Show I I f I I RIGA AWAITS ANTS BIRTH DIRTH OF NEW DAY IN INI I COMMERCE Meantime Are Determined Determined Determined Deter Deter- mined to Maintain Hard- Hard Won Independence d ence RIGA Latvia Dec 11 ll Riga which was known before the war as the pearl of the Baltic an and ranked as Russia's second port is Is isone one of the saddest mon mon mon- I I I j I I I I to the destruction tion wrought by six y years ars of ceaseless fighting much of which took pla place e on the soil soli of ot the tha few republic of ot Latvia erected on the ruins of ot the old Russian governments of Livonia and Courland Half a million persons lived In Riga before tho the war and moro more than large largo factories kept it busy and prosperous Now ow there are ony only about in inhabitants inhabitants in- in habitants and less than a 0 score of factories are operating Tho The empty shells of various industries stand awaiting the return of machinery which the Russians shipped eastward l before the tho German advance Lenino and Trotsky have promised to return all the machinery which belonged to I Russian subjects But many of of- the factories were owned by foreign capitalists cap cap- and consequently cannot hope hone cap j to re recover their plants lIo Great t rubber plants cars woodworking wood wood- working shops and sawmills stand Idle I awaiting capital a to buy u machinery The e t a ato toan an and anar various ar lakes and j Inlets lying about the city are arc I filled with logs loss But there thero are e no mills N J t to convert t the e timber no ships carry to j irh them J Into foreign m ena mar mar- The Tle Tiie docks are arc idle Yew Few trains operate and those are fired with wood Of the n persons In the new republic I nearly all are dependent upon agriculture for tor or a living The crops were a 11 failure this year and and conse conseQuently consequently conse- conse I. I the outlook Is blue for the new government headed by the fhe A trained American c lc n- n lent But th tile Letts have learned the Joy of ot freedom lom in their few fow months of ot independence They fought bravely brave brave- ly lit against the bolshevik and later tater i against the Baltic barons who tried to enslave them under General General Ber- Ber And they are courageously building up a national life lite and a 1 naI national na na- na- na I c consciousness in the face taco of Cf i lec ad terrible le odds I EDUCATION GI XI Unlike most parts of or Russia Latvia was a country where when education was general and only a n small proportion of Its population was unable to read and write It had been well In the theUne theline theline line Une of European culture Its ports of Riga Rigs and Windau had always al attracted many foreign traders The country had been so eo attractive to German German German Ger Ger- man business men that German culture was firmly in the leading cities Rigs Rica Is more German than Russian in It its appearance Its brol broad d streets magnificent mar well-kept well parks parka end and dignified public buildings give It the a n. German aerman city Its numerous Lutheran churches are similar to those found In any of the tho league cities clUes Its university is organized along German lines But Hut the great grent majority majority majority ma ma- of Its people have no sympathy with Germanys Germany's effort to continue contInuo Its Ita Influence In Latvia through h the German German German Ger Ger- man barons whose whoso estates have been confiscated The opera in nl Rigs Riga n. n includes all 11 the standard German French and Italian operas in the tho language Its schools teach The state theatre theatre theatre the the- atre gives plays in chiefly translation of ot the great t English Scan n and German masters One of ot the new plays recently produced was written by a Lett about the life Ute of esters a knight of the four four- tour tour-I I century who attempted to re resist rc- rc silt the German domination of or Lett- Lett land It IB Is bitter r in tn its Us denunciation of ot German methods and has lias been well received by a public which V seems l thoroughly thoroughly thor thor- gd re fl d determined to maintain T it its t lJ in- in at any coat cost |