Dirva = Field. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1915-current, 1943-04-30

initiative in creating the Baltic
States 1t is excusable for Rus
sian running away from the social
revolution he SO lightheartedly
wishes on the Baltic populations
not to know the history of the
Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian
independence movements which have
deep roots in these nations history.
Mr.. Soullhomline was sadly misin-
formed when he declares: GAS a
matter Of fact. Germany proclaimed
the independence of Lithuania on
February 16, 1872.
.As a matter, of real fact, this
proclamation was made by a Lith-
uanian Taryba (Council) of twenty
members elected by a Congress of
Lithuanian delegates from the 33
German occupied districts of Lith-
uania. This Congress was held in
Vilnius on September 1928, 1917,
and 230 delegates participated. This
proclamation was against the wish
es of the German military govern
ment which was angling for a per-
sonal union with the King of Prus-
sia This declaration by the Tary-
ba was Immediately approved by a
Congress of Lithuanian War Re-
and by a Congress of American
Lithuanians held in Madison Square
Garden, New York, March IS, 1918.
This declaration coincided with the
wishes of the Lithuanian nation
which began to be articulated since
1888.
The salve of "social revolution"
adduced by Mr.. Soukhomline as one
of the blessings of the Russian
Drang toward the Baltic fools no.
body. The plain fact is that the
Lithuanians had their social revolu-
ten: an intelligent land reform du-
ly devised by democratically cleo
ted and free parliament worked
through regularly constituted poll
tical parties and leaders. This hap
pened back in 1923. The Lithuan-
ians are a peasant, Catholic nation
with a distinctly Western outlook,
and very strong and thriving CO.
operative movement. They want
none of the Bolshevik Revolution,
or it's methods. The same goes for
the Latvians and the Estonians.
Since the Nazi aggression against
Lithuania in 1889 when the port of
Klaipeda (MemeD and the 20 mil
lion dollars worth of improvements
were seized by Hitler, the govern
ment of Lithuania was coalition
of members of all Lithuanian par
ties with the tacid support of the
Social Democrats. It's only "fas
cist" symbol was the President,
still in office after putsch by mil
itary officers in 1926. This putsch
had the ostensible aim to counter
act an expected Bolshevik move
against the political integrity of
Lithuania = q move similar to the
one that failed in Estonia.
regain their hard won independence
after this war, it will not be on ac-
count of any of the oily arguments
of Russian Imperialism, so ably ad-
vocated by Mr.. Soukhomline. The
Lithuanians, the Latvians and the
Estonians will lose their indepen-
dence by the simple principle Of
might is right. Must we applaud
this in advance, presumably, upon
the great liberal principle Of "the
greatest happiness of the greatest
number? (Soviet Russia has 100
million people, the Baltic Republics
only six or seven million).
The problem is by no means an
easy one, but a true liberal tradi-
ton it would seem, should strive
to work for an international order
where might could not override the
natural rights of smaller nations,
and relations should be based upon
some principle of justice and law.
The Baltic people place their
hopes in the United States. In
fact, the hopes of many other peo-
pie are placed there, also. These
hopes may turn sour. The United
States might repudiate the prin-
ciples of the Atlantic Charter as
it repudiated the Wilsonian ideal
ism expressed in the League of
| Nations. If that should happen,
then the ''nascent Soviet nacional-
ism" (as Prof. Karpovich calls it)
will accomplish the work which
Tsarist imperialism strove to do in
the Baltic region since 1795 = to
Russianize the non-Slavic Baltic
populations. The millenial Russian
Drang will then be complete, and
three more small nations will have
been choked by a bigger one.
V. Sirvydas.
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