N3e© CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY LI y INDEPENDENCE for the LITHUANIAN NATION B. F.JOHNSON, PUBLISHERS, INC. WASHINGTON, D. C. 1916 C' U Iv' I I I .HKMV^'IU^IVV wS^^^Si fif WW Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028371791 LITHUANIA'S CASE FOR INDEPENDENCE BY T. NORUS AND J. ZIUUS ISSUED BY LITHUANIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA B. F. JOHNSON, PUBLISHERS, INC. WASHINGTON, D.C. 1918 INDEX The Lithuanian Nation 7 Origin 7 Philology 7 Historical _ 9 The Old Prussian and the Teutonic Knights 9 The Letts and the Livonian Knights 10 Lithuanians and the Cross Militant 12 The Tatar Invasion _ 1 3 The Polish Union 14 Polonization of Lithuania and Poland 16 Partition of Lithuania and Poland 16 Lithuania's Russification 1 7 Regeneration _ 19 Lithuania's Emigration 20 The Causes of Emigration _. 20 The Emigrant in Russia, Poland, and (Lettonla) Latvia 20 The Emigration to Great Britain, Africa and elsewhere 20 The Lithuanians in the United States 21 The Settlements and the Occupations of the Emigrants 21 The Influence of American Freedom on the Lithuanians 22 The Cultural Status of Lithuanians in America 22 The Number of Lithuanians in America 23 Ethnographic Lithuania 25 No Pretensions to Historic Lithuania- 25 Lithuania — The Ethnographic Concept 27 The Researches of D'Erkert and Koreva _ 34 The Census of 1897 37 The Area and Population of Prussian Lithuania 41 The Area and Population of Lithuania. _ 42 Lithuania and Other Countries Compared _ 44 The Confederation of Lithuania and Latvia _ 45 The Economic Status of Lithuania _ _ 47 Lithuania Is An Agricultural Coimtry. _.. 47 Lithuanian Farmers Live Separately. _ 48 The People with Little or No Land.-. 48 Farm Products __ _„ 48 Fruits and Vegetables _ .♦ _ „ _ 48 Stock Raising ._ 49 German Exploitation 49 Lithuanian Forests _ _ _ 49 Lakes and Fishing. 50 Peat 50 The Dearth of Minerals 50 Mineral Springs - „ 51 Industry ..„ 51 Household Industry - 51 Amber Industry _ 51 Future Prospects _ 52 Conclusion „ 62 Future Industrial Developments 63 The Cultural Evolution and Re-awakening of Lithuania S5 The Ancient Culture of the Lithuanians 66 The White Russian Influence 66 The Use of Latin „ 66 The Polish Influence 66 The Rise of Lithuanian Literature 66 The Earliest Lithuanian Writers 67 The Poet Donelaitis - - 67 The Literary Men of the Nineteenth Century _ 67 The Polish Lithuanian Period 68 The Prohibition of the Lithuanian Press 69 A New Movement in Lithuanian Literature - - 69 The Period of Unusual Activity — • -- ^^ The Strength of the General Cultural Movement ^^ Organization for the Dissemination of Culture _. — ^2 The Lithuanian Scientific Society ^^ The Society of Fine Arts™. 63 Agricultural and Other Societies - ^3 The Organization of War Refugees in Russia 64 Political Parties of Lithuania 66 The Political Evolution of the Lithuanians — 68 Tendencies Toward the Dissolution of the Union with Poland... 68 The Masses Are Decidedly for Self-Govemment 69 The Evolution of the Idea of Independence in Lithuania 70 The Struggle for the Independence of Lithuania up to the Time of the Russian Revolution 71 Conferences Abroad 72 The Berne Conference 73 The Lausanne Conference _ _ 74 The Lithuanian Movement in Russia (1916-1917) 74 Lithuanian Autonomy and Russian Constitutional Democrats... 75 First Russian Demand in Russia for Independent Lithuania 76 The Struggle for Lithuanian Independence Since the Russian Revolution, 1917 76 The Petrograd Convention of May 27, 1917 _ 77 Widespread Demands in the Lithuanian Settlements Through- out Russia for the Independence of Lithuania 79 Demands of the Soldiers' Union. _ 80 Recognition of the Sovereign Rights of Lithuania by the Con- gress of the 22 Russian Nationalities 61 Later Resolutions Adopted by the Lithuanians of Russia 82 Political Resolutions of the Lithuanians in America 84 Conclusion _ 86 Relations of Lithuania to Other Nationalities _ 87 Relations to Russia _ „ 87 Relations with Poland _ 87 Relations with Germany 92 Relations with Letts 93 Economical and Cultural Evolution of Small Nations of Europe...... 93 Conclusion _ 96 PREFACE In the course of the great international drama which culminated in Allied victory in November, many charac- ters have been brought upon the world stage with whose talents, traits, and antecedents most of the world is unfa- miliar and with whose ideals and aspirations, stifled as they have been by centuries of despotism, the world is practically ignorant. Isolated as she had been by dis- tance, by policy, and by intense application to domestic affairs, America in particular had grown out of touch with, if not utterly confused by, the mazes of European politics and the clash of national interests in the Eastern Hemisphere ; but as the urge of autonomy forced out the pillars which supported imperialism, whilst the battering guns of democracy were leveling thrones in the dust, the interest of humanity in those smaU nations on which au- tocracy has for so long battened was aroused, and with the clearing away of the smoke and wreckage of empire it becomes appropriate to present to the public "Lithua- nia's Case for Independence." At the outset let it be noted that as late as the Middle Ages Lithuania was one of the largest States in Europe, her expansion being due not so much to aggressive policies as to the fortuities of civilization's defense. But ceaseless defensive warfare with neighbors growing ever more pow- erful eventuated in her subjugation, and for centuries she has been, in turn and by joint action, the victim of the crushing oppression of Russia and Germany. The chief instrument in perpetuating her subjection has been the proscription of her language and her press. "To take the language from a nation," said one of Lithuania's vener- ated authors, Nicholas Dauksza, "is like expunging the sun from the heavens, destroying world order, imprisoning the life and soul of that nation." Another cause for Lithuania's decadence may be blamed to the old aristocracy itself, which, after the marital union with Poland, supinely permitted itself to be influenced and controlled by the Polish nobility, while the proletariat was being reduced to serfdom and bondage. Not until 1861 did the Lithuanian renaissance take place, by which time her identity had become merged with that of Poland to a degree which confused in the mind of the world what were in fact two distinct racial and national entities, a confusion which Poland has fatuously believed to be to her self-seeking interests still further to confound, as she does today, politically, territorially, and linguistically. Hence it is that Lithuania, on whose domain many of the bloodiest campaigns of this great war have been waged, has received relatively little attention from the world at large, her sufferings have received scant sympa- thy, and she has bandaged her own wounds. It is with the purpose of acquainting the public, par- ticularly the American public, somewhat with Lithuania and her people, her history, her struggles against annihi- lation, her ideals and her aspirations, that this sjTiopsis of events and conditions is sent forth, and if the truths herein contained may at times be ci'udely stated, it is hoped that the reader will be lenient, bearing in mind the wide dif- ference between a language, cousin to the ancient San- skrit, and the English tongue. This much is believed to have been made clear : On the broad issue of self-determination Lithuania stands four- square to every principle enunciated by the world's great statesmen while the war was at its height. Not one side obliques to negative a perfect case. If the laws laid down by these international judges is as impartially adminis- tered as it is fundamentally sound, then Lithuania rests confident that her case as presented to the jury of the world will receive that verdict Avhich will justify the peace conferees in striking off her shackles and restoring to her freedom of government and equality among nations. George Cuetis Peck. THE LITHUANIAN NATION Origin. — The Luthuanians are a branch of the Indo- European race, quite distinct from the Slavs and Ger- mans. Earliest history found them dwelling on the shores of the Baltic Sea in the territory situated between the Vistula and the Salis rivers. According to the opinion of philologists the influence of the Lithuanian language on the cultured terminology of the Finns to the north, especially prior to the division of the Finnish language into the many dialects of today, clearly indicates that the Lithuanians lived near the Finns long before the appear- ance of the Slavic or the Germanic peoples in that part of Europe. The Lithuanians brought the first traces of culture and knowledge of religion to the peoples living north of them. The Lithuanians may therefore be con- sidered as having an autochtonic as well as an historic claim to live and develop in this region, where their fore- fathers have dwelt from time immemorial. Anthropo- logically they belong to the dolichocephalic type. They are a blonde race, the light-haired, blue-eyed coloration predominating, tall of frame and massive of physique. Philology. — The Luthuanians have a distinct language which properly belongs to the Eastern Indo-European division. It is one of the oldest living languages, pos- sessing a certain similarity to the Latin and the Greek, but more closely resembling the ancient Sanscrit. While it contains some Slavic adulteration, this is but the natural result of centuries of contiguity with Slavic races, and from the standpoint of the philologist the Lithuanian language resembles the Slavic no more than do other lan- guages of the Indo-European division. Comparatively speaking a Slav is no better able to converse with a Lithu- anian than an Englishman with an Italian or Frenchman. Professor Maksimov (Encyclopedia Brokhaus) says: "The Lithuanian and the Slavic languages have much in 8 common in their words for designating plants and vege- tables, and tools used in tilling the land, which shows a common growth in culture during the latter period of their history." Otherwise, the professor continues, there is nothing in common between the Lithuanian and the Slav languages. In the study of philology the Lithuanian language is of the highest importance, appreciation of this fact being indicated by the establishment of chairs for its instruction in some of the world's greatest universities. Kant, the philosopher (he was of Lithuanian descent, born in Prussian Lithuania), in his introduction to Ru- hig's Lithuanian Dictionary, says that the language shotdd be preserved as the best means for the dissemina- tion of culture and advancement among the Lithuanians, as the best expositor for linguists in their study of lan- guages, and as the pharos to the means of commimication of the races of antiquity. The Lithuanian language, as well as the language of the ancient Prussians, now extinct, together with the Lettish language of today constitute the Baltic branch of Languages, as is illustrated by the fol- lowing chart of the Indo-European linguistic division: ThE POSITION OF THE Lithuanians IN THE Family ofIncx}-European Nations Indo-European Family I Western Branch | | Eastern Branch | IGreekI IIUYRiAwl I Chjic | IJtouamI IGermahI lAiBMiMl ItBHailiil I Arian I [SlavicI Baltic Group jQicPiiusaMl [imiuMtiAMl [Lettish -' uiMiiill 9 The language of the ancient Prussians, very similar to the Lithuanian, and bearing a still closer resemblance to extant Lettish, became extinct toward the end of the Six- teenth Century, and the only traces of it now to be found are in books printed prior to that time. Lithuanian and Lettish are closely related to each other, the roots of practically all the words being the same, and the gram- matical construction is similar. A Lithuanian and a Lett will soon learn to converse freely, the one with the other. It is difficult to determine at just what period these two languages became separated, but it is safe to say that the cleavage became marked some sixteen centuries ago. Historical The Old Prussians and the Teutonic Knights. — Authentic history respecting these people begins with the spread of Christianity in Northern Europe. At that time the Lithuanians were dialectically divided into three branches: the Lithuanians proper, the Letts and the old Prussians. The old Prussians occupied the basin of the Vistula river and the territory along the shores of the Kurisch-Haff bay. The Poles, their nearest neighbors, unable to subjugate this group of the Lithuanians in- voked in A. D. 1226 the aid of the Teutonic Knights, a military order organized for the purpose of expelling the Turks from the Holy Land. Having secured a foothold on Prussian soil, this order rapidly became powerful, and in less than a century succeeded in bending the Prussians to its yoke. The territory wrested by these Teutonic Knights from the old Prussians, having become thoroughly Germanized, is known to us today as East and West Prussia. It lies along the shores of the Baltic between the Vistula and Pregel rivers, completely isolated from Germany, the Poles being on the west and south, and the Lithuanians on the north. With the coming of the Reformation these militant monks divested themselves of their robes and be- came secularized. Thus the foundation was laid for the present Junker caste. The inception of the present Ger- 10 man bureaucracy is to be found in the discipline of that military order; the ancient spirit of aggression, under the guise of Divine authority, the greed for conquest, spolia- tion and exploitation of unoffending peoples which char- acterized those old Teutonic Knights, still motivates the present-day Germany. In these wars against the Prussians the Teutonic EJiights succeeded in overrunning a portion of Lithuania proper, namely, the territory bound by the Pregel, Shir- vint and Niemen rivers, as well as a part of Samogitia (the lower Lithuania) along the coast from the Niemen to the port of Klaipeda (Memel) . This portion of Lithu- ania proper is today included in Germany, and constitutes Lithuania Minor, which the Lithuanians earnestly hope may again be united to Lithuania proper to form part of the free and independent State of Lithuania. For more than 600 years Lithuania Minor has been ruled by Ger- many with the utmost severity, and every attempt has been made thoroughly to Germanize the population, but with little success. They hold tenaciously to their language and have done much to improve the culture of Lithuanians in general. In this part of Prussian Lithuania, known in Mediaeval times as Sudavia, almost in the entire, or in the greater part of it, the Lithuanian language still exists to the pres- ent day. The Lithuanians never acquiesced in their severance from Prussian Lithuania, but, on the contrary, persisted in their demands for its annexation to Lithuania. For its restoration Mindaugis for many years waged war with the Teutonic Order. Likewise, Grand Duke Vitautas, after many years of warfare, defeated them at Gruenwald (1410) , and at the peace conference in Velona demanded entire Lithuania Minor, with the rivers Pregel and Angers as boundaries. The Letts and the Livonian Knights. — The history of the Lettish branch is in some respects similar to that of the old Prussians. The Germans, with the avowed pur- 11 pose of spreading Christianity, founded the fortified town of Riga in 1201 and organized a military body — the Livonian Order, or Sword Bearers — which eventually subjugated the Letts. During the Reformation the Li- vonian Order became secularized, and its members, as- suming baronial titles, remained, if not the rulers, at least overlords of large tracts of land. With the fall of the feudal system these barons granted a certain liberty of person to the Letts, but refused them the right to acquire land, or, if this I'ight was granted at all care was taken to see that only small land holdings -were conveyed to them. As a rule the barons preferred to cultivate the land them- selves, or to let them out to tenants, and to this day more than two-thirds of Lettish lands are in the hands of Ger- man barons notwithstanding the fact that the Germans comprise but 4% per cent of the population of the coun- try. Despite over six centuries' subjection to German servitude, and Russian rule and influence, the Letts have preserved their language and their national spirit. Pos- sessed of but little freedom since the decline of the feudal system, and of very little land, their schools and govern- ment offices controlled by the Germans, or, during the past few decades, in the hands of the Russians, neverthe- less they have still progressed nationally and economically. Their farms, gardens, and orchards are the most fruitful in Russia, they are the best artisans, most honorable tradesmen and merchants, the ablest seamen, and in learn- ing they have taken front rank. They have established their own newspapers and laid the foundations for their literature. They have organized successful societies for the promotion of arts and sciences, and the official statis- tics show that in all former Russia the Letts have had the smallest percentage of illiterates. These German barons have exercised a potent influence upon the Russian bureaucracy, and have generally held the highest offices in the civil Russian government and the army. They have also had much to do in shaping the foreign and domestic policies of Russia, and they are largely responsible for the present demoralization of that 12 country. The Letts have firmly opposed their German oppressors. In the Russian revolution of 1905 the Letts were the first to rise and proclaim a Baltic Republic, and they demanded that the barons parcel out portions of their estates and offer the land for sale to the peasantry. When the Russian Diuna was established the Letts at all elections successfully supported their candidates against the German landlords. Lithuanians and the Ckoss Militant. — The third and most numerous and most important branch — ^what may be considered the main stem of the Lithuanian race, lived, and stiU lives along the shores of Kurish-Haff and along the valley of the Niemen. Prior to the Twelfth Century Christianity had not been acknowledged by these people, and about this time, actuated mainly by religious motives, the Greek Orthodox Russians, on the east, and the Roman Catholic Poles, on the south, undertook to Christianize the Lithuanians at the point of the sword. In this under- taking the Poles were reinforced by the two German orders, the Teutonic Knights and the Swordbearers, which harried the Lithuanians on their western flank. These two orders proved to be the most dangerous against which the Lithuanians had to contend. Encouraged by conces- sions of conquered lands, titles of distinction, and special privileges conferred upon them by the Popes and neigh- boring Christian rulers, indigent knights from all quar- ters of Europe flocked to the standards of these two orders for the purpose of conquering the Lithuanians, or to baptize them with fire and sword, confiscate their prop- erty, and reduce them to serfdom. The Letts and Prus- sians having already experienced this Christian immola- tion, the Lithuanians were put to their own resources to defend themselves. Rimgaudas, cognizant of their dan- ger, first united all the Lithuanians into a Grand Duchy, over which he assumed title. Later his son, Mindaugas, adopted discretion as the better part of valor, under such odds as assailed him, and consented to be baptized. For this act of submission he was crowned King of Lithuania 13 (1252) by Pope Innocent IV. But when he discovered that, despite his acknowledgement of the True Faith, the onslaughts of the two orders still continued, that pillage rather than conversion was their real purpose, he recanted and entered into a war for the preservation of his country. Under Mindaugas, and later vinder the rule of the Grand Dukes Gedeminas, Algirdas, Keistutis, and Vitautas, this defensive warfare seems to have been mainly successful. Lithuania voluntarily embraced Christianity in 1386. The Tatar Invasion. — ^Along about this period, the Tatar hordes, under Genghis Khan, descended upon the peoples occupying what are now the territories of Eastern and Southern Russia, and began to advance westward, threatening all Europe. The Russian provinces quickly placed themselves under the protection of the Lithuanians, who defeated the Tatars in several engagements, at length holding them along the Volga river and on the shores of the Sea of Azov. During the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and the beginning of the Fifteenth Centuries Lithuanian rule extended over a large part of Great Russia, including Pskov and Nov- gorod, all of White Russia and a considerable portion of Lower Russia, now loiown as Ukrainia. The boundaries of Lithuania stretched from the Baltic Sea in the North to the Black Sea in the South, to the sources of the Ugra river in the East, and to the Narva and Bug rivers in the West. (See maps— Lithuania, 1392-1410.) The Rus- sian historians bear testimony to the benevolent rule of the Lithuanians over the Russian people during this epoch, and aver that they enjoyed the greatest liberty of thought, speech, religion, schooling, etc., through the equitableness of the laws and institutions based upon the Lithuanian Statute, while local self-government was harmonized to the customs of the inhabitants. Certain of these Russian provinces flourished under Lithuanian inile for over 500 years, finally reverting to Russia in the Eighteenth Cen- tury, partitionment of Poland and Lithuania. 14 The Polish Union.— In the latter part of the Four- teenth Century Poland initiated a cabal against the integ- rity of the Lithuanian State which has persisted in a greater or less degree down to the present day. Its first step was to effect a personal union of the two countries through the marriage of Hedvig, Queen of Poland, with Jagello, the Lithuanian Grand Duke, and son of Algir- das, which was achieved in 1386. This action was first prompted by the idea that by thus uniting the two nations they might with greater success withstand the aggressions of the Teutonic Knights, formerly the allies of the Poles, but now arrayed against them. By this marriage Jagello became the king of Poland, but the two countries did not unite. The marriage of Jagello to the Queen of Poland having removed him as Grand Duke of Lithuania, Vitau- tas, a statesman of note, and an able leader, was elected to that vacancy. This hymeneal relationship having been established be- tween the two countries, Vitautas speedily utilized it to inaugurate a joint campaign against the Teutonic Order, and in 1410, at Gruenwald and Tannenberg, near the very spot where the Russians met defeat in 1915, the power of the Teutonic Order was forever broken by the armies of Vitautas and Jagello, and the German Drang nach Osten for that century was halted. Vitautas was later hailed as King of Lithuania by Sigismond, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, but the crown sent by Sigis- mond to authenticate that act never adorned the head of Vitautas. The Polish nobility, fearing the prestige which it would confer on Lithuania, arrested its delivery at the border, and soon after Vitautas died. Following his death the Lithuanians still continued to elect their rulers. Svidrigela, Zigmuntas, and Casimir of the Jagellon line were elevated to the dukedom in the order named. In order to preserve the figment of a per- sonal union between Lithuania and Poland, the Poles repeatedly elected as their king the men chosen by the Lithuanians as their Grand Dukes. Casimir, Alexander, his son, Zigmuntas, the brother of Alexander, Sigismond 15 Augustus, the son of Zigmuntas, all were gratuitously entrusted with the Polish crown shortly following their election to the Lithuanian Grand Dukedom. Unable to maintain the political nexus between the two countries in any other way, the Poles adopted this method in the hope of establishing some claim on Lithuania. Sigismond Augustus was the last of the Jagellon line, and upon him the Poles centered all their efforts in the vain attempt to effect a permanent union of the two coun- tries. Promises of high privileges to the acquiescent Lithuanian nobility, and threats of severe punishment visited on the recalcitrant, preceded the convention called at Lublin in 1569. Here, over the protests of a large number of the Lithuanian delegates, the Lublin Union was formed under which Lithuania and Poland were welded into one so-called republic ruled over by the privi- leged nobility. In its political aspect this entity was not dissimilar to the present Austria-Hungary: both states were presided over by one head and were permitted but one senate and one "seim" or the legislative body, Avhich convened alternately, first in one, then in the other coun- try. A single coat of arms was adopted, with the insignia of both countries incorporated in the seal. The customs duties between the two nations were entirely abolished. In the face of all this, however, Lithuania persisted in maintaining her own army, her own fiscal and judicial system, and her administrative officers, such as marshal, chancellor, a hetman, and others. PoLONizATiON OF LITHUANIA. — Thesc dual monarchs were elected for life. They exercised little authority, and power they had none. The government was uncentral- ized and unstable. The affairs of the dual monarchy were in the hands of the nobility, and the peasants were re- duced to the condition of serfs, owned and judged by their overlords. The murder of a serf by a noble was made punishable by a nominal fine. These magnates maintained their own armies with which they frequently waged war against each other. Before each election the 16 nobility bartered for privileges and concessions with the monarchial candidates, and the peasants were looked upon as chattels in the deals. The predacity of the times eventually corrupted the Lithuanian nobility, who were prone to emulate their Polish exemplars. Polish "pene- tration" began to make itself felt. A provision of the Lublin Union prohibited the citizens of one nation to the agreement from accepting or holding public office in the other. Nevertheless the Poles ignored this prohibition, and became more or less an element in the official life of Lithuania, where, through the channels of public office, the churches, and the schools, they undertook the Polon- ization of the upper classes. An intense propaganda was kept up throughout the country to disparage the Lithu- anian language. The Latin language was substituted in the Academy of Vilnius (founded 1578), which numbered among its alumni several literati who wrote in Lithuanian, and the children of the peasant class were barred from attending any of the higher schools. Gradually the Lithuanian nobility adopted the Polish language as their own, though the Lithuanian language continued to be used in every-day life and in literary works, especially during the period of the Reformation. In the religious field the Poles imdertook to abridge the rights of the orthodox believers in Lithuania's Russian provinces, and their incursion into this field terminated in a war with Moscow, the present Russia, and with the Cossacks, the present Ukrainia, the provinces professing the teachings of the Greek Orthodox Church allying themselves with the Russians. Partition of Lithuania and Poland Those were the three great causes that were responsible for the downfall of Poland and, together with it, of Lithu- ania, and both nations, disrupted by anarchjr, were par- titioned by the neighboring nations towards the end of the Eighteenth Century. At the first partition of 1772 the Russians took the nearest Russian provinces away from Lithuania. At the 17 second partition in 1793 Russia received as her share the remaining Russian territories which had up to this time been a part of Lithuania. Thus the Russians detached from Lithuania the whole so-called Russian Lithuania and the Lithuanians were left only Lithuania Proper, namely, Samogitia (Zemaitija) and the Palatinatus of Vilnius, Trakai (Troki), etc. Thus the ethnographic borders of Lithuania were thereby defined by the Rus- sians themselves. At the third partition in 1795 Russia took all that remained of Lithuania as ethnographically defined with the exception of the government of Suvalkai (Suvalki), which went to Prussia, and later was taken away from Prussia by Napoleon and annexed to the Duchy of Warsaw. The Congi-ess of Vienna ceded the Government of Suvalkai together with Poland to Russia. Thus the Russians were able to get the whole of Lithuania, with the single exception of Prussian Lithuania, which from the time of the Teutonic Knights, as we have indicated, remained in the grip of the Germans. We see then that the bicentennial compact or union of Lithuania and Poland did not work out to the advantage of Lithuania, but brought about her ruin. The state was dissolved, the upper classes became separated from the common people, who still remained faithful to their lan- guage though they were without schools, without any rights and were oppressed by the degrading system of serfdom. Lithuania during this period made no progress in literature, political economy, or industry, but rather degenerated in these branches of activity. Lithuania's Russification. — But partitionment and the expropriation of territory did not sum up the whole burden visited upon this unfortunate country, and the Russian autocracy entered into an elaborate programme for the complete Russification of the Lithuanian peoples. The Lithuanian Statute was abolished in 1840 and Rus- sian law was substituted. The magistrates and all gov- ernment officials, from the governor to the most inferior policeman, were Russians. Railroad, highway, municipal 18 and Government laborers were Russians exclusively. If any Lithuanian professionals, qualified to hold office, were so favored, they were assigned to places remote from the mother country, and among the Russians. No Lithu- anian peasant could hold more than 160 acres of land. Agricultural societies, meetings, and lectures were sup- pressed. Following the example of the Germans in Poz- nan and Silesia, the Russians colonized Lithuanian lands with Russians, and to accomplish this purpose the Russian land banks bought up large tracts of such lands, parcelled them into farms and sold them to Russian colonists on the easiest terms, to which were added many privileges. The Land Bank of Kovno alone has spent over 6,000,000 rou- bles in this project in the last few years. So numerous were the laws and restrictions that it was practically im- possible for a Lithuanian to engage in any commercial enterprise. In 1832, University of Vilnius, the sole University in Lithuania, and many high schools and colleges were closed. Russian schools were opened in 1867, not for the general diffusion of knowledge among the young, but principally in order to teach the Russian language. Greek Orthodox teachers alone, unacquainted with the Lithuanian language, were permitted to teach in the pri- mary schools, and the private tutoring of children was made punishable by heavy fines, imprisonment and even exile, penalties which were often risked in order to incul- cate Lithuanian ideals among the young. But the heav- iest blow to Lithuanian learning and progress was the suppression of the press. In 1864, at a time when news- papers throughout the world were rapidly multiplying, Governor General Muravjev, as a punishment for an up- rising in which the Lithuanians played but a small part, forbade them to publish newspapers and books, or to use the Latin characters to which they had for years been accustomed. Russian characters, wholly unsuitable to express the peculiarities of the Lithuanian language, were imposed upon them, and for forty years this prohibition exercised its depressing influence on the Lithuanian peo- 19 pie, who were compelled to rely on such literature as could be smuggled into the country from Prussia and the United States, a proceeding attended by great risk and the impo- sition of jail sentences and exile. Notwithstanding such oppression, the percentage of illiteracy in Lithuania to- day is remarkably small. In religion the persecution was no less intense. Russia, professing the faith of the Greek Orthodox Church, closed all cloisters and schools conducted by the various Catholic religious orders, and suppressed all religious societies. Many of the Catholic Churches were put to the Greek Orthodox use, and in certain instances, where this was im- practical, they were destroyed even by dynamite. Every attempt was made to induce or compel the Lithuanians to forsake their faith. The Russians erected their churches in the smallest towns and in the larger centers their sol- diers were garrisoned in order that they might exert their ling-uistic influence upon the surrounding inhabitants. Regeneration. — For more than a century (1795-1915) the Lithuanians plodded along under Russia's heavy yoke. Previously exhausted by the lawlessness, oppression and disorder which accompanied the union with Poland, trans- lated from that regime to one hundred years of attempted de-nationalization on the part of the Russian bureaucracy, it would be small wonder if the Lithuanian national aspir- ation were somewhat enfeebled, yet the country seems to have thrived on adversity. The Lithuanian renaissance commenced with the year 1904-5, coincident with the Russo-Japanese War, and the first Russian Revolution, when freedom of the press was once more restored to the people, and the sphere of their liberties was widened. The ecclesiastics, intelligentia, and the large majority of the Polonized nobility have returned to the Lithuanian language, and thus intellectual classes have forwarded the work of culture and education of the people with an en- ergy and enthusiasm astonishing to Avitness. 20 Lithuanian Emigeation The Causes of Emigration Lithuanian emigration was born of tyranny. Utter lack of political and economic freedom, exclusion from schools, everlastingly hindered in developing commer- cially, and barred from holding public office or industrial positions, or even from the ownership of land in their own coimtry — these are the causes which forced the Lithuanian youth to seek more congenial conditions in foreign lands. The Emigrant in Russia, Poland and {Lettonia) Latvia In the last few decades many Lithuanians therefore emigrated to Moscow, Petrograd, Odessa, and other cities in Russia ; many went to the Caucasus and to Siberia ; but from preference they chiefly sought a haven in Riga, Libau, Mitau and other cities of Latvia, the land of their racial twin, the Letts. Refore the war there were, altogether, about 300,000 such emigrants in Russia, Poland, and Latvia, and they asserted themselves in various ways. Their actual nimi- ber, however, is not definitely loiown. There are many who failed to take part in national life, remaining dormant until the Great Revolution in Russia called many of them into activity. The war has augmented their number by about 250,000 refugees, who migrated of their own choice or fled when the German armies surged into, and occupied, their land. The Emigration to Great Britain, Africa and Elsewhere There are not many Lithuanian emigrants in Western Europe; there are a few settlements in the Prussian pro- vince of Hessen. Larger colonies are to be found in Lon- don, and in Glasgow and other cities of Scotland, where they have several Lithuanian parishes, numerous societies, and publish some Lithuanian newspapers. Colonies are also to be found in South Africa, in Jo- hannisburg, and other cities. There are not a few Lithuanians in New Zealand; some fair-sized colonies are 21 to be found in South America, especially in Argentina, where several Lithuanian Societies have been organized and where a newspaper is being published. In Canada the Lithuanians are located chiefly in Montreal, Toronto, and Winnipeg. The Lithuanians in the United States The largest emigration of Lithuanians was to the United States of America. In the middle of the last cen- tury Simon Daukantas, the Lithuanian historian, stated that Jacob, duke of Courland, colonized groups of Letts, and of Lithuanians who fled to Courland to escape serf- dom, upon the Spanish island of Guadalupe in the year 1688, and that later the English disbanded the settlement and transported the colonists to what is now New York. In 1777 Kosciuszko, a Lithuanian, came to America to fight for her independence. Emigration en masse, how- ever, did not start until 1868. The Settlements and the Occupations of the Emigrants. The first Lithuanian emigrants settled in the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania; and there are still large colonies in and in the vicinity of Pottsville, Shenandoah, Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre, and Scranton. Their chief oc- cupation in this region is mining; a smaller number are engaged in business. Many Lithuanians are to be found in the larger cities of the United States. In Chicago they have ten huge parishes and numerous societies ; their total number there is very nearly 80,000. In New York City, too, there is a very large settlement with many societies of various aims and tendencies ; the home offices of the two largest Lithua- nian alliances in America are located there; there are seven large parishes and about 40,000 Lithuanians, aU told, in Greater New York. Large settlements are to be found in Pittsburg, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, Baltimore, Detroit, as well as in many other cities and towns in the northeastern part of the country and in the 22 Middle West. There are not many Lithuanians in the South (Texas, New Mexico). Only a few settlements are to be found on the Pacific Coast (California, Oregon, Washington). In the cities the Lithuanians are chiefly progressive workers in factories of all sorts; many are skilled workers — tailoring claiming a great many of them; there is a large number of merchants ; and more recently numerous professional men have made their appearance. The Influence of American Freedom Upon Lithuania. No one treasures American freedom more highly than the Lithuanians. Leaving the land of their fathers, a land where they had been oppressed and constrained in everj'^ phase of the national and individual existence by a foreign despot, they found a welcome haven in America. Here they reaped the benefits of education and culture freely and unhindered; they organized study-classes and meetings ; they attended lectures, theatricals and concerts ; they published, disseminated and read books and newspa- pers in their own tongue; they founded parishes and so- cieties, and alliance of societies ; — ^how vastly different was everything in America to the drastic prohibitions and the crushing ukase back home. Moreover, books and news- papers published in America were smuggled into Lithu- ania and, like a religious token, passed from hand to hand ; those who returned from America became the living apos- tles of freedom. Lithuanians soon began to argue that if freedom was possible elsewhere, why was it not possible in their own native land. The Cultural Status of Lithuanians in America By having, in addition to the parochial schools, access to the public schools, and to the night schools in particu- lar, the immigrant was able to supplement, and so broaden, the training and education he received from daily experience in the work-shop and from a study of publica- tions in Lithuania. There are practically no Lithuanians in America today who do not read at least their own newspapers, which now number twenty-five, several of which are dailies. 23 The Lithuanians in America early manifested a zeal for organization. At first they began to organize mutual benefit societies, which now number more than 2,000. Later, two large alliances, namely, the Lithuanian Alli- ance of America and the Lithuanian Roman Catholic Al- liance of America, having branches in every Lithuanian settlement and memberships of many thousands, were founded. There are over 110 Lithuanian parishes, many of which maintain parochial schools. There is also a mul- titude of theatrical, choral, art, and various professional associations, as well as numerous political clubs. The Lithuanians are, in short, living as a branch of the Ameri- can cultural tree. The Number of Lithuanians in America It is very difficult to state how many Lithuanians there actually are in America, inasmuch as no official statistics are available. The Bureau of Immigration began to classify Lithuanians separately only in 1899 — prior to this date they had been classed as Russians or even Poles. It is possible, however, to give a fair estimate of their numbers in America. In 1899 J. Jonas (Zilius) published a book entitled "Lietuviai Amerikoje" (Lithuanians in America) where- in he pointed out that there were 275,000 Lithuanians be- longing to some sort of organization. From 1899, after separate classification had been insti- tuted by the American government, to 1914, 252,594 Lithuanians had landed in, and only 19,171 had departed from, America. The total influx for these fifteen years thus amounted to 233,423. The number of those who came to America prior to, and after, 1899 is therefore 508,423. The natural increase should, of course, be added to this number. According to Russian statistics the increase in the Lithuanian provinces was about 1.4 to 1.6 per cent; but these numbers disregard the emigration from the Lithua- nian provinces, which, for instance, amounted to 53,354 people in the government of Kaunas in the single year of 24 1911. In America this increase should be larger because, in general, not only were the immigrants of the younger sort, but because they lived in better sanitary conditions and the re-emigration was but very small. But suppose 1.6 to be the percentage taken, then for 270,000 people within 20 years and for 233,000 people for 12 years the increase is such as to give 680,000 as the number of Lith- uanians in America. This total certainly represents a minimum, and the figure 750,000, accepted at the Lithuanian Convention in New York, March 13-14, 1918, cannot be called an exag- geration. From the reports of the government of the United States we learn that of the Lithuanian immigrants 67% ^vere men and 33% women. Their distribution according to ages was as follows: children up to fourteen, 8%; from fourteen to forty-five, 90% ; over forty-five years of age, only 2%. In general, then, only healthy, young and strong workers came to America, the aged, and the maimed or ill, returned to their native land. What sinews, what young and healthy power, Lithuania has supplied to America is made evident by the above, as is the loss sustained by Lithuania, which received but lit- tle, if any, compensation for rearing them. It may be instructive to view this question from the aspect of dollars and cents. It costs, according to Ameri- can actuaries, from $1,700 to $2,000 to rear a child up to the age of sixteen. If we take only the Lithuanian immi- gi-ants from 1899, i. e., 230,000 of them, we shall find that they cost Lithuania from 396 to 466 millions of dollars. Their transportation at $100 per capita amounts to $23,- 300,000. These 230,000 emigrants cost Lithuania, then, from 420 to 490 millions of dollars. If the numbers who came prior to 1899 be similarly valued, then Lithuania would seem to have contributed about a billion dollars in wealth to America. Through emigration Lithuania has, in the past, sup- plied the wealth of youthful power to many a land. Now, 25 after three heavy years of German occupation, of oppres- sion and hunger and disease, she is compelled, and has a right, to ask for aid, and assistance also, to the political support in her struggle for liberty and independence. Ethnographic Lithuania The Lithuanian nation has marvelously survived. Neither age-long subjugation and oppression nor the studied application of the modern instruments of de- nationalization and economic exploitation have rendered it, soul or soil, unto its mighty, preying neighbors. The Lithuanian people never surrendered, but parried every blow without ever stopping to inquire how great the odds against them were. The prize has been well worth the cost. For they have, throughout most of the land which they have inhabited for ages, not only preserved their language and their customs, and the national traits and characteristics which mark them as a race apart, as dif- ferent from the neighboring peoples, but they have been morally elevated. Theirs has been a fight of the people for the things and ideals the people cherished. It has indeed been a fight for democracy. The platform of every active political party in Lithua- nia contains the demand for the right of self-determina- tion within the whole of Ethnographic Lithuania. It is therefore necessary to determine the meaning of the term and to bound the territory in which the Lithuanians de- sire to voice their rights. No Pretensions to Historic Lithuania. All these par- ties recognize only too well that it would be both futile and wrong to desire the re-establishment of historic Lith- uania, which, as constituted in the days of Algirdas and Vitautas, extended over a vast expanse inhabited by many other races. Nor would any of them lay the slightest claim to lands which were genuinely Lithuanian in times remote, but whose inhabitants subsequently suffered com- plete transformation, as, for instance. Western Prussia, where the population has ceased being Lithuanian alto- 26 gether in speech, in custom, and in spirit. In elevating" a nation composed of a racially homogeneous element to statehood it is desirable to insure, if possible, its proper fimctioning and weal in the future by granting at the very outset whatever just and well-founded claims it may have. Lithuanians hold, for example, that it would be highly unfair to isolate from Ethnographic Lithuania re- gions which only recently began to waver before the on- slaughts of the Polish and German expansionists and which had neither sufficient time nor even the semblance of a chance to reorganize and to counter blows. These imperialists, Slav and Teuton, are still bending every organized effort in their competition to gain complete mastery over the Lithuanian people. Their aggressive tactics naturally left a mark in places, and the inhabitants of some parts of the borderland — chiefly in the east (in the government of Vilnius), in the south (in the govern- ment of Grodno), and in the west (in Lithuania Minor, or Eastern Prussia) — forsook in part the language of their fathers. But that does not mean that they ceased being Lithuanian. Many instances from the national and cultural aspects of the history of the Lithua- nian awakening could be given to show how not only individuals, but whole villages and toAvns, at first resented the re-introduction of the Lithuanian tongue and how these people, incited by Polish chauvinists, came to blows over the issue even in churches. Later, however, having^ learned gradually from Lithuanian publications of their past and who they are, the folk regained national con- sciousness, again became Lithuanians heart and soul, and supported their nation's cause to the fullest extent. One reason why the majority of Lithuanians are not permanently weaned from their allegiance to the mother country is found in the fact that Polonization makes no lasting impression on them because, under the influence of the anti-democratic propaganda of the Polish imperial- ists, the character of the Lithuanians is attacked and their language is derisively referred to as "chlopska, poganska mowa"— peasant, pagan language. Naturally this ere- 27 ates resentment toward, rather than affection for, Polish institutions. It is true that there are Polish-speaking Lithuanians who strive for the welfare of the mother country and who endeavor to develop her culture. They are proud to avow their Lithuanian descent and they are co-operating with their countrymen in the creation of a Lithuanian State. Being true citizens of their country, they are to be con- gratulated and they are deserving of appreciation and thanks of the Lithuanian people. But laying aside the special issues involved in the Lith- uanian problems, it would not even be correct to define a nation on the basis of language alone. There are indi- vidual nations and states like Belgium and France, or England and the United States, which have the same lan- guage but have no desire to mei-ge into a single state. On the other hand, there are states like Switzerland which are composed of peoples speaking different tongues who do not entertain the idea of separation. Language is un- doubtedly a great factor in binding people together, but it is certainly not the deciding factor. Lithuania — the Ethnographic Concept. Lithuanians are firmly convinced that justice should be as great a fac- tor as language in deciding whether or not certain "doubt- ful" regions appertain to Ethnographic Lithuania. If, for example, the language of certain localities in the Bor- derland has deteriorated into a jargon, a corruption and jumble, of the languages of both the native and the recent intruder, the Lithuanians hold that they have at least a just claim there. If, in addition, the inhabitants of the localities in question are in their very being, in their cus- toms, traits and inclinations, the very same people as the masses of which the Lithuanian nation so-called is itself composed, they hold that such localities are Lithuanian without question. The fact that the corruption of the language of these people may be readily attributed to the preparations laid for it by early subjecting them to un- ending servitude and through the most exhaustive and incessant impositions upon their cultural, political and 28 economic life seems, to Lithuanians, to elevate the issue from a mere claim to a question of justice. It is patent that the elimination of all artificial agencies of denation- alization would soon result in the voluntary and in every way beneficial return of these people to the national fam- ily of which they are racial members. Such has indeed already been the case in innumerable instances in the in- terior of the country; even the most conservative element of Lithuania, namely, the nobility, have only recently ex- pressed themselves decisively in this regard, for they have come forward openly and substantially to the support of Lithuania and her aspirations. The following instances, taken from the national life of the people, will serve to show that these statements are based upon fact: (1) The Great Lithuanian Convention (it is so known a,m.ong the Lithuanians because it marked, broadly speak- ing, the transition from chaos to order in their struggle for national existence) was called in the city of Vilnius in 1905. Over two thousand delegates participated in its deliberations. Quite a few of the delegates were imable to speak Lithuanian, but had come nevertheless because, they averred, they felt they were in every way as Lithua- nians, as loyal to the cause of Lithuania as those who spoke that language in their homes. According to "Tevynes Sargas" (No. 6, 1918), now published in the city of Vilnius, many of the Roman Cath- olic parishes of White Russians in the government of Vilnius expressed similar sentiments after representatives of the Lithuanian Taryba or Council had explained to them the decisions of the Lithuanian Conference. When asked if they wished to be separated from Lithuania, these White Russians answered that they had no desire to be separated from either the Lithuanians or from Lithuania, and did not wish to be again joined to Russia. (2) According to the older statistics, the city of Vil- nius was said to be Polish because only a few thousand of its inhabitants admitted being Lithuanian. At pres- ent, however, conditions have changed in Lithuania so 29 that according to the latest statistics of inhabitants of Roman Catholics made in the city of Vilnius, a great ma- jority of them call themselves Lithuanians, though most of them speak Polish. Only about eight per cent admitted that they were Poles. (Reference, Lietuvos Aidas.) (3) It is widely laiown that until recently a part of the nobility of Lithuania was of Polish orientation, sup- ported the Polish National-Democratic propaganda for the polonization of Lithuania, and fostered the renewal of the union between Lithuania and Poland. After Lith- uania had been occupied by the German army, a memor- andum, asking for a union of Lithuania and Poland,^ bearing the signatures of 44 of the influential nobility of Vilnius, was addressed to the Imperial German Gov- ernment. That this Polish step was not an expression of the wish of the nobility of Lithuania is shown by the action of the Lithuanian magnates, who protested against this memorandum ("Tevynes Sargas," Feb. 26, 1918) » declaring that they desired the "Resurrection of Lithua- nia, but not of Poland in Lithuania," and furthermore, that they stood genuinely for an independent Lithuania and were fully convinced of her national strength and vigor. (4) The Representatives of Zemstvos of the govern- ment of Grodno presented to the State Council of Lith- uania at Vilnius a memorandum in which they stated that it is the wish of the inhabitants of the government of Grodno that this administrative division should be joined to the State of Lithuania. They further state that, al- though the inhabitants of the government of Grodno have forgotten the language of their ancestors, nevertheless they feel that they are Lithuanians and intend to learn the Lithuanian language, which, they believe, should be the official language of the State. (5) From "Lietuvos Aidas" (May 1, 1918) we learn that the Lithuanians residing in Russia have organized themselves into separate professional and trade associa- tions, such as the postal and telegraph employers, rail- 30 road men, engineers, foresters, etc. What such organiza- tions mean to the Lithuanian state may be implied from the address of the representative of the Lithuanian Rail- road Men to the Lithuanian Taryba: "The Alliance of the Lithuanian Railroad Men sends me," said the representative of the Railroad Men, "to greet the Lithuanian Taryba and to give it every assur- ance that it will assist it in regulating the domestic af- fairs of an independent Lithuania. Realizing the impor- tant part that railroads play in the life of the state, we have organized ourselves in order to aid the Taryba, tak- ing pains to perfect the administrative and technical branches of the organization in order that we may be able to take over complete charge of the railroads of the state upon short notice. Our organization is now twenty- four thousand strong, and such a force is quite sufficient to handle the railroad needs of the coxmtry. We await with impatience the moment when we shall be able to return to our native land and to labor for the benefit of our people." The great majority of Lithuanians, like those above living in Russia, had long been indifferent to the aims of their covmtry before the Great War, but the inspiring ob- ject of a national resurrection and the vision of the ardu- ous but satisfying labor of rebuilding the Lithuanian state has stimulated them into making every sacrifice for its suc- -cess. It was natural to expect that people who had been indifferent, or had forgotten in part the interests of their coimtry, would be roused into action the moment their ■country had approached the threshhold of an independent existence. The older statistics, and the conclusions de- rived from them, should for this reason undergo a reap- praisement and be considered in a different light, for they Tiave failed to yield the facts concerning the national align- ment of the inhabitants of the country. Such being the case, maps like that of the "Races in Eastern Europe" (Daily Telegraph, No. 25, 1917), pre- pared solely on the basis of the Russian official statistics 31 of 1897, yield practically no information as to the ethno- graphic condition of the country. Considerations such as these just discussed, as well as an understanding of the actual situation in Lithuania, prompts us to declare that the term "ethnographic Lith- uania" embraces all the regions Avhere the Lithuanian lan- guage has survived, either pure or dialectic, where the traits and the customs of the folk remain distinctly Lith- uanian, and some districts where not all of them feel and call themselves Lithuanian — irrespective of whether they were, or are, under Russian or German rule. It is not amiss to point out that the Great War broke out only a decade after the Lithuanians had succeeded in wresting from Russian bureaucracy the right to print anything in their own language and in the Latin charac- ters. The intelligent men and women, hindered as they were in every Avay by the oppressive Czarist regime, were unable therefore to enlighten in so short a time all the people throughout the whole country as to who they really were and what the particular purposes of the aggressive neighbors toward the Lithuanian nation had been. From this standpoint, then, the Lithuanian nation found itself in a most unfortunate predicament. The Lithuanians discovered, moreover, to their grief that it was very difficult for them to present their own version of their case to the Entente Allies because their scheming neighbors had maliciously flooded the press abroad, that of England and America in particular, with articles and news items calculated to obscure, to dilute, or to pervert the real facts about Lithuania. Therefore, desiring truth and justice in the explora- tions of the racial questions, it is necessary to keep in view that the small nations, oppressed for centuries and weak- ened by their rulers in the struggle for their inherent right, find themselves in an unenviable position in comparison with their enemies, who — as is obvious — have endeavored and do endeavor not to relinquish the oppressed nations, but are using various powerful means to control which the small nations do not command for their protection and preservation. 32 y Data and Criteria. In the question of the determina- tion of the boundaries of Ethnographic Lithuania the Lithuanian people have, they honestly believe, abided by the fairest of rules. They have recognized, in the first place, that thorough-going honesty, not bias, should be the highest consideration in the choice of evidence, and secondly, that the whole study must, wherever possible, be based on unimpeachable official documents and on the research of men of science who were quite disinterested in the sentiments of this nation or that in the matter and who were guided solely hy the scientific aspect of the sub- ject under investigation. Following the third and final partitioning of Lithuania and Poland, Lithuania Propria or Lithuania Major as it came to be known, in 1795, was, with the exception of the government of Suvalkai, joined to Russia. The gov- ernment of Suvalkai had fallen into the hands of the Prus- sians, but Napoleon I later took it away from them and incorporated it into his scheme of Poland. Eventually the Congress of Vienna decreed that Poland, together with the government of Suvalkai, go to Russia. After a thorough, fair and sincere sifting of unbiased evidence, the Lithuanians conclude and declare that genuine Lithuania in its day comprised, and was accepted and recognized by neighboring nations to comprise: (a) Lithuania Propria, composed of the Duchy of Samogitia and the principalities of Vilnius and Trakai (Troki) as a nucleus of the Lithuanian state; (b) with Naugardukas (Novogrodek) and Pagirys (Poles call it Podlachia; see map) ; and (c) the eastern portion of present Prussia — a part of Lithuania imder Teuton subjection since an- cient times called "Lithuania Minor" in Lithuanian and German literature. After Russia had incorporated Lithuania Major into her empire, she apportioned it as follows: 1. (a) the territory between the river Nemimas (Nie- men) and the Prussian boundary, a part of the olden principality of Trakai, and 33 (b) the southern part of Samogitia, were called the government of Suvalkai and assigned to the jurisdiction of the governor-general of War- saw; 2. (a) the northern sections of the principalities of Trakai and Vilnius, and (b) the whole of Samogitia, excluding small south- ern part, formed the government of Kaunas or Kovna ; 3. (a) the eastern section of the principality of Trakai and remaining part of principality of Vilnius, together with (b) the White Russian zones of Disna and Vileika, constituted the government of Vilnius ; 4. (a) the western part of Naugardukas or Novogro- dek and (b) the southernmost section of the principality of Trakai and Pagivys or Podlachia composed the government of Gardinas or Grodno. The three latter governments were assigned to the sphere of jurisdiction of the governor-general of Vilnius or Vilna. Under Russia, then, the Lithuanians inhabited the fol- lowing governments: 1. Suvalkai, 2. Kaunas, 3. Vilnius, and 4. (a) the northern part of Grodno as well as (b) the zone of Naugardukas (Novogrodek) district in the gov- ernment of Minsk. A study of the nature of the inhabitants of the domain indicated above will show that they are essentially Lithua- nian. In some of the localities, of course, some of the folk speak a jargon, a jumble of Lithuanian, Polish and the White Russian, but in every other respect, i. e., in so far as their customs, traits and religion are con- cerned, they are true Lithuanians. Between the years 1850 and 1860 the Academy of Sci- ences of St. Petersburg collected some data which yields some interesting information in this regard. Several decades ago statistical science was far from l>o- ing as highly advanced as it is today and it was then but being introduced into Russia. Yet the facts concerning Lithuanian ethnography collected in those days were fairer because they were devoid of bias. There \vas, for ex- ample, neither a Lithuanian nor a White Russian question then. The struggle in those days was between the Rus- sian govei-nment and the nobility and clergy of Lithuania. No danger was involved in the display of figures showing a greater or a lesser numerical strength of the Lithuanians simply because there was then no pressing and clear-cut national movement among the Lithuanians. The peasant question was then uppermost, while the national question as we today construe it was but a secondary issue. Between the years of 18S0 and 1860 the Russian gov- ernment commanded the n\inisters of all churches to sup- ply data to the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg, concerning the racial distribution of Christians in their parishes. In writing on the ethnography of Lithuania the scientists and statesmen of those days made use of precisely this data. The Researches of D'Erkert and Koreva Inasmuch as some of the neighboring nations claim pi-e- tensions to some ©f the territory of true Lithuania, it is necessary to become acquainted with the conclusions of ethnographic scholars in regard to the boundaries of eth- nographic Lithuania. Let us first study the works of Capt. R. D'Erkert and Capt. Koreva of the Russian Gen- eral Stair. (*) D'Erkert desired to determine the boundaries and pop- ulation of partitioned Poland and I Lithuania. While the Lithuanians happen to be mentioned only incidentally, these investigations are of value none the less in as much (•) Soe Capt. Korova's "Materlaly dla gcoffrafli 1 statlstlkl Uosll, sobrnnnj'ie oflccrom gcneralnugo shtaba VUenskoj gubcrnll. Kiipltau geiwr. Shtftiin Koreva, 1861, Etbnograflcheskaja Karta" und Cupt. o'Erkert's "Atlas Eth- nograplvique dcs Provinces habiles en totalitc ou en partle par deji Polonatg, par R. EPErkert, Capitain aax guardcs, M«inbrc cffoctiTc de In Soclcte Gco- graphique Imperiale de Rirasle. St, Petersburg, 1868, Planx.'lies I-IV. 35 as they contain material on the boundaries of Ethno- graphic Lithuania. The most interesting of these studies is D'Erkert's Atlas of Historic Poland with commenta- ries in French, published in St. Petersburg in 1863. The title of the work indicates that the author's purpose was to ascertain the number of Poles in various districts or areas. It is from D'Erkert's work that the following in- formation about the governments of Kaunas and Vilnius is taken. But for the sake of clarity it is necessary to note that Roman Catholic White Russians and Ukra- nians are included with the Poles, while the Orthodox White Russians and Ukranians are classified as Russians. The number of Poles is, for this reason, greater than that given by the official Russian statistics of 1897. The Ro- man Catholic White Russians are identical with the Lithuanians, but they have forgotten the Lithuanian lan- guage; centuries ago the Lithuanians accepted Roman Catholicism, and the White Russians much earlier were converted to the Greek-orthodox faith. The figures giv- ing the population of the government of Vilnius include the two non-Lithuanian districts of Disna and Vileika, which were then inhabited chiefly by White Russians and contained, according to the statistics of that date, about 220,000 inhabitants all told. The tabic* reads: Government Government Per of Kaunas of Vilnius Total cent Lithuanians 786,000 S«6,000 1,172,000 66.0 Poles 30,000 212,000 242,000 14.0 Russians 16,000 178,000 194,000 10.8 Jews 100,000 77,000 177,000 9.2 Germans 14,000 900 14,900 .8 Miscellaneous 600 2,800 3,400 .2 Xotal 947,000 857,000 1,804,000 100. Eighty-three percent of the population of the govern- ment of Kaunas is Lithuanian; if the districts of Disna and Vileika be excluded, sixty percent of the inhabitants of the government of Vilnius is Lithuanian. 36 The second document of importance is Capt. Kore^■a's work, published by the War Office in St. Petersburg in 1861. Koreva is in entire agreement Avith D'Erkert in the definition of the eastern ethnographic boundary, wliich would seem to indicate that both men made use of the same source, namelj% the information submitted to the Academy of Sciences by the church officials of the gov- ernment of Vilnius. Koreva was also gaiided by the ob- servations of Narbut, a recognized historian of Lithuania. Unfortunately, he gives only the percentages and not the actual numbers of the various nationalities. According to Koreva's fig-ures, the races in the govern- ment of Vilnius ^vere distributed as follows: (*) For the total population of the government of Vilnius, Koreva gives 841,099, which is several thousand less than that given by D'Erkert. They do not contradict one an- other, however. D'Erkert published his atlas two years later, had recourse to a later data, and so could shoA\' a somewhat larger total. Both give the same figures for the Lithuanians. The total, 386,860, simply means that 46 percent of all the inhabitants of '\''ilnius are Lithua- nians or, if the districts of Disna and Vileika be excluded, that about 61 percent of the people are Lithuanians. The results are in either case the same and go to show that the region embraced by the government of Vilnius is quite Lithuanian with respect to the majority of the population. M. Janzul of the Russian Archcological Commission (•) cf. "Vairas," 1911. Slav Percent Total (a) Real Russians 2.8 (b) Poles 12.8 (c) White Russians 29.4 t'i.O Lithuanians 4,6.0 Others (a) Tatars 20 (b) Jews 8.00 (c) Karaims 06 10.0 (d) Miscellaneous 1.74 100.0 37 comes to the same conclusion, notwithstanding that M. Janzul's object was to show that this particular region was inhabited chiefly by the Russians and that the number of Lithuanians and Poles there was neglible; in other words, he wished to prove that it was a genuinely Russian region. There is very little difference between the eastern borders traced by them and the eastern border of ancient, genu- ine Lithuania. The northern border of Lithuania coincides very nearly with the ancient border and runs along what is now the boundary between Kaunas and Courland; the differences are in a few places like in the strip along the sea-coast from Memel to the river Aa, which in ancient times be- longed to the Duchy of Samogitia and is inhabited wholly by Lithuanians. The Census of 1897 In the year 1864, Muravjev prohibited the publication of anything in the Lithuanian language and in the Latin characters. From that time on the denationalization of the Lithuanian people gradually began to spread so that by 1897, when the Russian census was taken by Russian officials, who by no means could be taken as unbiased, the number of inhabitants speaking Lithuanian in these parts had fallen off considerably. It is widely known that at the time this census was be- ing taken, a violent agitation was carried on by both the Russians and the Poles, and that the latter's partial suc- cesses were due to the fact that the Lithuanians were pro- hibited from printing even a prayerbook in their own lan- guage. In addition to this reason for such an arbitrary cut in the number of Lithuanians, we must bear in mind the fact that the census of 1897 gave not so much the eth- nographic distribution as the number of people speaking this or that language, because the inhabitants were re- corded on the basis of language alone, and thus assigned to this or that race. The following table from the census of 1897 gives the figures of inhabitants speaking the various languages in the governments of Kaunas, Vilnius and Suvalkai: Govern- District Popula- tion. Percent Speaking ment Litli. Pol. Wht Jew. Rus. Ger. Mis, City of Vilnius 154,532 208,781 172,231 203,401 207,767 23,3,559 204,923 208,013 7.5 35.0 33.8 58.1 8.7 3.8 0.3 30.9 12.1 6.0 2.1 4.6 1.7 2.4 2.5 4.2 12.0 47.6 15.8 73.2 80.1 81.7 87.0 40.3 7.4 7.1 9.6 12.2 12.1 10.1 9.5 20.2 3.3 5.4 1.6 1.2 2.3 5.6 0.9 2.4 Vilnius Dist. of VUnius " Svencioniai " Trakai 0.2 0.1 0.8 " Lyda 0.1 " Asinena " Disna 0.0 0.0 " VUeika. 0.1 Total Government of Vilnius.. 1,691,207 20.7 7.8 64.0 12.5 4.6 0.6 Dist. of Suvalkai " Augustavas " Seinai 92,910 79,214 81,924 70,125 114,762 67,295 79,883 8.5 0.2 69.7 72.6 77.0 82.8 68.7 66.8 49.1 22.9 10.1 2.9 1.3 3.9 0.2 82.6 0.1 0.1 0.4 11.3 11.6 11.8 9.3 10.3 7.4 8.5 7.9 6.3 4.3 3.6 4.0 6.9 2.1 4.3 0.4 1.2 3.6 6.0 7.1 15.9 1.0 0.8 Suvalkai " Kalvarija " Mariampolis — *' Vladislavovas.. " VUkaviskis ...... 0.7 0.4 0.6 0.9 Total Government of Suvolkai 562,163 52.8 22.4 4.7 10.1 4.0 6.3 0.6 Official Data from the Census o f 1897 Governments and Districts. B O I o a s 1 8 i .a o ■a s 1 u O 1 1 Dist. of Vilnius 363,313 164,632 172,231 203,401 206,767 233,660 204,923 208,013 132,363 S!l,992 91,102 41,483 178,803 192,257 178,303 182,662 76,030 3,131 68,134 118,163 17,826 8,764 703 121 77,224 61,847 12,276 19,398 24,776 28,206 20,684 19,818 73,088 47,796 10,322 22,884 9,623 4,084 4,934 6,122 2,844 2,170 146 467 161 89 127 2,170 771 722 83 799 66 70 43 722 1,008 875 109 227 138 103 129 875 36,618 28,690 17,004 9,244 61,748 71,331 107,964 121,497 237,84i 56,964 134,430 170,587 188,561 132,648 66,811 City of Vilnius.. Diet »f Svienclany—. " " Trakai " " Aahmena _ " " VUelka 66,618 T*tal for the govern- ment of Vilnius. 1.591,207 971,439 279,720 202,374 103,064 3,873 1,969 1,778 Percent of languages spoken 227,431 229,118 208,487 222.881 235,362 183,361 237,934 61.2 ?,7,736 9,699 66,635 4,441 6,703 2,910 6,228 17.6 94,236 166,580 103,386 169,610 179,461 148,890 168,003 12.6 45,126 30,140 26,426 27,122 26,381 22,696 34,137 8.2 62,847 20,923 13,823 14,607 13,022 2,776 14,961 0.2 6,196 434 287 1,411 10,396 1,668 2,422 0.1 1,196 12 ■ 18 271 66 26 0.1 Dist. of Kaunas ... " " Vllkomlr . . " •' N®V8-Alex- androvsk " " Raaelnel " " Telshel . " " Shaulel Total for the govern- ment of Kaunas 1,564,564 112,362 1,019,774 212,028 189,618 21,762 1,612 87,418 Reference must here be made to anothei* census taken by the gxivenunent of the population of Vihiius which in- dicates how accurately the inhabitants of ^^ihiius appraise their origin imd reaifirm fealty to tlicir parent state. By order of Governor Verevkin, 1910-1911, the local govern- ment took a census of the Roman Catholic parishes with respect to the racial allegiance of the parishionei-s. In Vil- nius about 22,000 professed to being Lithuaniims out of 97,000 members of the various Roman Catholic parishes, compared witli 11,500 thus registering in 1897, or an in- crease of nearly 100 per cent. In spite of all the oppression ^\'hieh the Lithuanian na- tion had to suffer at tbat time for clinging steadfastly to its own language, in spite of tlie arbitrary iiiunipulation of tlie figures giving tlie number of LithuaniiUis, it became obvious nevertheless that the country was still essentially LitJuianism-speaJiing. In tlie government of Kaunas 66% of the inhabitants retained the Lithuanian language as tlieir own, in the gT)vcrnment of Suvalkai tlie percentage was 52.5; only in Vilnius, for reasons explained previ- ously, was the lingual recession more marked. But here denationaliztition is mostly limited to oblitera- tion of tlie mother tongue; this does not however signify tliat tlie Lithuanians hereabout absorb tlie White Russian culture to tlie e^ctcnt of sepai-ating them from other neigh- boring Ijitliuanians. The White Russians do not possess their own culture, because living under tlie oppression of Czardom they have had no press of their own imtil re- cently, hence no opportimity to develop their cultural and mental cliai-actcristics ; tlierefore the masses of tlie White Russians remain practically the saiiie as they Avere at tlie time of the subjugation of Lithuania, influenced by Litliuanian cultnve acquired tlirough several eentvu-ies of Litiiuanian association. The peix*entage of Poles living hi those gx)vernments was as follows: Kaiuias 8.8, Vilnius 7.8, Suvdkai 22.-1. It is necessary to observe tliat many who tlien considered themselves Polish were only "polonized" Lithuanijuis, re- cent events show tliat such people are gladly and fast re- 40 turning to the lingual family of which they are racial members. It is a fact beyond the possibility of contradiction that genuine Lithuania as denoted by the boundaries of Lithu- ania Propria from the remotest times had been inhabited by no other race bvit the Lithuanians and under the sover- eignty of their own, and that up to the present day its inhabitants remain essentially Lithuanian, that from im- memorial times the Lithuanians were shedding their blood in defense of this country from the neighbors, every po- litical party in Lithuania recognizes that the boundaries of Lithuania Propria and Ethnographic Lithuania coin- cide everyAvhere excepting in the south, where, according to some the line should run along the river Niemen with- out excluding the city and district of Grodno, while, ac- cording to others, who are in the majority, the line should include the whole Grodno govei'nment, excluding only the three Ulirainian districts of Bielsk, Brest-Litovsk and Kobrin, because it had once been inhabited by the ancient Lithuanian Getvingi and once formed a part of the prin- cipalities of Naugardukas and Trakai. This opinion is based, among other things, on the fact that even at present there are, beyond the river Niemen, large tracts or islands of Lithuanian-speaking people as, for example, in the vicinity of Slonim, Naugardukas, and elsewhere, the other inhabitants mostly speak White-Russian, but are in every other respect Lithuanians, descendants of the an- cient Getvingi. The grographic situation of the population in the north- ern government of Grodno and in the district of Naugar- dukas (Novogrodek), of the government of Minsk, com- pelled them to adjoin the Lithvianians because the rivers of the northern part of the government of Grodno empty into the Niemen; therefore the inhabitants of the whole basin of the River Niemen are by nature trending to- ward Lithuania, and their economic interests are more intimately connected with the interests of Lithuania than with any other country, as is indicated by the history of the ancient economic development of the country. This 41 •development always has tended toward Lithuania without regard to the fact that the outlet of Niernen, the largest artery of Lithuania's communications, for centuries re- mained in the hands of the German. The southeastern part of Lithuania should include therefore a part of the district of Naugardukas, in the government of Minsk, together with the city of Naugar- dukas, which is the capital of the district bearing the same name. Lithuanians base their claim of Grodno on economic and political reasons, holding that the contiguity of Lithuania and the Ukraine ^vould give the latter access to the Baltic Sea and the former access to the Black Sea. The Area and Population of Prussian Lithuania The plight of Lithuanians living in the western part of the country was worse because Germany's aggressive- ness was much more dangerous. Prof. Kurschat of Koe- nigsberg, an able student of the language and culture of the Lithuanian people, made a study of Prussian Lfth- uania. His judgments on Lithuanian matters is generally accepted as authoritative, and so his observations on the linguistic boundaries of Prussian Lithuania may be con- sidered quite reliable. The introduction and accompany- ing map to Kurchat's Grammar* shoAv that "Lithuanian is still spoken in the northern parts of Prussia — namely, in and near the vicinity of the towns of Labguva (La- biau), Klaipeda (Memel), Tilsit (Tilze), Ragaine (Rag- nit), Pilekalnis, Stalupenai, Gumbine, Insterburg (In- srute), Darkiemis, and Galdape." Concerning the number of Prussian Lithuanians, Kur- schat says: "The figui*es giving the number of Lithua- nian inhabitants in these parts are not accurate because such statistics are not kept by the Prussian or Russian governments. Here in Prussia it is nevertheless accepted that out of a total of about 380,000 inhabitants there are 150,000 Lithuanian-speaking." Granting the boundaries indicated by Kurschat, the piece of territory which should for every reason be returned to Lithuania, covers 42 nearly 10,000 square klm. According to the official Ger- man statistics for 1905** the population of this area was about 530,000. It goes without saying that the territory inhabited by Lithuanians from time immemorial extended over a considerably greater area,* but many of them suc- cumbed to Teutonic agression, became thoroughly Ger- manized, and only isolated patches remain where Lithvia- nian is still spoken. The population of Prussian Lithu- ania according to districts is: Heydekrug 43,244, Niede- rung 55,010, City of Tilsit 37,148, District of Tilsit 46,436, Ragnit 54,771^ Pillkallen 46,230, Stalupoenen 43,888, Gumbinnen 50,718, City of Insterburg 28,902, District of Insterburg 46,232, Darkehmen 32,288, Goldap 44,813. The western boundary of ethnographic Lithua- nia is very nearly as given in map VII.*** Here it is to be noted that, according to an agreement of the Allies with Russia, Lithuania Minor, as far as Koe- nigsberg, was to be assigned to Russia; consequently the fate of this territory was already determined in advance by the Allies and was partially recognized as a territory of Lithuania. The Minister of Foreign Relations of Russia, Sazonov, at the beginning of the war made inquiries among Lithua- nians relative to Lithuania Minor and, realizing the true situation, he evidently persuaded the Allies to join both parts of Lithuania, whereby the territory of Russia was to be increased. This agreement was published by the Bolsheviki government and is a matter of common Icnowl- edge. The Area and Population of Lithuania. The extent and the population of Ethnographic Lith- • Grammatik der Littauischen Sprache, von Fricdrich Kurschat, Professor zu Koenigsberg i. pr., Halle, 1876. ** Vorlaeufige Ergebnisse der Volkszaehlung von Dezcinber 1908 im Koe- nigreiehe Preussen. Im amtlichcn Auftrage bearbeitet von Dr. Jr. Max Broczlke, Berlin, 1906. Verlag des Koeniglichen Statistischen Landesamts. *•* Lithuanians from Eastern Prussia, living in America or Ilussia, claim as Lithuania the following counties: (Kreise): Memel, Tilsit, Niederung, Ragnit, Stalupenen, Pilkallen, Gumbinnen, Insterburg, Goldap, Angerburg, Darkehmen, Wehlau, Labiau, Tapiau, Fischhausen, Gerdauen, Koenigsberg. Ethnographically these counties are all Lithuanian, though linguistically as stated in the text. 43 uania, i. e., the region in wliich Lithuanians desire to ex- press themselves, is a subject of importance and well worth discussing. The Central Statistical Committee is the supreme au- thority on statistical matters in Russia and we shall apply the data published by this committee in 1912 to Ethno- graphic Lithuania. We shaE, moreover, take for granted the boundaries given previously in this document; these boundaries are indeed identical with those which the Lith- uanian National Council of Russia had in mind during its meeting of April 20, 1917, when it voted to sever dis- tricts of Disna and Vileika because of their non-Lithua- nian character, and to demand the re-annexation of the government of Suvalkai to Lithuania because it was thoroughly, genuinely Lithuanian. Our task, then, is to determine the area and population in two instances: (1) Taking only the district of Grodno in the government of Grodno and (2) taking the whole of Grodno with the exception of the three districts mentioned previously, namely, those of Brest-Litovsk, Bielsk, and Kobrin, but including a part of the districts of Xaugardukas in the government of Minsk. It has already been demonstrated that the boundaries of Lithuania Major coincide with the periphery of the territorial group composed of the governments of Kaunas, Vilnius (exclusive of the districts of Disna and Vileika), Suvalkai, and of the district of Grodno, situated in the government bearing the same name. The Russian Central Statistical Committee gives the following data concerning this region: Kaunas Vilnius Suvalkai Grodno Courland Total Sq. VerstE 35^16 36^25 10,821 3,126 84 86,175 Population 1342,000 2,030,000 705,000 24-3,700 22340 4333,000 The data for the districts of Disna and Vileika are as follows: Lithuania Major thus occupies 75,506 sq. versts or 85,929 sq. km. and its population is 4,304,540 ; were Lith- uania Minor added, the area would be 96,926 sq. km. and the population would be 4,834,000. If the government of Grodno (without the districts of Bielsk, Brest-Litovsk and Kobrin), as well as a part of the district of Naugardukas amounting to 2,000 sq. km. with 80,000 inhabitants be added, the figures for Lithu- ania would read : Sq. Kms. Population Lithuania, according to first paragraph 96,926 4,834,000 ■Government of Grodno 21,563 903,880 Part of Naugardukas 2,000 80,000 Total 120,489 6,817,880 From the figures given above it follows that Lithuania is not so diminutive as one would at first surmise, and that the country is rather densely populated. Taking Russia as a whole, we find that there are 9 people to the square verst ; taking the sixty governments of Russia there are 32 inhjibitants per sq. verst ; in the government of Kaimas there .ire, on the average, 55, in Vilnius, 51, and in Suval- kai as many as 65 people per square verst. There is then an average of 57 inhabitants per square verst in Lithuania Major. Lithuania and Other Countries Compared A comparison of Lithuania with other small nations yields some very interesting results. Let us study, for a moment, the following table: Country Census Albania 1914 Belgium 1913 Bulgaria 1914 Denmark 1911 Finland 1912 Oreece 1914 Holland 1912 Ethnographic Lithuania 1912 Lithuania and Latvia 1912 Luxembourg 1910 Montenegro 1914 Norway 1910 Portugal 1911 Rumania 1914 Serbia 1914 Sweden 1912 Switzerland 1911 Population Sq. Miles by 1,000's by 1,000's 850 11.43 7,633 11.39 4,765 44.06 2,772 15.07 3,197 125.69 4,363 41.69 6,114 12.79 6.817 Jf7.00 8417 76.00 260 1.00 616 5.57 2,392 124.86 5,950 35.35 7,516 63.18 4,548 33.70 5,504 178.18 3,780 15.98 45 Fourteen of the twenty-one European states are here enumerated; only the seven larger powers are omitted. Finland, which will soon, it seems, attain its independence, and Lithuania, which in recent times is bent on bearing the yoke of slavery no longer, are included in the list as separate entities. The table shows that Lithuania, in so far as area and population are concerned, can make a more reasonable claim for independence than many of the present Euro- pean states and that, on the same basis, she would occupy treasured freedom and independence and how they refuse fourth or fifth place among fourteen existing states, i. e., she would be larger than ten existent European states. Lithuania is larger than either Bulgaria or Serbia, and if we call to mind the f eiwor with which the latter has fought, willingly shedding her blood and bearing the hardships and burdens of war, we can appreciate how the Serbs to become a mere appendage of a large and wealthy state. The position of Lithuania from the standpoint of geogra- phy and economics is more favorable than that of Swit- zerland or Serbia, which happen to be shut out from the great highways of the world. Free communication fur- nishes one of the most potent means against economic, and thereby political, slavery. To geographic position is pri- marily due the successful evolution of such small states as Denmark, Holland, Belgium, although alongside of them there flourish the neighboring powerful nations and their states. Free communication with the world gives the peo- ples an opportunity to distribute their merchandise and to obtain foreign goods where and in what manner tliey desire, whereby their own interests are served and sub- jection to neighboring powerful states is rendered less likely. The Confederation of Lithuania and Latvia Latyia or Lettonia stretches northw^ard from Lithuania along the coast and, in the vicinity of the Gulf of Riga, reaches Esthonia. It includes the government of Cour- land; the districts of Riga, Volmar, Wenden and Yalk 46 in the government of Livonia; the districts of Dvinsk, Riczhitsa, and Lutzau in the government of Vitebsk; and a small area in the western part of the government of Pskov. According to the above description the figures for Lat- via, based on the census of 1897, are as follows: Courland Livonia (4 districts) Vitebsk (3 districts) Sq. Km. Population 27,024 736,885 27,190 766,394 16,820 492,346 Total 71,034 1,994,625 Taking for granted an increase of 30% from 1897 to 1912, the population for this region would be at least 2,600,000. The union of the territories and populations of Lithuania and Latvia would net 191,523 sq. kms. with 8,417,000 people. Were Lithuania to combine with Latvia, its racial twin, as many Lithuanians and Letts now advocate, a large state would result. The table will show that such a state would be larger than Rumania, Holland, or Belgium in population and the peer of any one of them in area. Every- thing, from the standpoint of economics and politics, would tend to promote the growtk and development of sueh a state; the natural resources and the geographical position should also render this union a favorable one. Po- litically, Lithuania and Latvia never had a quarrel — and there arc no apparent reasons why they should have any now or later. Both of these nations, neighbors and neigh- borly throughout the ages, have never wronged one an- other in any sense and there should, therefore, be no grounds for any discontent or misunderstandings if, in the future, they should agree to join politically. The population of Latvia (Lettonia) as well as its ter- ritory is here given approximately. 47 The Economic Status of Lithuania Lithuania Is an Agricultural Country Lithuania is a level country and its soil is good and fertile. The chief occupation of the inhabitants is there- fore agriculture and stock-raising. In accordance with Russian practice the land of the country was divided into larger boyar estates and peasant plots. According to the statistics of 1894, 39.8% of the land in Russian Lithuania belonged to the boyars, 43.2% to the peasants, 5% to the urban population, and 12% to the State. The distribution and division of lands was as follows: Government Kaunas.. Vilnius... Peasant Land Up to 5 desia- tins* 4.3% 3.1% From 5 to 10 desia- tins 16.6 31.6 23.0 Over 10 desia- tins 80.2 66.2 38.8 Total farming land in desiatins 1,610 1,279 602 Over 1,000 desia- tins 2.1 2.4 Total boyar land in desia- tins ' 1,728 1,633 Suvalkai 43.2% Boyar Land Up to 100 100 to 1,000 desia- desia- Governmsnt tins tins Kaunas 80.6 1 7.8 Vilnius : 80.7 1 6.9 * One desiatin equals approximately 2.6 acres. From these figures it is obvious that the majority of the farms are of medium size, ranging over 10 desia- tins, and well adapted to intensive farming. Since 1894, the date of these statistics, there has been considera- ble change in the distribution and division of these farms. The large, financially encumbered estates, of the Poles especially have been cut up and sold to the farmers, thus increasing the number of medium sized farms. It may be said in a broad, general way that a fair share of the inhabitaiats are well supplied with land. Herein lies the difference between tJie conditions concerning land 48 in Lithuania and in Russia as well as in other countries where the farmers own but small patches of soil. Lithuanian Farmers Live Separately In Central Europe and Russia the farmers live in vil- lages. It is quite different in Lithuania, where the farmers, like those of Scandinavia and America, live on their own farms. The few villages that still remain ex- pect soon to spread over the individual farms because this aids intensive cultivation. The Lithuanian farmhouses, are surrounded by gardens and orchard and make a splen- did impression. The comparatively comfortable condition of a large part of the farmers of the country has always wrought a great influence upon the Lithuanian cultural movement ; having obtained certain rights following the abolition of serfdom, the larger farmers began to turn their atten- tion to the education of their children and sent them not only through the secondary schools, but also to the uni- versities. This proved a boon to the Lithuanian move- ment. The People with Little or No Land The above figures show that there are also many people with insufficient land to eke out a living, or even none at all. In 1913 there were, in the government of Kaunas, 213,564 people, or 17.9% of the population, owning no land. In the government of Suvalkai one-third of the peasants had no land. Farm, Products Rye is the main crop of the country and covers 41% of the total arable soil; oats covers 22.87%, barley 11.65%, potatoes 10.75%, wheat 4.73%, peas 3.75%, flax 2.71% (1911). Fruits and Vegetables Fruits and vegetables would also be profitable to the farmer if commercial and marketing conditions were im;jroved. Lithuania is well known for its apples, cher- ries, and its numerous varieties of berries. 49 Stock-Baising Besides being exporters of grain, the Lithuanians have, in recent years, increasingly taken up stock-breeding with the result that they now raise better cattle, horses, pigs, isheep, geese, etc. Dairj'^ing has also increased in recent times. German Exploitation Most .of the grain, cattle and fowl of Lithuania were exported to Germany. But Germany refused to receive dressed beef and fowl — she dressed them herself; she would not accept milled grain, but demanded it whole. Large duties were placed on grain and cattle entering Germany, especially following the Busso-Japanese war. It is obvious from this that the Germans exploited the Lithuanians even before the war. It is impossible to give definite figures on the imports and exports of Lithuania because such statistics were grouped with those for the whole of Bussia. But it is possible to infer from provincial sources that they were considerable. While farming in Lithuania stood higher in Lithuania than in Russia, the yield was hardly up to modern stand- ards. With better political and economic conditions it may be expected that the productivity of the soil will increase. Lithuanian Forests Lithuania has been famous for her forests since ancient times. The following table gives the number of desiatins of forests in each government: Government Desiatins Percent Suvalkai 404,525 15 Kaunas 618,638 17 Vilnius 976,654 25 Total 1,998,817 Pine, used much in building, is the chief wood. Oak, birch, ash, maple, skrubliai, linden, of the best quality, are 50 abundant. The Lithuanian forests are filled with enor- mous quantities of excellent mushrooms. Timber was also exported to Germany. About 300,- 000,000 cubic feet of wood were transported from Lith- uania to Memel by way of the Niemen river alone. Here the Germans also demanded only the green log — they would not accept sawed Iximber or made its export pro- hibitive by heavy tariffs. Moreover, by controlling the mouth of the Niemen river, the Germans were able to dictate the price of the lumber brought down the stream. Lakes and Fishing Lithuania is dotted with lakes, both large and small. In the government of Kaunas alone there are not less than 800 lakes occupying a total of 377 sq. versts. Piscicul- ture is consequently well developed and, with better po- litical and commercial conditions, could be made to yield still larger profits. Peat Lithuania is rich in peat and the deposits are large and numerous. The inhabitants have used peat as a fuel for a leng time. It represents a source of fuel and power which will come to be utilized more and more in future industry, its by-products being very valuable. The Dearth of Minerals In the governments of Vilnius and Kaunas there are rich deposits of chalk, which are satisfactory for the mak- ing of cement, lime and alabaster. Before the war cement factories were in the process of organization; after the Avar this material will be of great importance in rebuilding the ruined portions of the country. Clay fit for the ceramic industry can be foimd all over the country. In the government of Vilnius there are large tracts of quartz sand wiiich could, under proper conditions, be made into glass. The forests are full of materials for the manufac- ture of wood-pulp, paper, furniture, etc. 51 Mineral Springs Lithuania boasts of several health resorts with mineral springs situated in very healthful locations on the banks of the river Niemen. Birstonas and Druskinikai are the best known. These springs are famous because they are known to contain more radium than any other springs in the world. In ancient times salt was obtained from the springs at Druskinikai, whence the name Druska is the Lithuanian for salt. Industry Because of the unfortunate political conditions, indus- try has not been able to thrive in Lithuania. There are now, nevertheless, several manufacturing plants in Vil- nius, Kaunas, Shauliai, and other cities. The manufac- tured products are leather, paper, agricultural implements and machines, nails, machinery, horseshoes, etc. Other industries are ceramics, beet sugar, oils, alcohol and brew- ing. The present manufacturing facilities are only suf- ficient to meet some of the needs of the coimtry. Lithuania has practically no metallurgical industry, because of the absence of coal and iron. According to recent advices, German geological surveyors have discovered iron ore and coal in Lithuania. Household Industry The Lithuanian peasant wears linen vmderclothes and woolen clothing, which is woven and made by members of his household. Lithuania raises much flax and wool, and hence, with the introduction of capital, should fee able to build up a flourishing textile industry, which the people like and understand. Amber Industry The amber industry should not be overlooked. The eastern Baltic Sea shore is the only country in the world where the collecting, digging and manufacture of the amber is a practical industry. The amber is found in the so-called "blue earth" layers of the tertiary period (the layers are from 2 to 3^^ feet thick) , not only on the beach 52 of the Baltic Sea, but also further in the interior of Lith- uania. Even before the time of Herodotus, as shown by the excavations of Greece, Italy, Egypt, the Baltic amber was Imown to the ancient world. In our times the value of amber has diminished, but even nowadays this industry continues to exist in Lithuania Minor as the monopoly of the Prussian government. All products of amber, such as necklaces, buttons, buckles, cigarette holders, etc., which are displayed in the windows of the jewelry stores, come from Lithuania's soil. In the future this industry can be greatly expanded. Future Prospects There are not many water-falls in Lithuania, but the river Niemen offers quite a head along its course which will no doubt be utilized in the future. For example, were the two bends of the river near Birstonas straightened, the project would develop enough power to run many large industrial plants as well as electric railroads. There are many other swift currents which can be harnessed. While Lithuania has in the past exported most of its timber, grain, stock, and other farm products, its natural resources are so varied and virgin that with better political conditions in the future greater production and larger exports would be insured. The geographical position and the sea-coast offer many opportunities for commercial and industrial development. With powerful and affluent Russia as an eastern neighbor, Lithuania at once has better prospects for development that some of the present European states like, for instance, Switzerland, Serbia, because the commerce with Western Europe of this vast country crosses Lithuania. Conclusion The imbearable political and economic conditions in Lithuania practically made commerce a forbidden sphere of activitjr for the inhabitants and forced them to stick to the farm. Russia's attitude toward the borderland peoples of the empire was a great factor in thwarting the 53 commercial development of the country. Russia consid- ered Lithuania a conquered land, which therefore had to support and strengthen the conqueror and refrain from any development of her own. Every attempt to better her own condition was considered a move for secession from Russia. Hence, initiative and every progressive move incurred the displeasure of the authorities and every im- aginable obstacle was placed in the way of the develop- ment of capital. Besides, the general economic policies of Russia were a ban on the commerce of Lithuania. High duties were placed on machinery of all kinds, iron, ore, coal, etc., which the Lithuanians could easity have obtained from England, Sweden, or America at cheaper rates than by hauling them by rail thousands of miles from the East, the Ural, or Southern Russia. The third obstacle to industry, which affected Lithuania in particular, was the division of Lithuania into two parts — into Russian and Prussian Lithuania. This division gave Germany possession of the mouth of the river Nie- men with the port of Memel and complete control of the country's river-commerce. The Lithuanians were thus forced to pay the highest duties to Germany on every- thing that was exported by way of the river Niemen sim- ply because the mouth of that stream was in German hands. Future Industrial Development In order that readers may more readily imderstand the economic possibilities of Lithuania it is necessary to call attention to certain branches of economic development of new Lithuania. 1. In the first place, labor will mobilize for the recon- struction and rehabilitation of the devasted coimtry by rebuilding destroyed homes, all kinds of factories, etc. For that purpose this will give opportunity for manufac- ture such as the production of cement, and ceramics, for which there is plenty of raw material at home; simulta- neously, building of factories will expand, especially wood 54 frame structures, there being an abundance of timber available. 2. The development of agriculture will call for the production of agricultural machinery. Also there will be a great impetus to live-stock production — cows, oxen, horses, sheep, etc., for farming as well as for breeding. 3. Perhaps one of the most important factors will be the means of commrmication. Railroads, highways, etc., rolling stock, and other material which suifered destruc- tion during the war must be replaced; hence there wiU be a great need of cars, locomotives and works for supplying railroads in the future. There is plenty of labor in the coxmtry at the present time, engaged in this industry be- fore as well as during, the war, in Russia's industries as well as those of Germany. 4. Textile industry has a marvelous future in Lithu- ania because flax is grown abundantly in the country. Wool industry has been very successful. There is a good prospect for the linseed oil industry. The cotton textile industry has been altogether neglected in the country and there will be plenty of opportunities for its development. 5. The leather industry is certain to expand. The city of Shauliai was formerly noted as a great center of leather manufacture. With this shoe-making is closely allied and in this industry great opportunities are afforded. 6. Grain elevators, refrigerators, cold storage, and cold storage-cars will play an important part in the develop- ment of Lithuanian agriculture and industry. For the products handled by these agencies we expect to get in exchange iron, steel, coal and other materials that are not procurable in the coimtry. In general, it may be said that from the industrial standpoint, there are excellent prospects in Lithuania for the productive employment of capital, and with ready access to the sea by way of the ports of Memel, Koenigs- berg and Libau, distribution of Lithuanian production might be easily effected. To show that the country is wide awake to commerce and trading, attention is called to the fact that in spite of 55 the attempts of old Russia to hamper all endeavour for fostering growth of co-operative associations the co-oper- ative system has been developing in recent years in Lith- uania very rapidly. Just before the war there existed 184 separate and large co-operative organizations with 75,521 members, and with a capital of 9,000,000 roub. These organizations had their own banks, and it may be expected they will play an important part in the economic and financial reconstruction of Lithuania. The Cultural Evolution and Reawakening OF Lithuania It is a striking fact that Lithuania, which was a mighty and a renowned nation in the distant past, should display a vigorous activity culturally and nationalisticaUy only in recent times. The Ancient Culture of the Lithuanians Up to the close of the Fourteenth Century, when Lith- uania had accepted Christianity, the life of her people was governed largely by pre-Christian institutions and an an- cient culture whose remnants have survived to this day and are preserved in the Lithuanian collections of folk- lore, which are especially rich in song and story. Variety, grace, novelty of expression and deep poetic feeling were some of the characteristics of the Lithuanian folk-song, which not only attracted the attention of European sa- vants, but also gripped and inspired many a line in Mic- kievicz, Goethe, and other great European poets. The White Russian Influence After the Lithuanians had succeeded under the leader- ship of their grand dukes, in extending their borders far to the east by occupying large tracts in the Russian pro- vinces, the upper or ruling classes of the grand duchy always adapted themselves to the prevailing political con- ditions of the conquered provinces and eventually even went so far as to intermarry with the natives. The policy of Lithuania was not to suppress, but to support, the alien 56 elements. Such tactics naturally left their impress upon the Lithuanian nation itself. Many documents, and es- pecially the chronicles, even the Lithuanian Legal Statute itself, were written in the language of the White Russians in order that they could be more widely and readily un- derstood by alien subjects. The Use of Latin With the acceptance of Christianity foreign languages, and especially Latin, began to be introduced into the schools in accordance with the prevailing fashion. The letters of Gediminas and Vitautas, grand dukes of Lith- uania, show that even prior to the acceptance of Christian- ity most of the state documents had been written in Latin. This custom prevailed throughout the Seventeenth, the Eighteenth, and even the Nineteenth Centuries, in much the same way as it had in other, and particularly in the Roman Catholic, states of Europe. The Polish Influence During the same period, and subsequent to the Union of Lublin, which united Poland and Lithuania into a sin- gle republic, in particular, the Polish language began to work its way into the councils, churches and salons of Lith- uania. It is not at all surprising that Polish literature should have found congenial soil among the polonized no- bility of the country because they read Polish books. Fol- lowing the Reformation many works of religious content were published in Polish even in Lithuania. The Rise of Lithuanian Literature The invention of printing in the Sixteenth Century gave rise to a purely Lithuanian literature, Prussian Lith- uania being particularly productive in this regard. Of the 59 Lithuanian books published from 1547 to 1701, 24 were designed for the Protestants of Prussian Lithu- ania, 8 for the Calvinists, and 27 for the Roman Catholics of Lithuania. Prof. Volter is of the opinion that the dearth of information about the history of the Lithuanian language and literature can be ascribed to the fact that 57 the remnants of this literature were destroyed along about the Seventeenth Century. Many of these books have dis- appeared entirely; in fact, single copies of only a few of them are still extant. They were written and published exclusively by Lithuanians who had received their educa- tion in the University of Koenigsberg or at the Academy of Vilnius. The Earliest Lithuanian Writers The first Lithuanian writers were Martin Mosvidius, John Bretkunas (1535-1602) and Rev. Dauksha, who was famous as a preacher and translator of the Bible. It was Dauksha who first raised the Lithuanian question and pointed out how indispensable a factor language was in nationalistic and cultural development. "To take the language from a nation," said Dauksha, "is equivalent to taking the sun from the heavens, to destroying world- order, to snuffing out the life and the honor of a nation." K. Shirvydas was the first Lithuanian lexicographer; in 1624 he published a Latin-Polish-Lithuanian dictionary. In Prussian Lithuania literature was fostered by L. Leng- stokas (1562-1631), and Daniel Klein, the author of the first Lithuanian grammar. Calvinist literature was en- riched by the labors of Morkunas and Chilinskis ; the latter was a translator of the Bible. The Poet Donelaitis Christian Donelaitis was the first major poet among the Lithuanians. "Seasons of the Year," written in hex- ameter, is the most highly prized of all his works. In 1865 the Russian Imperial Academy published his com- plete works at its own expense. During the present war George Baltrushaitis, the Lithuanian poet, and Viaches- lav Ivanov, the Russian poet, collaborated in bringing out a Russian translation, also in hexameter, of "The JToys of Spring." The Literary Men of the Nineteenth Century Beginning with the Nineteenth Century, Lithuanian lit- erature came to be dominated by authors who had received 58 their higher education at the Academy in Vilnius. In 1805 Bishop M. Giedraitis pubHshed the New Testament; following him there is a long line of writers, among whom D. Poshka, S. Daukantas, Bishop Valanchius, Ivinskas, and Bishop Baronas figure prominently. Some of the writers of this period made a specialty of the history of the coimtry, others wrote stories and poetry for the masses inspiring them in a new spiritual life, while still others like the Jushkevichius brothers, collected and arranged for publication the vast folk-lore of Lithuania. The work of the Jushkevichius brothers is of great scientific interest and was published at the expense of the Russian Academy of Science. The Polish-Lithuanian Period It must be admitted that Lithuanian literature had spread rather slowly up to the latter half of the Nineteenth Century because the conditions were very unfavorable then, and in the later years especially. That is the reason why so many of the Polonized nobility had given up all hope of promoting Lithuanian culture and why they lit- erally flung themselves into the arms of the Poles. Lith- uania schooled a whole group of Polish authors ; poets and historians like Mickievicz, Syrokomla, Kraszevski, Nar- but, the Counts Tiszkievicz, and a host of others received their training at the University of Vilnius. They wrote in Polish, but their spirit was Lithuanian; they paid a glorious tribute to the nature of Lithuania and to the deeds of the Lithuanian nation ; indeed, their works were largely responsible for the nationalistic reawakening of genuine Lithuanians in later days. In the meantime the Lithuanian masses had long— in fact, up to the latter half of the Nineteenth Century — been denied the right of taking part in public life; they were shut out from the sources of learning; they were oppressed, and terribly oppressed, by serfdom. It should be pointed out here that this same mass of Lithuanian peasants, left to themselves and being naturally conserva- tive, succeeded in preserving the Lithuanian language in 59 its ancient, unmarred purity; up to the latest times the language has thus remained practically wholly uninflu- enced by foreign agencies. It is from these masses that the present wide-spread spiritual awakening of the Lith- uanians originated — an awakening which had been but weakly fostered by the nobility beginning with the Six- teenth Century. ' The Prohibition of the Lithuanian Press The prohibition of the Lithuanian press was still an- other factor in retarding the rise of Lithuanian literature and culture. In 1864, when serfdom had been abolished in Lithuania and a brighter future seemed at hand, a new obstacle was thrown across their path of advancement. From 1864 to 1904, the people had been prohibited from printing even a prayer-book in their own language and in the Latin characters. Barred for forty years from printing the most insignificant booklet or paper; perse- cuted with unspeakable severity for smuggling such pub- lications over the border ; prohibited from using their lan- guage in public places, in their meetings and courts ; their children compelled to receive instruction in a language they did not understand; — these are some of the things the Lithuanian people had to tolerate. One must marvel at how these people, kept aloof from culture from the Nineteenth to the beginning of the Twentieth Century, were nevertheless able to "carry on" and overcome the most formidable obstacles. A New Movement in Lithuanian Literature In 1883, while the ban on the Lithuanian press still oppressed the spiritual life of the people, Dr. John Basa- navichius and other Lithuanians began the publication of "Auszra" or "Dawn" in Tilsit, Prussia, and with Dr. John Szlupas, now a prominent Lithuanian in America, as its first editor. This monthly gave a mighty impulse to social movements among the people and galvanized the youth and the intellectuals into action. It drew a distinct line between the Poles and the Lithuanians and laid down 60 a program for the nationalistic evolution of the Lithuaiiian people. Later two journals, "Varpas" (The Bell), of a democratic and liberal hue meant for the intellectuals, and "Ukininkas" (The Farmer), supplanted "Auszra." The editor of both of these publications was the renowned Lithuanian publicist and poet. Dr. Vincent Kudirka, whose divers talents and noble and lofty idealism gripped the intellectuals and moulded the political and the social thought of the people. The Christian Democrats also began the publication of "Apzvalga" (Review) and "Tevynes Sargas" (The Country's Guardian) abroad. With the further branch- ing out of political thought, "Darbininko Balsas" (The Workmen's Voice), too, made its appearance (1900). Every political party in Lithuania had had therefore an organ for the exposition of its thoughts and ideas abroad before the Lithuanians had again been granted the use of their press. In free America, too, the Lithuanian emigrant pub- lished books and newspapers which were often mailed in sealed letters, in order to deceive the censors, to their kins- folk back home. It was this Lithuanian literary activity abroad that forced the Russian government to revoke its prohibition of Lithuanian print. The Period of Unusual Activity Twelve hundred publications of all sorts had, according to bibliographers, appeared from the beginning of the Eighteenth Century to the year 1891 ; from 1891 to 1904 the number had risen most markedly. With the recovery of the right to print Lithuanian literature began to thrive. It is unnecessary to enumerate here the separate authors and their works ; it is sufficient to state that up to the out- break of the present war twelve Lithuanian newspapers and journals were published in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, seven in Kaunas, three in Riga, three in Su- valkai government, while twelve papers were issued in Prussian Lithuania, etc. ; in the United States their num- 61 ber was twenty, in Scotland two. There were, then, be- fore the war, sixty-eight periodic publications of various sorts and tendencies. The Press Exhibition held in Vilnius in 1914< is very interesting in this regard because it revealed that art, sci- ence and popular-science literature throve with a vigor equal to that of the periodic publications. The Strength of the General Cultural Movement Back in 1891 Prof. Volter of St. Petersburg declared concerning the later Lithuanian movement: "Young Lithuania has succeeded, first, in developing a new spell- ing and literary language for the Lithuanian people ; sec- ondly, it has satisfactorily explained the close ethno- graphic relationship existing between the Letts and the Lithuanians and has pointed out the absolute divergence of the interests of the Lithuanian intellectuals from those of the Poles and, thirdly, it has dissemiaated culture among the people by means of books, pamphlets and peri- odicals. Lithuanian literature contains not only books of spiritual content, but also, in spite of all the harsh diffi- culties encountered in its development, works reflecting the culture of Europe. The Poles may say what they please, but the fact remains that the Lithuanians inhabit- ing the Lithuanian territory not only continue to speak in their own native tongue, but they have also been suc- cessful in preserving their ancient customs and traits. Moreover, their children have attended secondary and higher schools and it has thus been made possible for this people to evolve a literature of their own which has told the truth to the masses and guarded them from exploita- tion." If such be the opinion of a foreign savant of the stntus of the Lithuanian movement in 1891 one need har- bor no doubt in his mind of the incomparably greater and stronger movement since that time, and particularly in the years following the Russian Upheaval of 1905, when the Lithuanians won the right to print. Lithuanian publica- tions in recent times number thousands. The youth of the country have literally flocked to the imiversities and 62 technical schools, while the intellectuals have not only imbued the people with European culture, but have them- selves contributed to the sum total of laiowledge by re- search work. There are not a few professors in the uni- versities and technical schools on the continent who were born and reared in Lithuania and many have won renown in the domain of art. M. Chiurlianis, for example, is an artist whose symbolic philosophic paintings have given rise to an entirely new movement in art; Vidunas is an author of imusual ability and originality, while J. Bal- trushaitis is a writer whose literary-philosophical works rank with the best among continental authors. There is hardly a phase in science that has not been enriched by the research of Lithuanian scholars. Organizations for the Dissemination of Culture Inasmuch as the Russian government did not desist from its policy of -Russianization through the schools even after 1905, the Lithuanians began to establish, in so far as was practicable in Russia, schools affiliated with some organizations. There were three such organizations in Lithuania — one in each government. "Saule" (Sun) of Kaunas maintained teachers' courses as well as secondary classes of a practical nature and, through its sixty-eight branches throughout the govern- ment of Kaunas, disseminated culture in general by means of elementary schools and libraries. "Ziburys" (Light), operating in Suvalkai, maintained a girls' gymnasium in Mariampol and elementary schools and libraries at its fifty-seven branches. "Rytas" (Morning) performed a similar service through its branches in the government of Vilnius. These three organizations were the solid foundation upon which the systematic elementary training of the peo- ple was built. True, the government had stipulated that Russian be taught in their schools, but the Lithuanian language was taught along with the Russian and the chil- dren were, in general, taught in a proper Lithuanian spirit. 63 The Ldthuanian Scientific Society The Lithuanian Scientific Society was founded in Vil- nius in 1907 for the purpose of centralizing the intellectual interests of the country and has today about one thousand members. The fields explored by its members were an- thropology, ethnology, ethnography, archaeology, lin- guistics and history. Its transactions and papers were published in its organ "Lietuvin Tauta" (the Lithuanian Nation) . The Society had a library of 16,547 works in 20,000 volumes as well as archives which contained a large collection of ancient documents and manuscripts and a special collection of Lithuanian folk-lore; it maintained, in addition, a museum of rare interest and value. The institution became, through its library of rare books and manuscripts, the center not only of Lithuanian men of research, but also of other European savants who were interested in these particular fields. The Society of Fine Arts The Lithuanian Society of Fine Arts deserves to be mentioned as a large and important institution. Its home is likewise in Vilnius, where it maintains its collections and permanent exhibition of Lithuanian painters and sculp- tors. M. Chiurlianis, before referred to, is the aclaiowl- edged peer among the painters. With the advent of the German Armies his pictures were transferred to Moscow and the Lithuanians made use of this opportimity to hold an exhibition of his works there. The Russians were nat- urally interested in his art and the press was unanimous in acclaiming it the most interesting exhibition of the season. Before the war there were altogether about three hun- dred societies of learning and art throughout Lithuania Major. Agricultural and Other Societies In Lithuania there were, in addition, numerous agricul- tural societies. Two of the societies of the government of Suvalkai are worthy of mention, namely, "Ukes Drau- 64 gija" (Farm Association), having twenty -two branches, and "Zagre" (Plough), also with numerous sections. In the government of Kaunas and Vilnius there were ap- proximately one hundred such organizations. About one hundred and fifty co-operative consumers' leagues, too, operated in Lithuania during this period. The Lithuanians have also been interested in prohibi- tion. "Blaivybes Draugija" (Prohibition Society) was organized with its central office in Kaunas and had 172 branches and 29,000 members throughout the country. In the short period dating from 1906 the Lithuanians have made full use of the scant liberties they have won, and have succeeded, despite growing restrictions, in or- ganizing scientific, agricultural, art and commercial socie- ties, through which they have labored, like other civilized nations, for the good of their country. The Organization of War-refugees in Russia The organization of the war refugees, together with the indispensable institutions for their comfort and care, is proof of the ability of Lithuanians to organize. Soon after the war broke out the German armies surged into Lithuania several times and, while they were beaten back the first few times, every attack nevertheless brought pillage and fire with increased suffering for the inhabi- tants. The intelligent men and women of the country recognized immediately that their fate depended on their OAvn ability to organize. "The Lithuanian Society for the Relief of the War-stricken" was therefore founded in Vilnius and soon grew into a large organization with many branches back of the fighting line. These branches brought food, shelter, clothing and other necessities to the needy. As the Germans kept on pressing towards the East it became increasingly evident that they would soon occupy Vilnius. The Society was therefore divided into two parts. One part remained in Vilnius and, in so far as German occupation made it possible, succored the needy by maintaining food kitchens at its branches and by shel- 65 tering the aged and orphaned of the country. The other part of the Society, which came to be known as the "Cen- tral Committee," was transferred to Petrograd, from which place it began the work of organizing and bringing aid to the Lithuanian exiles and war-refugees in Russia. The Central Committee, together with the Lithuanian residents of Russia, immediately began to organize branches in the Russian cities. In the larger cities the beneficial and cultural societies of the residents in Russia supplemented the work of the Central Committee. Though confronted with many difficulties placed in its way by the Russian government, which studiously hampered the work of the Lithuanians, Letts, Poles and other nation- alities, the Central Committee was nevertheless able to extend its activities into every corner of the empire through its 100 branches. More than one hundred thou- sand war-refugees needed and received aid — many were either unable to obtain work or could not support them- selves from the pay for the work they did. There was hardly a larger Russian city or fair-sized Lithuanian set- tlement in the empire where the Committee did not take care of the refugees by installing homes for the poor, ill, and orphaned, and with food-kitchens, or through the dis- tribution of food and clothing and by maintaining phy- sicians, priests and lawyers. After taking care of the refugees' bodily wants, the Committee began to minister to the cultural needs of the young. Several secondary schools were moved to Russia, even prior to German occupation. Their number was, however, insufficient and so new schools had to be estab- lished. In the city of Voronezh alone there were over 1,000 students in the secondary schools. The Lithuania Committee of Moscow also assisted more than 1,000 stu- dents, and the Society for the aid of Students of univer- sity and other colleges in Moscow supported over 200 students of universities and other higher institutions in Moscow. A similar number were taken care of in Petro- grad, everywhere, in Smolensk, Minsk, Jaroslav, Ekate- rinoslav, as Avell as in the ^cities of the Caucasus and Si- beria, the Lithuanian students felt the guardian hand of this institution. Primary schools were established at every cliildren's refuge. Even the needs of the burned and pillaged country were anticipated by establishing trade schools in conjunction with factories specializing in tailoring, shoemaking, cabi- net making, leather, stationery, etc. Some of the refu- gees were thus enabled to become self-supporting. The Petrograd branch of the Central Committee organized various cultural, educational, technical, architectural, and other comhiissions, which were to help prepare the Lithua- nians to rule their own country themselves. The Lithuanians have in this instance manifested a deep understanding of their own affairs, as well as a talent for organization, which has borne excellent fruit even under the most trying and exacting circumstances of war. Others would not have done this for them. The fact that the world hardly knew even the word "Lithuania" has wrought considerable hardship upon the refugees, who have received but little aid from outsiders. The Russian government did contribute a little, as did some Russian Societies — but the contributions were far from sufficient to ward off starvation. And so the Lithuanians have gone about the task themselves. They have established factories, collected funds from among the refugees themselves, and tried to do the greatest good for the greatest number. The less hungry have given to those who hungered more. If one happened to have two suits, or two pairs of boots, he gave to one who had none. But many of the weak perished. The Political Parties of Lithuania There is very little difference of opinion among the Lithuanian people themselves concerning the form of gov- ernment they should like to see in Lithuania. Four parties were born with the cultural and national awakening of the country. Their political tenets, passing from radical left to the conservative right, are as follows: 67 1. The Social Democrats appeared before the restora- tion of Lithuanian print in 1904 and the rank and file of this party are composed chiefly of city workingmen. Its membership is naturally small because of the meagre in- dustrial development of the country. It has never suc- ceeded in electing any of its candidates to the Dimia. 2. The Peoples' Socialist Party bears a close resem- blance to the Social Revolutionists' Party of Russia led by Kerensky and, probably, to the Populist Party of the United States. One of its wings stands for the o^vnership of land, but demands the distribution of crown lands and larger estates among those who have little or no property. The majority of its candidates were elected to the Duma.* 3. The Democratic Party is composed mostly of the intellectual elements. The war has caused them to split into two factions. The right wing is known as the "Pro- gressive" (with the weekly "Voice of the Lithuanians"), while the left is called the "Concordist for Democratic Freedom of Lithuania." The latter published their organ entitled "Santara" or "Concord." This division was par- ticularly marked among the Lithuanian residents of Rus- sia. These two parties may be said to form the central political group and are responsible for most of the posi- tive and constructive work which has been performed since the Lithuanian awakening. 4. The Christian Democrats are perhaps the strongest in point of organization and numbers. They control the masses chiefly through the clergy, who are close to them and have great influence. Their democratic tenets have Christian ideals. The Lithuanian religious hierarchy, which, until recently, was controlled by the Poles, thanks to this party, passed entirely into Lithuanian hands ex- ♦ Note. — In speaking about the political action of the Lithuanian parties in Russia these two parties must be considered each as one without any inter- nal differences between them. But following the Russian Revolution and Bol- shevik usurpation, each of these parties split into two factions. The old leaders of these parties became the right wing, while the younger members, inexperi- enced in work among the Lithuanian people and influential only among the uncultured youth, formed the left wing. There exists also a small group of Lithuanian Bolshevists who work in conjunction with the Russian comrades. cepting possibly in the diocese of Vilnius, where, up to the beginning of the war, an intense struggle was waged against the agents of the Polish National Democrats and other instruments of Polish Imperialism. The work of this party had an important bearing on the reawakening of Lithuania. 5. Following the Russian Revolution still another party was born. It was known as the Lithuania National Catholic Union and differed but little from the Christian Democrats. Its politics were also based on religion. We shall see later that all of the parties of the Young Lithuanian movement acloiowledge the principles of de- mocracy. Every one of them demands an independent Lithuania with a republican form of government based on equal, secret, universal and direct ballot. Only the very extreme left among the Peoples' Socialists and Social Democrats of the Bolshevist type favor such self-determi- nation, which might possibly force Lithuania back into Russia on a federative basis. More or less a similar alignment of these parties we find also in America, possibly with this difference: that instead of the Populists and Social Democrats there is a Socialist Party, and instead of the two moderate parties such as in Russia, there is in America a middle party, the so-called National Democratic, with which the right wing of the Populist affiliates itself, and the third, the Christian Dem- ocratic Party, which sometimes goes under the name of the Catholic Party, The Political Evolution of the Lithuanians Tendencies Toward the Dissolution of the Union toith Poland A historical opinion agrees that Lithuania was for centuries a powerful and independent state. The citations of a few instances will serve to show that the Lithuanians in their union with Poland not only preserved the fullest measure of distinctiveness as a nation and took care to retain always their own government and institutions, but 69 also fostered, and fostered insistently, the idea of com- plete separation from Poland. In the Seventeenth Century Prince Janusz Radzivill negotiated with Sweden for the separation of Lithuania and Poland. Prince Sapieha was assassinated by Poles because he, too, labored toward the same end. Another attempt at separation was made by George Michael Kori- but Visniovecki, the Lithuanian Field Marshal, and Prince George Oginski, who, with the approval of the Lithuanian government, prepared the declaration of sepa- ration and submitted it to the Polish government. The tendency toward separation manifested itself even in the time of Kosciuszko, when the Lithuanians formed their own separate government. Finally, in the rebellion of 1863 against Russia, Kalinovski, the "dictator" of Lithu- ania, announced in his proclamation that Lithuania would fight for her independence side by side with Poland, but would "never agree to place the future of Lithuania into the hands of her sponsor, Warsaw." The Masses Are Decidedly for Self -Government The spirit of freedom and independence matured at last and may be said to have established itself permanently during the later years of the Nineteenth and the begin- ning of the Twentieth Centuries, when the power of the Lithuanian movement had attained an eifective value. While the first Russian revolution was still in progress the Lithuanians compelled the governor-general of Vilnius to acquiesce in the convocation of a great All-Lithuanian convention. Over 2,000 delegates from every nook and cranny of the country assembled in the city of Vibiius, November 21-22, 1905. Some of the envoys Avere unable to speak Lithuanian, but insisted on participating because they were Lithuanians in blood and spirit. A resolution calling for a wide autonomy for Lithuania was adopted unanimously. This and other resolutions concerning the distribution of land, public education, freedom of organ- ization and declaration of national distinctiveness were published in "Pravo," a Russian journal, and caused con- 70 siderable anxiety in Russian governmental and Polish po- litical circles. The Poles and Russians were indeed dum- founded at the courageous spectacle presented by a na- tion which had been their bone of contention. The Lithu- anians showed a startling unanimity in their demands de- spite the Russian prohibition of the press and all the diffi- culties they had encountered in smuggling in Lithuanian publications from abroad. Russian rule was still heavy, and so the Lithuanians prudently limited their demand to an autonomy. Of all the peoples in the Russian Empire only the Letts and the Lithuanians seemed to have exerted their utmost efforts in obtaining freedom for themselves. The Letts even went so far as to proclaim an independent republic, but this brought upon them indescribable treatment from the Russian government and its marplots, the German barons ! In 1906, at the very climax of the Russian revolution, the Lithuanians of America convened, in Philadelphia, expressed sympathy for their kin and devised means of aiding them in their bloody struggle. The Evolution of the Idea of Independence in Uthuania With the passing of the Russian revolution of 1905- 1906, Lithuanians began openly to demand the freedom of their country. The voters of the Lithuanian governments instructed their representatives in all four Dumas to fight for the freedom, the political autonomy, and unification of Lith- uania. The voters of the government of Suvalkai invaria- bly instructed their representatives to demand the separa- tion of the government of Suvalkai from the Kingdom of Poland and its annexation to the government of Vilnius and Kaunas (Kowno). The Lithuanian representatives of the Duma complied with the wishes of their constituents and always stood for the autonomy of the country and were persistent in their demands that the Lithuanian people be given the 71 opportunity to determine for themselves their political preference. The Struggle for the Independence of Lithuania up to the Time of the Russian Revolution of 1917 in Ldthuania and America The Great War had just begun when members of the various political factions organized a political club in Kovno and a political committee in Vilna. To the Lithu- anians of America they addressed the following impas- sioned words: "Strenous and telling times are here. We must emerge free, or die fighting for freedom. Lithu- anians have vitality and strength enough to be equals of all other free nations. We must win the right to mould our own destiny and our own future. Now is the time to take our fate into our hands — now or never!" The same sentiment also asserted itself in the Lithuanian settle- ments of Great Russia. The Lithuanians of America held a convention in Chi- cago, September 21-22, 1914, and adopted resolutions ex- pressing and demanding in substance the following: 1. (a) The separation of the government of Suvalkai from Poland and its re-annexation to Lithuania and (b) The return of Lithuania Minor, long under German rule, to Lithuania. 2. The desire for the federation of Lithuania and Lat- via. 3. The declaration that the Lithuanian question is an international one and that Lithuanians be given official representation at the peace conference. In August, 1914, Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholsevitch, the generalissimo of the Russian Army, issued a proclama- tion to the Poles and Slavs of Austro-Hungary which averred that the object of the war was to liberate the op- pressed nationalities in the territories which they had in- habited for centuries and that the question of nationalities 72 would be a subject of greatest importance at the peace conference. The Lithuanian Political Committee of Vilnius there- fore announced in the Russian and Lithuanian press of October, 1914, that 1. Lithuania is a separate unit historically, culturally, and economically; 2. Lithuania will defend herself to the bitter end against every attempt of the Poles to spread Polish pro- paganda in Lithuania under the pretext of the historical union of the two countries; 3. Because certain Poles deliberately and fraudulently misrepresent the identity of Poles and Lithuanians, it be- comes indispensable for the national life of Lithuania to combat such political methods of the Poles and to disclose to the world the actual relations as they exist between the Poles and the Lithuanians; 4. It is essential to struggle for the unification of Lith- uania, i. e., for the union of the goverrmient of Suvalkai and of Lithuania Minor to Lithuania; and 5. It is vital to obtain the right of political self-deter- mination for the Lithuanians. But at the time of Nicholas Nicholsevitch's proclama- tion the oppression of the smaller nationalities in Russia was at its height and every step regarding political free- dom had to be taken with utmost secrecy and caution, and at the risk of great personal harm. By the end of July, 1915, when the German army had overrun the greater part of Lithuania, the political activities of the Lithua- nians in Vilnius had to cease and were transferred to the neutral countries of Europe and to Russia. Conferences Abroad, 1915-1916 The Lithuanian Stoclcholm Conference of October, 1916, with representatives from Lithuania and Switzer- land, explained to the European press that Lithuania de- manded freedom as well as the other nations. As early as October, 1915, secret political meetings 73 were held in various parts of occupied Lithuania (in Mari- ampol, Kovno, etc.), where the chief subjects of the de- liberations were to devise means of combating the German invasion, methods of attaining the independence of the country, and of maintaining the popularity of the idea of independence among the masses — in so far as all this might be possible under the circumstances. The Berne Conference Lithuanians residing abroad held a conference at Berne, March 1-5, 1916, which demanded through the press the independence of Lithuania. The text of the resolutions follows : 1. Whereas, Lithuania was for ages an independent state ; 2. Whereas, the inhabitants of Lithuania had never renounced their right to independence and had never paused in their struggle to attain that end ; 3. Whereas, the Lithuanians possess their peculiar in- dividuality, and an original and ancient civilization, as well as a distinct national psychology; 4. Whereas, Lithuania, devasted by the war, would be able to rehabilitate its ruined economic life only under con- ditions of complete freedom — which can only mean the freedom of an independent and sovereign Lithuanian state; 5. Whereas, the establishment of an independent Lith- uanian state would add materially to the permanency of the future peace of Europe ; 6. Whereas, the Entente has, since the beginning of the war, repeatedly pledged that this war is being waged in the interests of the oppressed nationalities and will not terminate until the principle of nationalities is triumphant, and 7. Whereas, even the German government, through its Chancellor, announced in the Reichstag that Lithuania had been "freed" by the German army. The conference therefore resolved that demands be 74, made at the ensuing peace conference for the absolute freedom and restoration of Lithuania as an independent and sovereign state. The Lausanne Conference Delegates from the various Lithuanian organizations in Lithuania, Russia, the United States of America, and England, convened at Lausanne, Switzerland, in Jun^, 1916, and adopted resolutions which also demanded the complete freedom of Lithuania. All other subsequent conferences abroad — those of Berne, Lausanne, The Hague, etc. — voiced the independence of Lithuania as the most fundamental object of their demands. The numerous American conferences of 1916 of Lithu- anian leaders — those of Chicago, New York City, etc. — invariably insisted on the independence of Lithuania. January 5, 1917, the Lithuanians of America sent Pres- ident Wilson a declaration demanding the independence of Lithuania. Copies of this declaration were also sub- mitted to the envoys of other great powers. The Lithuanian Movement in Russia, 1916-1917 In Russia, where many Lithuanian intellectuals had es- tablished themselves, especially in the days following the outbreak of the war, it was quite impossible for therg. to express their desires under the old regime. But even there a careful observer would have noted that the po- litical tendency of those Lithuanians was quite clear. Late in February, 1916, a convention of the Lithu- anian War Relief organization in Russia was called for the purpose of evolving a policy in regard to the problems of relief, culture, and politics among the Lithuanian war- refugees. A joint committee was established for the per- formance of all this needed work, but unfortunately the Sturmer-Protopopoff government prevented the realiza- tion of this indispensable Lithuanian organization. As a consequence of such action on the government's part, a large Lithuanian conference was secretly held in Moscow, January 6-8, 1917, with the participation of the Lithu- 75 anian members of the Russian Duma, and it was decided to establish one political organ for all the Lithuanians of Russia, to impress the Lithuanian representatives of the Duma with the importance of demanding openly from the parliamentary tribune a broad autonomy for Lithu- ania and freedom for the Lithuanian people, and to organ- ize the Lithuanians for the struggle of liberty. On the strength of these decisions the "Lesser" Lithuanian Con- vention was secretly convened at Petrograd, Febru- ary 11, 1917, where all the Lithuanian political parties jointly laid the foundation for a Lithuanian political or- gan — the so-called National Council. The resolutions in this regard, adopted imanimously, read as follows : "The five parties (Social-Democrats, Social Populists, the Concordists, Christian Democrats, and Catholic Union) participating in the convention believe that (1) the sole object of the Lithuanian nation at this moment is the attainment of freedom to decide its own future, and that (2) the attainment of independence for the Lithuanian nationality is possible only through incessant and organ- ized work whereby it would be possible successfully to proclaim to the nations of the world the actual desires of the Lithuanian people, and these parties therefore deem it imperative to found an authoritative organization — the Lithuanian National Council — ^whose members shall be chosen from all of the Lithuanian political parties and the Lithuanian representatives of the Russian Duma." Lithuanian Autonomy and the Russian Constitutional Democrats The question of Lithuanian autonomy was discussed concurrently at a meeting of the Central Committee of the Russian Constitutional Democratic Party with Mr, Miliukov, leader of the party, in the chair. Mr. Leonas, Lithuanian representative of the Second Duma from Su- valkai and member of the Central Committee of the Ka- dets, proffered a plan of autonomy for Lithuania and addressed the chairman of the Kadet party as follows: 76 1. The Lithuanians will never willingly renounce their aspirations for freedom, and any government that pro- poses to govern them against their will or contrary to their national requirements, will be compelled to resort to force and oppression; 2. To continue to deny Lithuanians their freedom may cause very undesirable consequences for both the Lithu- anians and the Russians. The First Demand in Russia for an Independent Lithuania When the Russian Revolution began to assume alarm- ing proportions, representatives of all the Lithuanian po- litical parties and the Lithuanian representation in the Russian Duma finally adopted (February 21, 1917) the following resolution: "1. Realizing that the idea of an independent Lithu- ania always was and continues to be the guiding principle of the whole life and of all the deeds of every class in the Lithuanian nation; "2. Perceiving that Greater Lithuania, now occupied by the German and Austro-Hungarian troops, is united in raising the watchword of an independent Lithuania, and "3. Recognizing that the idea of an independent Lithu- ania could not be publicty proclaimed in Russia because of the political conditions which enchain the free expres- sion of our community, "4. We deem it necessary for our representatives in the Russian Duma to proclaim there that the Lithuanian na- tion, irrespective of class distinctions, demands the right to decide for itself its political fate and destinies." The Struggle for Lithuanian Independence Since the Russian Revolution of 1917 After the Russian Revolution was well under way and freedom of action was possible, the Lithuanian National Council outlined its duties to the President of the Russian Provisional Government in the following manner: 77 The representatives of all the Lithuanian parties in Russia — Catholic-National Union, Christian Democrats, National Progressives, Concordists, Social Democrats, Populists-Socialists, together with every Lithuanian Rep- resentative in the Russian Duma — assembled at Petro- grad, March 13, where they founded the Lithuanian Na- tional Council and formulated the declaration which they submitted to the temporary Russian government and to the Council of Soldiers and Workers delegates. In the declaration it was stated that 1. Lithuania is a separate ethnographical, cultural, economic, and political unit, 2. As regards numbers and economic considerations, the Lithuanians constitute the basic element of Lithua- nia's inhabitants, 3. In the new order of things aU the inhabitants of Lithuania who may be of a different origin — the new- comers — ^must possess equal rights with the natives them- selves, and 4. The internal order of Lithuania, as well as her rela- tions with neighboring nations, can be formulated only by the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania, to be duly elected in a democratic way under the guarantees of freedom in the coimtry. In addition to communicating this declaration, they also announced that the Lithuanians residing in Russia had constituted a temporary committee to govern Lithu- ania, and claimed that the care and supervision of all insti- tutions removed from Lithuania, as well as the administra- tion of Vilnius and the environs of Kaunas not occupied by the German armies, and the supervision of the restora- tion of Lithuania should be entrusted to this committee. The Petrograd Convention of May 27, 1917. A Lithuanian convention was called at Petrograd, May 27 1917> by the Lithuanian National Council. Its 320 delegates were elected by secret, direct and equal ballot. The decisions of this convention were two-fold. The de- 78 cisions of the three parties of the right wing (Catholic Union, Christian Democrats, and National Progressives) follow : With the purpose of attaining an independent demo- cratic republic of Lithuania and mindful of the facts that 1. One ethnographic part of Lithuania was ruled by Russia, the other by Germany; 2. Russian Lithuania has been almost wholly occupied by the German army in this Avar ; 3. The Lithuanian question has therefore become an international one and should be discussed at the congress of peace; and 4. Up to the close of the Eighteenth Century Lithu- ania enjoyed its own political life; the Diet of the Lithu- anians in Russia; therefore resolved that: 1. The whole of ethnographic Lithuania must become an independent state ; 2. Lithuanian repre^sentatives must participate in the congress of peace ; and 3. The form of government and internal order in Lith- uania must be laid down by the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania to be chosen by universal, equal, direct and secret ballot. Other resolutions passed by the other three factions of the Diet of the Lithuanians residing in Russia (Social- Democrats, Populists, and Concordists) were of practi- cally the same content. "WTiile the Russians were busily making preparations for their Constituent Assembly, the Lithuanians were also invited to participate in the election of an extraordinary counsel to the Russian Constituent Assembly, which was to prepare a draft of the laws. Towards the close of May the Lithuanian National Council prepared a paper ex- pressive of Lithuanian opinion on the Lithuanian ques- tion for the deliberation of the Constituent Assembly and tendered it to F. F. Kokoshkin, Coimsel Extraordinary. This document proceeds as follows : 79 "Bearing in mind the question of the future of Lithu- ania following occupation by the armies of the Central European iPowers and realizing that this problem is there- fore intimately associated with the conditions of the future peace of Europe and has become for this reason an inter- national one, the Lithuanian National Council finds that the Russian Constituent Assembly, the preparations for which are being laid, shall have only to acknowledge to the united Lithuanian Nation the right to decide its man- ner of national life in the Constituent Assembly of Lith- uania, provided that this right be acknowledged by the temporary Russian Government before the Russian Con- stituent Assembly convenes." Later, towards the end of June, the Lithuanian repre- sentation in this extraordinary counsel, succeeded for the first time in compelling the Russians to strike out the much abused official expression, "Kingdom of Poland" (which unjustly included the government of Suvalkai), and to put in its place "A territory which shall enter into the construction of the future Polish State" — a more ap- propriate expression in view of the political status quo. Widespread Demands in the Lithuanian Settlements Throughout Russia for the Indepen- dence of Lituania The movement for the independence of the country spread rapidly in the Lithuanian settlements and among the throngs of undaunted war-refugees in Russia. Reso- lutions of Lithuanian meetings and conventions clothing the Lithuanian National Council at Petrograd with au- thority to demand the independence of their country poured forth from town and province. Dissatisfaction, too, was expressed in these resolutions with the stubborn silence of the Russians on the question of the freedom of Lithuania and several protests were rendered against the Russian-made Liquidation Commission for Poland, to whose tutelage the government of Suvalkai was most unjustly committed. List of cities in which a whole series of meetings and conventions has taken place between 80 April 1 and May 27, 1917, demanding the freedom of Lithuania: Petrograd, Moscow, Kiev, Odessa, Riga, Charkov, Tiflis, Rostov on the Don, Helsingfors, Dvinsk, Tver, Tashkent, Polotzk, Vitebsk, Saratov, Samara, Smo- lensk, Minsk, Orel, Jaroslavl, Tula, Voronezh, Dorpat, Irkutsk, Simbirsk, Poltava, Tambov, Riazan, Chita, Novo-Nikolajevsk, Staraja Rusa, Bobruisk, Kars, Sim- feropol, Ekaterinoslav, Mineral Waters (Kaukasus), Omsk, Zaporozhye, Kamenskoye, Kolpino, Rzhev, Reval. All their resolutions have been printed in "Santara" at Petrograd, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 19 (from 8 IV, 1917, till 27 V, 1917). Demands of the Soldiers' Union About this time the Lithuanian soldiers organized their union and called a convention May 25-26. One hundred delegates, representing at this time 25,000 Lithuanian sol- diers who had been organized thus far, participated therein. Citing the fact that the whole of Lithuania — Major Lithuania as well as Lithuania Minor — ^had be- come one of the most desolated nations of the great war, this first popular and democratically organized conven- tion of Lithuanian soldiers of the Russian army resolved that 1. Lithuania must become free; that 2. Inasmuch as the future cannot be decided by one state alone, the Lithuanian problem is an international one and as such can be solved only by the Peace Congress, in which representatives of the Lithuanian nation must also participate; that 3. They expect the Peace Congress finally to unite Major and Minor Lithuania, and that 4. Before the Constituent Assembly convenes the Pro- visional Government of Russia must state its solution of the problem of Lithuanian freedom. 81 Recognition of the Sovereign Bights of Lithuania by the Congress of the Twenty-two Russian Nationalities That Lithuania had attained maturity with respect to the question of her freedom not only among her own peo- ple but also throughout the whole of democratic Russia is attested by the following resolution adopted by the con- gress of the Nationalities of Russia, held in Kiev, Octo- ber 8-16, 1917: The Convention of the Nationalities of Russia, called by the Ukrainian Central Rada, met at Kiev, October 8-16, 1917. The representation of 22 nationalities at this convention was as follows: 2 Georgians, 7 White Rus- sians, 4 Esthonians, 9 Cossacks, 10 Letts, 6 Poles, 6 Rou- manians, 10 Tatars, 3 Great Russians, 5 Turks, 9 Ukrai- nians, 10 Jews, 9 Lithuanians, etc. The following resolutions were adopted unanimously in regard to the Lithuanian question: Recognizing the right of every nationality to its own sovereignty as well as the fact that no government has any right whatever to shape the destinies or the form of government for any people or nation with- out their consent, and having heard the following report of the Lith- uanian delegates, to-wit, that 1. The Convention of the Lithuanians of Russia held at Petrograd in the month of June, 1917, declared their right to establish a Sover- eign Lithuanian State within ethnographic boundaries, whose form of government shall be decided by the Lithuanian Constituent Assembly, democratically chosen; 2. The Provisional Government has decreed, in spite of the estab- lished right to self-determination for each nationality, that the Gov- ernment of Suvalkai be annexed to the proposed independent Polish State and this government has, moreover, been handed over to the Polish Liquidation Committee, ignoring the fact that the representa- tives to the Imperial Russian Duma from this government have in- variably been of Lithuanian nationality, and that its inhabitants have Incessantly demanded that the government of Suvalkai be joined to an autonomous Lithuania, excepting such parts of it as the inhabitants should wish to be united to Poland, and 3. Because the Germans, by occupying the greater part of Lith- uania are deciding her destiny, renders this most fit and opportune for Russia, too, to proclaim her attitude respecting the rights of the Lithuanian nation. 82 The Convention therefore resolved to demand that The Provisional Government of Russia issue a procla- mation recognizing the rights of Lithuania to form a sov- ereign state of Lithuania out of the Russian Lithuanian territories, and of the Lithuanian districts of the govern- ment of Suvalkai, in conformity with the principle of self- determination. Later Resolutions Adopted by the Lithuanians of Russia Because of its bearing upon the unmediate political de- sires and tendencies of the Lithuanians it would perhaps be well to reproduce the whole of the resolutions adopted by the Veronezh Conference of November 16-19, 1917, in which the leaders of the various Lithuanian parties and three representatives of the Lithuanian Military Union of Russia took part for the purpose of creating a supreme, authoritative organ to direct the politics of Lithuanians in Russia. They read: After deliberating on (a) the first part of the resolu- tions adopted by the Lithuanian conference at Vilnius of September 18-22, 1917, wherein the Lithuanians of Lith- uania Proper consistently defended the rights of Lithu- anians in their native land, (b) the resolutions of the Lith- uanian National Council in Russia and of the Russian Lithuanians, (c) the labors and the resolutions of the Lithuanians of America together with the results of their conventions in regard to the freedom of Lithuania, (d) the resolutions of the Russian Congress of Nationalities in Kiev regarding Lithuanian affairs, and (e) the resolu- tions of the Second Lithuanian Stockholm Conference — the conference of the Lithuanian military delegates and of the leaders of the parties resolved that the Supreme Lithuanian Taryba or Council be organized according to the following principles: Because the consistent aim of the Lithuanian people is and has been an Independent Democratic Lithuanian Re- public, the purpose of the Supreme Lithuanian Council is the renewal of the independent Lithuanian State. In has- 83 ing its activities upon (1) the historical rights of Lith- uania, (2) the fact that Lithuania is a distinct economic entity, (3) the fact that Lithuanians have unceasingly struggled for their independence, (4) the promise that the whole world is developing along the lines of democracy, and lastly (5) the fact that America, Russia, France, England, and the Holy See have proclaimed the principle of self-determination for the oppressed nationalities, the Supreme Lithuanian Council therefore pledges itself to demand from the nations of the world the right for Lith- uanians to form a Sovereign Lithuanian State. The Su- preme Lithuanian Council pledges itself to foster the idea of an independent Lithuania and to defend it from the intrusions of neighboring states and nationalities. The Supreme Lithuanian Council pledges itself to make it clear to the world that Lithuanians refuse to entertain any claims to the re-establishment of the Historical Lithu- anian State and aim only to form an independent Lithu- anian State within ethnographic boundaries, embracing only those territories which have been inhabited since an- cient times by people of Lithuanian nationality — keeping in mind, however, rectification which might prove abso- lutely indispensable to the free economic life of the coun- try. The Supreme Lithuanian Council, therefore, pledges itself to demand that all the scattered parts of Lithuanian territory — Major Lithuania, comprising the governments of Vilnius, Kaunas, Suvalkai, and parts of Grodno and Courland, and Lithuania Minor under the yoke of Ger- many — be combined into a single Lithuanian state and that Lithuania be provided with a port on the Baltic Sea which can be freely used for the economic purposes of the country. The Supreme Lithuanian Council further pledges itself to make known to the world that Lithuanians consider it their moral and indisputable right to establish a suitable form of government in the Lithuanian State, as well as to form adequate relations with the other states and nations of the world through the Constituent Lithu- anian Assembly at Vilnius, whose representatives are to be chosen by universal, equal, direct and secret ballot, re- 84 gardless of sex, race, or religion, by means of the propor- tional system and with the guarantee of individual free- dom. The Supreme Lithuanian Council furthermore pledges itself to make known to the world that, in accord- ance with the traditions of their forefathers and the prin- ciples of justice and democracy, the Lithuanian people shall guarantee adequate conditions for the cultural de- velopment of racial minorities in the future Lithuanian State. Lastly, the Supreme Lithuanian Council pledges itself to make"laiQlvn'to the world that the right of estab- lishing the- Lithuanian State belongs solely to the future Peace Coriference, and that representatives of the Lithu- anian nationality should be accorded the right of partici- pating therein. Political Resolutions of the JLithuanians in America The Convention of Lithuanians residing in America took place in New York City, March 13-14, 1918. Over 1,200 delegates took part in it and adopted the following resolutions : Whereas, 1. Lithuania is an ethnographic, cultural, economic, and po- litical entity; 2. The historical past of Lithuania, as well as the trend of events today, tender the Lithuanian nationality the indisputable right to restore the sovereign Lithuanian State. 3. The Lithuanian nationality is guided solely by self-deter- mination in endeavoriag to shape its political future and destiny. 4. The free development of the cultural and economic po- tentialities of any nationality is possible only when its land en- joys complete economic independence. 5. To decide fully its own political destiny is the birth-right of every nationality. 6. The throes of this war have made the Lithuanian question one of international significance and hence a subject for the coming international peace-conference. 7. An international congress alone — ^not those warring powers who are bent on enslaving Lithuania — is competent to guarantee to the people of Lithuania the freedom of its political life. 8. Woodrow Wilson, our Honorable President, is of the opinion, as expressed in his address to the United States Senate on •when it fails to recognize or accept the principle that the rights of states come from the will of the people, and that there is no law in existence that permits of trafficing in nationalities as if they were mere chattels, and After deliberating on the political condition of Lithu- ania, the Convention of Lithuanians in America therefore resolved that 1. The formation of an independent, democratic state within Lith- uanian ethnographic boundaries, with only such deviations therefrom as are entirely indispensable for the economic life of the country, is absolutely vital to the welfare of Lithuania; 2. That the independence of Lithuania should be guaranteed by the Peace Conference, wherein Lithuanian representatives should be permitted to participate, and 3. That the resolutions of this convention be forwarded to Wood- row Wilson, our Honorable President, as representative of the United States Government, the protector and defender of the small and op- pressed nationalities, and to all the other governments of the Allied and neutral nations. As regards the form of government, the Convention of Lithuanians in America adopted the following: Whereas, 1. The freedom and the rights of the people can be best safe- guarded in a democratic form of government; 2. The Lithuanian nationality consists chiefly of laboring peo- ple, and 3. The spirit of democracy has been ever present among Lith- uanians, and Leaving to the citizens of Lithuania themselves the right to establish a form of government and standing by the principles of democracy, We Therefore Resolve That 1. The principles of genuine democracy and the republican form of government be introduced and established in the Lithu- anian State; 2. Every citizen of Lithuania, irrespective of race, faith, sex or class, shall enjoy equal political rights; 3. Freedom of speech, press, assembly, organization, religion and freedom of conscience, of person and home be recognized, and 4. Nationalization of natural resources and public service insti- tutions be allowed only in so far as they do not trespass on the rights and freedom of the individual. As regards the relations to Poles, the Convention adopted the following: Cognizant of Polish intrigue and propaganda for the purpose of compelling a union of Lithuania and Poland into one body politic, or to force access through Lithuania to the Baltic Sea, the Convention, and all Lithuanians, protest most vehemently, and declare that the pretentions of Poland are utterly without foundation, contrary to the spirit of the times, and, if realized, would absolutely destroy the integrity and independence of Lithuania. The Lithuanians shall make suitable guarantees for the freest cul- tural development of aU peoples of whatsoever creed or race, inhabi- tants of Lithuania. Conclusion The foregoing demonstrates clearly, we hope, that the soul of the Lithuanian nationality has always craved in- dependence, but has not for a long time had the oppor- tunity to speak out. This war presented such an opportunity and immedi- ately demands for independence proved to be voiced in unison by the entire Lithuanian race. The independence of Lithuania is now an ideal so deeply implanted in the minds of the Lithuanian people that any solution which would seek to unite Lithuania to any other nation against her will would meet not only with the most vigorous opposition, but would most cer- tainly cause that country to revolt with the object of at- taining complete freedom. Peaceful cultural and eco- nomic development would thus be marred by conditions of bloody strife. The resolution cited above and adopted by Lithuanians everywhere — in Lithuania, Russia, and the United States — point out that every Lithuanian political party agrees to the following: 1. That the form of government must be that of a democratic republic ; 2. That the component parts of Lithuania, now unnaturally sepa- rated from one another, must be joined into a single political, economic, and cultural unit with an outlet to the sea — which means that Lith- uania Minor, now under the German yoke, should be joined to Lith- uania Major so that a territory situated on both sides of the river 87 Niemen to its mouth and peopled since the remotest times by none other than Lithuanians would again be righteously united, and 3. That the sovereign rights of Lithuania be restored and guaran- teed at the coming peace conference. Relations of Lithuanians to Other Nationalities Freedom for Lithuania and its re-establishment to an autonomous state within the ethnographic territory com- prising Major and Minor Lithuania, with the necessary economic corrections is the demand of the Lithuanian peo- ple. They also assert the right to call a Constituent As- sembly to regulate the internal order of the nation and its relations to neighboring states. In advancing these de- mands, however, the Lithuanians wish it to be known that independence is not their sole and final object. Every political and economic suggestion of other nations which will make possible the development of Lithuanian culture and contribute to the social evolution of mankind and the brotherhood of men in general must be carefully consid- ered. Without independence, however, the Lithuanians will be in no position to determine their relations with for- eign states. A Constituent Assembly operating from Vil- nius is the only competent and responsible body for ef- fecting the necessary reforms. At this point it is pertinent to consider the relations of Lithuania with neighboring states in the past: Relations to Russia Russia has governed Lithuania, i. e., the governments of Kaunas, Vilnius and Grodno, since the time of the last partitionment of Lithuania and Poland (1795) and the government of Suvalkai since the Vienna Congress (1815). The sole basis of the Russian government of Lithuania rested on conquest and during the century when that rule has been extended over the subject state it has met with the consistent objection of the Lithuanian people. Nevertheless, the Lithuanians have been loyal to Russia and have believed that freedom of the Russians meant also the freedom of the Lithuanians ; that their fu- ture was bound with that of those of the Russian people 88 who clamored against the old despotism. When the war broke out the Lithuanians promptly tendered their sym- pathies to the Allies and came out in opposition to Ger- man militarism and despotism. Lithuanian military re- servists took service in the Russian Army Corps and fought bravely in eastern Prussia, driving back the Ger- mans as far as Koenigsberg and compelling Germany to withdraw large military forces from the western front at a time when a German occupation of Paris was most threatening. When the reinforced German army finally broke through the lines in Lithuania the land was sub- jected to pillage and the people were put to the sword or driven inland where they suffered untold miseries. It is natural, therefore, that they should demand justice for their country and their sufferings. With the fall of the old despotism, or czaristic regime, in Russia the oppressed nations of that empire looked for- ward with joy and thanksgiving to the time when free- dom should be theirs. But in this expectation they were soon to be cruelly disabused. At no time since the de- thronement of the Czar has adequate hope been held out to the Lithuanian people of independence. On the con- trary, some of the various governments which have con- trolled Russia since the deposition of Czar Nicholas have cultivated more or less cordial relations with Germany to a point where German domination of the entire East was in prospect. The Russian provisional government under both Prime Minister Lvov and Kerensky failed to make sufficiently clear the problems of small nationalities. The excuse was constantly offered that only a Constituent Assembly was competent to cope with such problems and it was repeatedly intimated that to the Russian govern- ment alone should be given the right to supervise these matters. The provisional government, failing to grasp the necessities of the hour, fell like the old czaristic regime, dragging down with it the entire Russian nation. No jus- tice whatever was meted out to Lithuania by the pro- visional government — nay, even an alliance was effected with the Polish imperialists with a view to bartering Lith- uania. The purely Lithuanian province of Suvalliai, arti- ficially united with the Kingdom of Poland, was trans- ferred with all its institutions to the control of the Polish Liquidation Committee, notwithstanding the fact that all the Lithuanian representatives in the Duma from Suval- kai (there never were Polish representatives from Suval- kai) repeatedly demanded the separation of Suvalkai from Poland and union with the rest of Lithuania. Meanwhile German intrigue did not fail to utilize the mistake of the Russian government and promptly annexed Suvalkai to the province of Vilnius, thus uniting it with Lithuania as it had been in the past. The Russian Social-Revolutionist Party was practically antagonistic to the principle of self-determination for sub- jected nationalities as was also Kerensky himself. At the Joint Conference at Moscow on August 15, 1917, of all the representatives of the Duma and of all the political parties and social classes the question of small nationalities was, with a single exception, utterly ignored, although it loomed large at the time. Prince Krapotkin was bold enough to express the opinion that Russia should organ- ize upon a federative principle. With a view to establishing a social republic the Bol- sheviki purchased peace with Germany and the price they paid was the territories of Lithuania and other new border states. Such an attitude on the part of the governing authorities of Russia toward Lithuania gives small hope of any satisfactory conclusion and this undoubtedly will have an important effect upon the relations of the two coimtries in the future. Even should Russia succeed in re-establishing order, the relations of Lithuania with that country would depend largely upon Russia's recognition of Lithuanian status as a free nation. Relations with Poland The Lithuanians categorically and unanimously refuse to unite with Poland. They declare that the personal union of these two countries terminated with their f aU and partitionment. Even assuming that it exists, either party 90 to the contract is at perfect liberty to terminate it just as the Norway- Sweden contract was terminated. The Poles are a Slavic race possessing customs totally and inherently different from those of the Lithuanians. If they prefer to live up to their old traditions; if they aim to re-establish Poland along reactionary lines ; if they prefer to support the election of the King and the pre- dominance of aristocracy, as might be inferred from the declaration of the Polish regency, these are no affairs of Lithuania, which will never accept monarchial-aristocratic principles. The temporary government of Russia by act of March, 1915, in an attempt to revive Poland, used the expression, "on the formation of an independent Polish state from those lands where the Poles constitute the majority," and to this added the indefinite statement "Russians believe that nations for ages bound to the Poles should be guar- anteed their life of citizenship and nationality." By this means the temporary government of Russia hoped to protect the rights of citizens of other races living in Po- land, such as the Jews and the Russians. But the Polish imperialists have perverted the expression "nations for ages bound to the Poles" to mean the Lithuanian nation, the White Russians and the Ukranians occupying the historic boundaries of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. To this the Lithuanians take exception. Whatever may have been asserted to the contrary, no authorized Lithuanian representatives have ever accepted this interpretation. Lithuania will not permit the blunder of the Lublin Union to be perpetuated. The attempt on April 17, 1917, in Petrograd to annex Lithuania with White Russia and to dispose European opinion favorably to Polish imperialism over the two countries was promptly discountenanced. The Lithuanian National Council at Petrograd declared that the idea of an independent Lithuania had been consistently fostered and that Lithuania was opposed to her delimiting within the confines of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with a view to joining her destiny to that of White Russia and Poland. Again on May 27-28, 1917, 44 Poles of Lithuania, in 91 an unauthorized document prepared in Vilnius and pre- sented to the Chancellor of Germany, declared: (a) That they considered Lithuania a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania occupied by the Germans; (b) that they will always endeavor to unite with the state of Poland; (c) that they deem it to the best interests of Lithuania to unite with Poland in a common state with autonomy for the separate parts of the country. The Lithuanians, in a memorandum prepared at Vilnius under date of July 10, and delivered to the Chancellor of Germany, character- ized this as Polish imperialism and said: "We must em- phasize most vigorously that the Lithuanians are not in sympathy with the aggressive policy of Poland; they do not claim the lands of the old Grand Duchy of Lithuania and they have no desire for the whole of the territory now occupied by the Germans. The Lithuanians seek no ag- grandizement either in Poland or in White Russia. But they do by all means demand liberty, free of interference, to govern their country throughout its national demarca- tions. To the Lithuanian people alone do we acknowl- edge the right to decide the fate of the land." The above mentioned Polish memorandum was pro- tested against by the large land-owners in Lithuania. "Tevynes Sargas" (February 26, 1918), published in Vilnius, asserts that the nobles of Lithuania did not approve the memorandum and "are willing to help re- establish Lithuania, but not Poland in Lithuania." In common with entire Lithuanian nation, they de- sire to offer their abilities and strength for the benefit of Lithuania (v. "Lietuvos Aidas," published in Vilnius. Memorandum of the Poles to the Chancellor of Germany, No. 4, August 18, 1917. Memorandum of the Lithu- anians to the Chancellor of Germany, Nos. 5, 6, 9 and 10, 20, 22 and 29, IX, 1917, and 2, X, 1917) . The Polish attitude toward the Lithuanians may again be demonstrated by the following: At a meeting of the Liquidation Committee established by the Russian revolu- tionary government for the purpose of liquidating the separation claims of Poland and Russia, the Roman 92 Catholic Bishop, Cieplak, a Pole, announced that Poles make no distinction between Catholicism and Polish na- tionality ; that is, whoever in Russia is a Catholic is a Pole. Hence, it would foUow, the Lithuanians, being Roman Catholics, would be considered Poles. (See "Russkija Viedomosti," "Utro Rossii," "Russkoje Slovo," April, 1917). The best evidence that this idea is not merely a pose, but a practical working program of the Poles, is indicated by the fact that when opportunity arose to form separate national regiments in Russia the Poles obtained from the Russian general staff, imfamHiar with the situa- tion, permission to register all the Roman Catholic sol- diers in the Russian army and to muster them in as Poles. When the Lithuanian regiments were formed it became necessary to exert a great deal of effort in order to reclaim the Lithuanian soldiers from the Polish imits, and in the effort scores of Lithuanian soldiers lost their lives. The Poles make special pretentions to the government of Suvalkai, a territory which has always been inhabited by Lithuanians and which has justly belonged to Lith- uania from time immemorial. The basis of these preten- tions is the annexation of Suvalkai to Congressional Po- land by Napoleon I in 1807. This territory is at present the center of national activities and it is there that the Lithuanian national consciousness, policies and economic questions are most thoroughly agitated. We have thus outlined some of the means devised by Poland to effect the annexation of Lithuania to Polish territory. Lasting rapprochement of these two nations will be impossible until Poland recognizes the principles enunciated by President Woodrow Wilson with respect to self-determination of nations. Relations with Germany With respect to Germany it may be said that she has for ages, by fair means or foul, endeavored to prevent the Lithuanians the use of the Baltic Sea, and she at present occupies all that territory of Lithuania which borders on the Baltic, together with the outlets of the rivers Niemen 93 and Pregel, the former being most important artery of commerce in Lithuania; thus Germany practically con- trols Lithuania's foreign trade. Possession of the Niemen where it debouches into the Baltic and the Port of Elai- peda (Memel), and to a lesser degree the mouth of the Pregel and the Port of Karaliaucius (Koenigsberg) are vitaUy important to Lithuania and she cannot renounce them. She therefore demands that they be incorporated into her territory as a conditio sine qua nan of a united and prosperous Lithuania. Relations with Letts. Language, common descent, history, hardships encoun- tered in the past, customs and character — inclination to- ward democracy — ^finally the name itself — all these things emphasize a close relationship of these two nationalities, Lithuanians and Letts. A union between both kindred nations is not only possible, but highly desirable. Economical and Culttjbal, Evolution of Small Nations of Eubope Freedom of intercourse gives a nation the best guaran- tee against its economic enslavement. This freedom largely depends upon the geographic location of the coun- try. The favorable geographic location alone would ex- plain the positive economic and cultural evolution of such small states as Denmark, Holland, and Belgivmi. In spite of the fact that they are in the immediate neighborhood of powerful and aggressive nations as Germany, still the latter could not bring about their economic enslavement. Free conmiercial intercourse with the entire world helped those small nations and this assured their economic independence of neighboring nations and their cultural development. That small nations may prosper as weU as great ones may be seen from the comparative table, as follows : 94 •Area in 1000 sq. kilom. Eur. Russia ... .4a4.2 Austro-Hun. . . 676 Germany . Ml France . 636 . 605 England . 8U Italy .. 287 Portugal . 92 Switzerland ... . 41 Denmark . 39 HoUand 33 Belgium 29 Length of R. R. in 1912 in 100 kilom. per 1000 inhab. Belgium 29.8 England 12.0 Germany 11.6 Swlteerland ._. 11.6 Denmark 9.8 Holland 9.6 France 9.4 Austro-Hun. .. 6.8 Italy 6.1 Portugal 3.2 Spain 8.1 Russia 1.2 Number of letters mailed per capita. Switzerland 127 England 12S Belgium :. 113 Germany 107 France 102 HoUand 95 Denmark 67 Austro-Hun. .. 63 Italy 36 Portugal 22 Spain 19 Russia 11 Foreign com- merce va marks per capita, 1912. HoUand 1899 Belgium 930 Switzerland .... 719 Denmark 609 England 604 France 377 Germony 328 Italy 148 Portugal 183 Austro-Hun. .. 113 Spain „ 91 Russia 39 * Political Economic, by Bernstein. Here it is noted that foreign commerce is relatively greater in small nations: Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, etc. Belgium — the smallest of all the enum- erated countries — ^has the greatest net of railroads. Swit- zerland, Denmark and Holland stand between Germany and France in that respect. The degree of cultural and economic development is best illustrated by the number of letters mailed per capita, and in that respect Switzer- land occupies the first place, with Belgium in the third. Small nationalities, especially when composed of one racial element, have no necessity, no reason for aggres- siveness, and are in a position to expend all their vital energies on the cultivation of spiritual and mental quali- ties. As a consequence there is no branch of learning where small nations do not exert important influences. It is sufficient to suggest the writers of Scandinavia and of Belgium, the artists of Holland and Belgium, and all those attainments in the realm of science that originate among small nations. Nowhere does the humanitarian spirit, the idea of co- operation, solidarity and imity of purpose for all mankind flourish so abundantly as among the small nations. "They are," to cite the words of Bernstein, "like peaceful islands of culture, planted within the turbulent waters of the ocean of great, pugnacious neighbors." A free co-opera- tive development in the economic and cultural fields is unattainable as long as there exist great imperialistic na- 95 tions. Every one of them aims at becoming self-sufficient and, unable to attain that peacefully, they resort to force. This results in oppression and persecution of smaller na- tionalities, in attempts to eliminate national differences, to eliminate racial individualism of other nationalities — . and thus the greatest harm is done to the very funda- mentals of cultural development. Small, racially uniform nations, on the other hand, are compelled for their very existence to uphold a lively in- tercourse with their neighbors in the realm of culture and economics. Small nations require for the protection of their political independence guarantees of freedom for their growth and development. In this they are all equally interested. Through small nations only, there- fore, it is possible to attain the ideal of the brotherhood of mankind. The culture developing in the midst of small nations would also tend to regenerate the spirit of oppres- sors — great nations — whose spiritual degeneration was already manifested to perfection in the present war. On the strength of all that, therefore, as well as in view of the consequence of long-suffered oppression, that fol- lowed the happy independent life; in view of the geo- graphical situation of Lithuania with access to the sea, of its material and cultural regeneration of the present day and unanimously adopted principle of "freedom of nationalities," the Lithuanian nation naturally desires and demands that all parts of Lithuania, suffering oppression from the great neighbors, be united into one complete body, and be given the right to form a sovereign, inde- pendent state of Lithuania, where the Lithuanian nation- ality would happily pursue its rightful aims of life, and have ample opportunities for well-rounded development for the benefit of its own people and hximanity and pro- gress of mankind in general. Conclusion 1. Until the end 0/ the Eighteenth Century Lithuania was independent and had its separate political life. S. By the centuries-long struggle for their freedom the Lithuanians testi- fied that they have always kept alive the traditions of the State of Indepen- dent Lithuania, S. The present trend of events in the world, the declaration of Allies to 96 stamd by the rights of small and oppressed nations, the historical part of Lithuania and present-day aspirations of Lithuanians, finally the recent strides in the Lithuanian political and cultural evolution — all these grant Lithuanians umdisputed right to form again an independent, sovereign State of Lithuania for the welfare of her population as well as for the benefit of the culture and humanity of mankind. 4. The Russian nationalities and Russian Ooiiern/ment recognized the neces- sity and right of the individual Lithuanian unit, and in the peace parleys with Oermany advanced a demand to grant Lithuanians a freedom of self-deter- mination regarding their political future. Setting aside the principle of self-determination as impractical under exist- ing conditions, Oermany, however, recognized the individuality of the Lithu^ anian nation and proclaimed Lithuania as an independent political unit with sovereign rights, in spite of the fact that the German military command con- tinued to govern the country. Irrespective of the motives that governed both parleying sides at Brest- Litovsk, the fact remains that Lithuania is already recognized by both the most closely interested nations as a separate cultural and political unit. 6. Relying on the historical rights and the unanimous will of the separated parts of Lithuania and of the Lithuanian colonies, scattered in the years of oppression over Russia and America, the Lithuanians demand the renewal of an independent state of Lithuania, composed of Greater Lithuania (formerly annexed to Russia) and Lithuania Minor (remaining as yet in the hands of Prussia). The importance of Lithuania Minor for the Lithuanian national life is paramount, as it contains the "delta" of the most important Lithuanian stream — Niemen River — and, through the port of Memel, gives Lithuania the access to the Baltic Sea. 6. The said demand of Lithuanians to attain independence is expressed by the whole conscious and organized nationality. Not to satisfy the demand, already known to the world, would mean to provoke the wrath and indignation of the Lithuanian jiation and vigorous resistance of Lithuanians. 7. The Lithuanians maintain as their natural, inalienable right to decide the order of the future State of Lithuania in a Constituent Diet, elected in the democratic manner by all its inhabitants and assembled in the old capital of lAthuania, the City of Vilnius. 8. The Lithuanians deem that the sanction of the renewal of the indepen- dent Lithuanian State and the installation of the same amid the world^s states with sovereign rights belongs to the International Peace Congress, in which representatives of the Lithuanian nation should participate. 9. Whereas, the Lithuanian territory became a battlefield between Oermany and Russia during the World's War, as a result of which the country has been utterly devasted, similar to that of Belgiwm, Serbia and others, justice de- ma/nds that Lithuania be reconstructed at the expense of her wrong-doers and those that called forth this war. 10. The Lithuanians hope that the future state of lAthuania, without injur- ing the independent evolution of the country, shall enter into agreement of eternal peace and com/mon cultural work with all free states and democratic nations of the world. A SUPPLEMENT to the booklet INDEPENDENCE FOR THE LITHUANIAN NATION by T. Norus and J. ziliiis NOTE: This Supplement is for the purpose of presenting some revised statistics, based on the latest available informa- tion, and to acquaint the reader with changes which have occurred from 1918 up to 1940. Lithuania survived the Soviet invasion of 1940 with its destructive communistic experiments, and at the present time (since the middle of 1941) finds herself in German clutches. To regain independence temporari- ly lost because of events beyond their control, the Lith- uanian people are bending their efforts to get rid of the German occupation as they did in 1918 when the book- let „Independence for the Lithuanian Nation" was pub- lished. Lithuania firmly believes that the spirit of the At- lantic Charter and the efforts of the United Nations „to defend life, liberty, independence and religious free- dom, and to preserve human rights and justice" will triumph and that „sovereign rights and self-government will be restored to those who have been forcibly de- prived of them." Page 10: KLAIPEDA TERRITORY That part of Samogitia, along the Baltic coast and the river Nemunas (Niemen), about 70 miles long and 10 to 20 miles wide, better known as the Klaipeda (Memel) Territory (area about 1100 sq. miles with a population of about 145,000) was transferred to Lithuania by the Allied Powers under the Klai- peda Convention of May 8, 1924, which came into force on August 25, 1925. That territory remained under Lithuanian sovereignty until March 22, 1939, when a few days after the fall of Czechoslo- vakia, Lithuania, under the threat of force, had to consent to its transfer to Germany. The Port of Klaipeda (Memel), Lithuania's only seaport on the Baltic, served as the country's lungs, upon which the entire [ 1 ] economic organism depended. In a short time the Lithuanian Government transformed what had been an insignificant and obsolete port into a modern one. Shipping in 1938 rose to 1,544 incoming vessels with a total of 910,819 registered net tons and 1,563 outgoing vessels with 913,512 registered net tons cleared. Page 11: The German population of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was repatriated to Germany in 1940 and the first months of 1941. Thus, at the beginning of 1942, with the exception of German occupational forces, there is no German population in the Baltic States. Page 14 and subsequent pages: The Lithuanian name for the Capital of Lithuania is Vilnius, not Vilna or Wilno; the Lithuanian name for the secondary Ca- pital is Kaunas, not Kovno or Kowno; the Lithuanian name for rJemel is Klaipeda; and the correct Lithuanian spelling of the name of the Grand Duke of Lithuania is Vytautas, not Vitautas or Witold. Page 20: LITHUANIAN EMIGRATION a) The number of Lithuanians left in Russia after World War I was insignificant, but, presumably, at least 70,000 persons from Lithuania have been exiled to Siberia by the Soviets during the Soviet occupation of Lithuania from June 15, 1940, until June 22, 1941. b) During the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, a certain num- ber, presumably 15,000, of Lithuanians have escaped to Ger- many either as repatriates or as refugees and, as yet, are not allowed to return to their homes in Lithuania. c) In Great Britain, besides London and Scotland, Lithuanian ethnical groups are to be found also in Manchester, Liver- pool, St. Helens, Leeds, etc. d) During the period of Lithuania's independence, Lithuanian emigration to overseas countries, mainly to the United States, Canada, South America, South Africa and Palestine, is estimated to have reached about 100,000. Page 25: The German occupation of Lithuania during the First World War lasted from 1915 to November 11, 1918. In the Second World War, Lithuania is again suffering a German oc- cupation, which began June 22, 1941. [ 2 ] Pages 41 to 45: AREA AND POPULATION The area of ethnic Lithuania, within the boundaries es- tablished by the Lithuanian-Soviet Peace Treaty of Moscow on July 12, 1920, the Klaipeda (Memel) Convention of May 8, 1924, and defined by the Lithuanian-Latvian Declaration of June 30, 1930, consists of about 33,940 sq. miles, with about 4,200,000 inhabitants. Page 46: The area of post-war independent Latvia was 25,400 sq. miles; its population about 2,000,000. Page 47: THE ECONOMIC STATUS OF LITHUANIA An important Land Reform legistlation was enacted in Lithuania between 1919 and 1922. As a consequence of the re- distribution of land, approximately half of the agricultural area was divided into farms of 10 to 60 acres each. Thus from un- productive large estates 34,925 small farmsteads were created. Page 48: FARM PRODUCTS AND VEGETABLES According to a census of crops taken on June 30, 1935, ara- ble land was apportioned as follows: cereals 47.58%, legumes and mixtures 8.70%, root and tuber crops 8.79%, forage crops 16.20%, flax 2.91%, vegetables 0.93%. In 1938, there were produced (in metric tons) : rye 623,729, wheat 251,284, barley 271,300, oats 420,002, potatoes 2,118,231, flax fibre 25,784. Page 49: LIVESTOCK On June 30, 1939, Lithuania possessed: 520,710 horses, 1,- 103,550 cattle, 1,223,600 sheep, 1,117,080 pigs, 1,996,800 poultry and 858,300 geese. Dairies Skimming Stations 1931 273 1,610 1937 188 2,052 1939 176 2,159 Butter In 1937 produced 37,465,000 " " 1938 " 41,985,000 lbs. [ 3 ] Exports and Imparts (in litas; 6 litas — 1 dol.) 1937 1938 1939 Imports: 212,667,000 223,686,000 169,362,000 Exports: 208,325,000 233,200,000 203,194,000 In 1938, the export of — meat products amounted to 36,195,700 litas butter " " 48,458,700 " flax fibre " " 24,824,700 " pigs . " " 21,257,300 " eggs " " 7,832,600 " In 1938,-39.38% of the exports went to Great Britain, 26.80% to Germany, 5.72% to Russia, 5.22% to Baltic Countries and Scandinavia. The principal items of import are: cotton yarn and thread, woolen yarn and thread, cotton fabrics, woolen fabrics, coal, fertilizers, iron, machinery and cement. Of the total imports of 1938,— 30.93 percent came from Great Britain, 24.46 " " " Germany, 6.69 " " " Russia, 6.69 " " " Baltic Coun. and Scand'ia, 4.76 ' Holland. Total trade between Lithuania and the United Kingdom: Exports to the United Kingdom in 1937— £3,274,953 Exports to the United Kingdom in 1938— £3,083,806 Imports from the United Kingdom in 1937— £1,874,288 Imports from the United Kingdom in 1938— £2,117,132 Re-exports to the United Kingdom in 1937— £ 88,573 Re-exports to the United Kingdom in 1938— £ 107,024 Lithuanian- American trade: Exports to the U. S. A. in 1937—6.8 mil. litas Exports to the U. S. A. in 1938—5.6 mil. litas Imports from the U. S. A. in 1937—7.3 mil. litas Imports from the U. S. A. in 1938—8.2 mil. litas Lithuanian exports consisted of smoked meats, bacon, but- ter, cheese, mushrooms, honey; also skins and hides, woodpulp, flax. Lithuanian imports frpm U. S. A. consisted chiefly of man- ufactured goods: automobiles, motorcycles, agricultural imple- ments, sewing machines, tools, electrical supplies, typewriters, [ 4 ] cameras, drugs, cotton goods, mineral oil, gasoline, tobacco, fresh and dried fruits. Lithuania, regardless of the difficulties emanating from the loss of the Port of Klaipeda (Memel), participated with marked success in the New York World's Fair of 1939. In this connection, a Lithuanian Day celebration took place on the Fair grounds and the following year, Lithuania took part in a spe- cial Baltic Day program. LITHUANIAN FORESTS Forests cover about 2,645,384 acres, i. e., 16.3% of the total area; 70% of the forests consist of evergreens, mostly pines. Page 51: INDUSTRY In 1938, there were 1,441 industrial establishments (with not less than 5 employees) with a total of 40,818 empolyees. The value of productiion of the principal commodities in 1938 were (in 1,000 litas) : meat and fish 44,919, manufactured timber 12,- 532, tissues and yarns 28,131, machines and metallic wares 13,- 215, leather 14,374. FINANCES By a law of August 16, 1922, Lithuanian national currency, Litas, was introduced. It was based on the gold standard and was equivalent in international exchange to on-tenth of the Ame- rican dollar. The Bank of Lithuania was established in August, 1922, on joint stock principles. The capital was 12,000,000 litas. As- sets of the Bank of Lithuania on May 31, 1940, was 318,696,503.- 61 litas. The bank notes in circulation on that date were 175,- 783,750.00 litas. Deposits in all credit institutions amounted to 261,186,300 litas and special accounts to 377,895,000 litas. The capital of 7 joint banks on January 1, 1939, amounted to 27,500,000 litas. Page 53: The main obstacles in Lithuania's post-war economic rehab- ilitation were: 1) Complete ruin of Lithuania's economy and finances by earlier foreign domination and the World War. 2) Complete lack of technical equipment and agricultural implements immediately following the struggle for lib- eration. 3) Lack of an outlet to the sea until 1923. 4) Occupation of the Vilnius territory by the Poles. [ 5 ] 5) German economic pressure. 6) World-wide depression of 1931 and the introduction of quotas in foreign trade. Pages 60 to 61: LITHUANIAN CULTURE PUBLICATIONS The number of newspapers and periodicals issued in Lith- uania in 1927 was 93. Number of non-periodical publications in 1936 was 1010, in 1937—1080, with an average of 108 pages each. The number of Lithuanian language newspapers and peri- odicals published elsewhere in the post-war period is as fol- lows: United States — 30, including 4 dailies (among them one Catholic daily); Canada — 1; Argentina^ — 7; Brazil — 2; Uruguay — 2; England — 1; Italy — 1; Soviet Union — 2; Latvia — 2; East Prussia — 1; Vilnius territory during the Polish occupation —3. ORGANIZATIONS AND SOCIETIES There were a total of 7,640 societies, unions or branches throughout Lithuania in 1937 and 7,835 in 1938. EDUCATION In 1938-39 Lithuania had 2,335 primary schools, 27 secondary schools, 56 gimnasiums, 5 teachers' training col- leges, 21 special advanced training schools and 126 special in- termediate schools dedicated to various crafts. The University of Vytautas the Great in Kaunas in 1938 had 292 professors and lecturers and 3,041 students. There were also an Academy of Agriculture, a Veterinary Academy, an Institute of Commerce, a Conservatory of Music, advanced School of Physical Education, a Pedagogical Institute. A sec- ond university was opened in Vilnius in the beginning of 1940. Page 64: WAR REFUGEES There was an auxiliary society for Lithuanian refugees in Germany and there are several in the United States to assist Lithuanian exiles, refugees and deportees in various countries, victims of war and aggression. Page 66: POLITICAL PARTIES Until 1926 there existed in independent Lithuania the fol- lowing more important parties: 1) Christian-Democratic Party, 2) Farmers' Union, 3) Federation of Labor, 4) Nationalist Un- ion, 5) Populist Party, 6) Social-Democratic Party. [ 6 ] Page 87: RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA Soviet Russia recognized Lithuania's independence by tiie Peace Treaty of July 12, 1920, and renounced her sovereign rights over Lithuania forever. She returned the City of Vilnius and part of the Vilnius territory to Lithuania by the Lithuanian- Soviet Treaty of October 10, 1939. The Soviet Union occupied Lithuania on June 15, 1940, in violation of existing treaties be- tween the two countries. The Soviets remained in Lithuania until the German-Soviet war of June 1941. Until the occupation of Lithuania by the Soviets, her relations with that country had always been friendly. The Lithuanian-Soviet Non-Aggression Agreement expires only in 1945. Page 89: RELATIONS WITH POLAND They have not been happy from the very beginning for the following reason: By the Lithuanian-Soviet Treaty of July 12, 1920, the City and region of Vilnius and Gardinas (Grodno) were ceded to Lithuania. At the insistance of the Supreme Allied Council, Lith- uania and Poland agreed to negotiate a frontier settlement and to accept a provisional frontier, leaving the Vilnius district on the Lithuanian side. A Lithuanian-Polish agreement to this effect was signed at Suvalkai on October 7, 1920. The agree- ment, unfortunately, was violated by the Polish Government on October 9, 1920, by occupying that region with „rebellious" troops. The Lithuanian Government protested, never recognized the occupation of that territory and severed diplomatic rela- tions with Poland. On March 17, 1938, Poland presented an ul- timatum to the Lithuanian Government demanding the uncon- ditional establishment of regular diplomatic relations. To pre- serve peace, the ultimatum was accepted, but the Vilnius prob- lem remained. RELATIONS WITH GERMANY Lithuanian-German relations were, to a large extent, dom- inated by the Klaipeda (Memel) question. The Klaipeda (Memel) territory was detached from Germany by the Peace Conference in Paris with the view of handing it over to the Lithuanian Republic. It was transferred to Lithuania under the Klaipeda Convention of 1924. Germany, especially under the Nazi regime, often interfered with the administration of that territory by exercising econom- ic and political pressure on Lithuania. On March 22, 1939, Ger- many forced the return of that territory to the Reich. [ 1 ] Gemany, also, under the Nazis, almost continuously triS| to interfere in Lithuania's internal affairs by encouraging the activities of the German minority in Lithuania. After the outbreak of the German-Soviet war on June 22, 1941, the Germans occupied Lithuania and refused to recognize its independence. RELATIONS WITH LATVIA The Lithuanian-Latvian relations have always been good- neighborly. On the initiative of Lithuania, a Treaty of Better Understanding and Cooperation was signed at Geneva, Septem- ber 12, 1934, by the representatives of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. These Baltic coimtries were in close contact in regard to their foreign policy. They closely cooperated also in the eco- nomic and cultural fields until they were overrun by the Soviet army in June, 1940. VILNIUS TERRITORY The various statistical data given above do not include the Vilnius territory. Due to the occupation of that territory by Poland until October, 1939, complete statistical data are not available. The Vilnius territory ceded to Lithuania by the Soviet-Lith- uanian Peace Treaty of July 12, 1920, comprises an area of ap- proximately 12,500 sq. miles with a population of about 1,200,- 000. The part of Vilnius territory with the City of Vilnius, transferred to Lithuania under the Soviet-Lithuanian Treaty of October 10, 1939, together with that added during the Soviet oc- cupation of Lithuania, comprises an area over 3,000 sq. miles with a population of over 500,000. The City of Vilnius itself in 1937 had a population of 208,500. The cities of Trakai and sven- cionys were also returned to Lithuania. The return of other cities like Braslavas, Asmena, Lyda, Gardinas (Grodno), Suvalkai is expected with the termination of the Second World War. Lithuania, suffering from the effects of two successive for- eign occupations, nevertheless, is determined to get rid of for- eign yoke, and refuses to be buried alive. Compiled by THE LITHUANIAN LEGATION. Washington, D. C. January 27, 1942. [ 8 ] DEMOCRACY TIDEAL FORM OP GOVERNMENT— THE HOPE OF HUMANITY By HENRY ALLEN TUPPER, D.D., LL.D., ^uthor of ''Around the World with Eyes Wide Open." "Annenia; Its Present --nsis and Past History," "Columbia's War for Cuba," "Uncle Allen's Party in _ Palestine." "A Ray for Each Day of Righteousness," Etc. »jOd grants l.iberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to p:uard ,.^, ^ , and defend it."— Webster speech, June 3, 1834. ihe God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time."— Jefferson. B. F. JOHNSON, PUBLISHERS, INC., CITY OF WASHINGTON, U. S. A., 1913. PRICE POST PAID— Cloth Binding, 50 cents; Paper Binding, 30 cents. This book is intended for thinkintc people of both sexes and of every nation- ality, country and race. It is aimed to stimulate the cultivation of those quali- ties of mind and heart that a free people should desire to see perpetuated in their offspring. The unborn child absorbs, with every beat of the mother's heart, those influences of right and justice that should be the guiding star of every life provided they be cherished by the parents with sufficient intensity. These principles should be inculcated in the child from infancy and should be taught by precept and example until it becomes a self-centered man or woman, able to think well, act wisely and adopt fixed principles of its own. Those who have not acquired a firm conviction on the subject of governmental control are apt to become unsettled by every plausible doctrine promulgated. They are dependent on the influence of their fellows for their unstable opinions, and their environment and associations determine for them their course for good or evil. Therefore, the more real the democratic influences that can be instilled into the minds of men the nearer the approach to the ideal in life that tends to the high- est development of the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. SUGGESTIVE POINTS FROM THIS TIMELY BOOK. "Freedom is to be given a new birth; democracy, in its better interpretation, is to find a safe and secure home in the heart of humanity; and the divine rights of man under the guidance of a just God shall be fully recognized and estab- lished." • "Never since the beginning of time did the peoples of earth face such in- spiring opportunities and great responsibilities as at this hour." ^^ CHAPTER 1. ^w The Early Origin of Democracy. ^B "IMan is, naturall.\'. a social being; he is gregarious in his nature; with the ■ habit of taking counsel together, arose the custom of exchanging ideas ;■ nd debating questions; and, inevitably, the decisions and conclusion:? reached were embodied in more permanent form than mere verbal conversation or oral declar- ation." "This movement toward democracy, far back in the mist of time, canne, orig- inally, not from the chosen few, but from the people in the ordinary walks of life." "It required a mental surgical operation to convince Englishmen and early Americans that anyone could take a sincere interest in the welfare of the state, or be willing to make sacrifices for it. who did not hold rank from it. or possess property in it." CHAPTER II. The Unselfish idealism of Democracy. "Self- centered governments have been short- li^■ed; and their funerals have blessed humanity." "German autocracy was the perfect antithesis of idealistic democracy." ■ CHAPTER III. The Intrinsic Value of Democracy. "The Declaration of Independence of the United States is based upon the inciple that eveiy individual is born with certain intrinsic and inalienable rights." CHAPTER IV. The Developing Power of Democracy. "The test of Truth is its rise, for it cannot be suppressed forever. It may be crushed to earth and held under the dust for awhile, but it will find the sun- light, for the eternal years of God are hers." "There is a divine purpose iti l>eniocracy; it is there for the uplifting and betterment of mankind, of al! climes and classes; and it cannot die fruitless in the darkness." CHAPTER V. The Universal Blessing of Democracy. "Seminal ideas have been implanted in the minds and hearts of nationalities; and through these they have been uplifted and the world blessed." "True Democracy cannot be bigoted, partisan and self-centered; and the world is its legitimate field." CHAPTER VI. The Final Triumph of Democracy. "The goal has not been attained; and, indeed, it should never be reached; if we are to be ceaseless in our growth and uninterrupted in our progress." "The ideal of a Co-operative Commonwealth is far ahead of our present at- tainment' but this is more than a dream." "The triumph of Democracy cannot be complete until all the elements of societv are in harmonious and mutually beneficial service." DATE DUE p^s ;^ cavloud Cornell University Library DK 511.L2N88 Lithuania's case for i"<|eP,f;""j',fiP|{;,f, 3 1924 028 371 791