "the Baltic states had been occu-
pied in result of unprovoked Soviet
Russian military aggression after blitz
ultimatum, and the so-called plebiscites
were held under pressure of overwhelm-
ing Soviet Russian military forces, con-
centrated on the territories Of the Baltic
states. Such plebiscites naturally can
not be valid"
Now, "in the light of the clear warn
ing received from Moscow" Mr.. Brown
builds his realistic point of view" on
misquotation of diplomatic statements
and disregard Of the high principles ex-
pressed not only in the Atlantic Charter,
but also in numerous Pan-American res
olutions and Of such principles as were
expressed by the American Government
on July 23 1910: The policy of this Gov-
ernment Is universally known. The peo-
Pile Of the United States are opposed to
predatory activities, no matter whether
they are carried on by the use Of force
or by the threat of force. They likewise
are opposed to any form OF intervention
on the part OF one state, however power
ful, In the domestic concerns of any
other sovereign state, however weak.
These principles constitute the very
foundations upon which the existing re-
lationShip between the 81 sovereign re-
publics of the New World rests"
The United States will continue to
stand by these principles" continues the
declaration, because of the conviction