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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 1950)
12T gkrtaman, So-ato, Oregon, rrlday. Fabrearf U 1850 Hymn to Freedom Ob h Occasion af th Stud Aa nlreraary Indepcadene af the Estonian Eepublle. (Editor. boU: T4ay It th J2n4 anniversary ! the Bw-Iost Indep tfene f Estonia. It wm writun y a valley resident a MaUea MdU , placed person" who doc. ate hit veal name for fear of reprisals atalast relatives still te fel aome land). By A. O. AUkhrl The achievements of Baltic states during their short freedom nd independence we dare say, were a hymn to freedom. They , showed what free nation was capable of doing even in a .short ' time if it only had freedom to organize its life itself. The Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithu ania . developed so quickly from provinces of ' Russian Empire to up-to-date states with a high standard of living, well organized social life and high culture as In . a fairy-tale. Now those states are behind the Iron Curtain,' and we know very , little about their life there, but - what we know, is very sad. The people, who are not deported till now, have lost even their desire to live. They hope only for a miracle that could give them bacfr. tneir rreeaom ana secured me. Escape by Flight A small number of Baltic people escaped by flight Now those people are spread all - over the globe looking for a place to put their heads. Mostly they have gone to Sweden, England, USA, , Canada, and Australia or hope to . escape from DP camps In Ger- many. It can be imagined that j it was -not fun to leave all you 1 had and to run for your life under bombs and other dangers- Yet those homeless people keep their eyes turned towards the old homes, remembering the happy days there. - On the February 24 the Eston ians outside the Iron Curtaia cele brate the 32nd anniversary of their republie, but the Estonians behind It do not dare even think tfMt. Thirty-two years today the Manifest of Independence was de clared. But a few days after that the nine-months German occupa tion followed, then came the War . f Liberation with Russia. After 13 months fighting on Jan. 3, 1920 the peace treaty was signed and Russia renounced her rights and acknowledged Estonian independ ence for all times. ' Respite But Brief . However, In September, 1939. according to the agreement be tween Russia and Hitler! Ger many the Russians Invaded Eston ; la again. .: SO th miinin . ' and live Its own free life only I ;-v "l ml am u r V ' - p. . jnTTTV -' r i , , hi 4 f 1 i H. i ."' I' a vVi t V V S- w a. TALLIMN pictoresqse capital af Estonia about 20 years. Those - 20 years were enough to show what an in dustrious nation, enthusiastic for freedom, could do. It was a chap ter of history of which every na tion could be proud. - Country Revives At first it was not easy. Since 1721 Estonia was a part of Russian Empire. 'The conservative regime of the Russian Czar kept the whole I life fettered. The country had suf fered from two wars, revolutions and German occupation, had fought against Russia in propor tion: one man against 150. But freedom filled the people with enthusiasm and they worked hard. They knew that they work ed for themselves and for their own country. There were no foreign 1 masters any more whose orders or prohibitions they had to obey. All the more they had to catch up with the other West ern countries to be able to com pete with them, and they did their best. -: In cl937 with her new constitu tion Estonia luckily solved her crisis of democracy, which had seized almost the whole of Europe. She balanced her budget, . -, and foreign trade : showed activity. From 1924 to 1939 the value of all exported agricultural products increased eight times. The same was true about Industry. To bal ance her foreign trade, Estonia had to, and was able to, import goods valued at $25.2 per head in the year 1938. (In the same year USA imported $15; Italy, $13.4; Japan, $10 J; Poland, $7.1; and Soviet Russia, $1.5). The standard of living had risen so that every citizen of Estonia couia use nome products every day, 1.7 pounds of rye or wheat bread, 4.8 pounds of potatoes, more than 5 ounces of meat, 4.5 pints of milk, etc. A worker could buy for a week's salary in Estonia (in brackets the corresponding numbers in France and in Soviet Russia are given), rye bread 231 lbs. (France, 200, soviet Kussia. 146): meat 69 lbs, (France ,1 Soviet Russia, 9.6); outter 20.6 ids. (France 222. Sov iet Russia 6f0); woolen cloth 3.0 yds. (France 4.0. Soviet Russia 0J25); men's" suits 0.58 (France 0.7, Soviet Russia 0.09); working boots IX pairs, (France 4.00, Soviet Rus sia 0.35). '. - , New Industry Formed Quite a new industry was found ed for the first tune in the world: They began to extract oil from oil shale. In the year 1939. 200,000 tons of crude oil were extracted and 20,000 tons of gasoline produc ed. (Estonia used about 9,000 tons herself). Education was raised on a very high level. There were almost no ' illiterates. From every 1,000 citizens 929 attended elementary school; 130, secondary school; 87, junior college; 113, professional school; 5, technical Institute, 24, university. There were university extension courses, musical schools. art schools, etc. There were theatres and music halls; musical festivals were held every five years with 15,000 singers. Litera ture was developed. During 15 years of Independence more books were printed than during 385 years before that. (The first Estonian book was printed In 1535.) This swing. of cultural enter prises has continued till now among the 60,000 Estonian refu gees. Many Estonian artists are now among the most important of the world (young composer Edvard Tubin (Stockholm), contra-bassist Ludvig Juht (Boston), graphic Ed vard Viiralt (Paris), etc.) In many sports Estonians are outstanding (chess, shooting, wrestling, etc.). All Was Changed But we did not want to rest on our laurels, we worked so fev erishly that we did not even notice how far we were gone and how well we lived. Suddenly it all was changed. ' At first we did not fear. We had heard Russian propaganda. According to that they were the most advanced nation of the world. So we were curious to see what they and their life was like Twenty years ago we were about on the same level, but they had better soil and more riches of nat ure. We were more diligent Then the Russians arrived rag ged, hungry, they rushed to our stores to buy all they saw. Then we heard about their housing con ditions and all about their life, We were surprised. What's the matter? t But we were a free nation, we worked with delight to create, to produce new articles. They were mere slaves of the communist party, they did not work freely. they worked forcibly. That's the difference. ; Twas Not Voluntary They speak sometimes as if there had been a plebiscite, and Eston ian people voluntarily Joined Rus sia. Nothing is more wrong than to say so. Russians pretend that there was one, but the Estonian people were never asked about that Estonians heard first about this plan when the communistic council accepted it. But this council .was not elected according to the Est onian constitution and laws and its decisions could never have a law ful power. That the people went to vote for the members of this council, was true, but they were not go to vote, will be put on the go to vote, will be put on the black list; if Estonian people want to remain to live on their own soil, then they have to go to vote, etc.). Moreover, fh Estonian laws which were .accepted by parlia ment had to be accepted by the second house (senate), too. This second house was not ask ed, about this project it did not even convene. So according to the Estonian ronstitution and laws, Estonian , independence has. not been given up. The activities of the state are only interrupted by violent occupation of Russians, and now it depends only on the conscience of the world as to how long the world allows such an iniquity. . HOOP PICKER COLUMBIA. Mo. (INS) George R. Edwards, associate pro fessor of physical education at yie University of Missouri, is a mem ber of a 12-kaan committee In charge of selecting the United States basketball competitors for the 1950 Pan American games and the 1952 Olympics. The commit tee represents the National Colleg iate Athletic association and the American Amateur union. Annual Cub Scout Dinners Slated Tonight More than 1,000 Cub Scouts and parents are expected to turn out tonight for six Blue and Gold banquets in the Salem area. The banquets are annual "events in which the scouts entertain their parents and show them the work ' accomplished during the preceding year of scouting. Keizer pack 41, sponsored by the North Salem Kiwanis club, will stage a banquet and charter night at the schooL Other packs holding banquets are Rotary pack 1. at the scout hut at South Cottage and Oxford streets; pack 10, sponsored by the Richmond school Parent-Teachers association, at the school; Engle wood pack 11, sponsored by the Engltwood FT A. at the VFW hall: pack 19, sponsored by the Salem Heights Community club, at the clubhouse; and the Auburn pack, sponsored by the Auburn Moth ers club, at the Four Corners Community club. Col. Wooten Said Improved CoL Elmer V. Wooten who has been seriously 111 in the Veterans hospital in Washington, D. C, is progressing satisfactorily, accord ing to word received in Salem from Mrs. Wooten. He expects to be able to return to his home In Mt Rainier, Md., around the middle of March. CoL Wooten, wartime director . of se lective service in Oregon, has been- stationed in Washington In the office of Brig. Gen. Bershey. LABOR VALUES LONDON (INS) An Ameri can is willing to work steadily, ; at high SDeed because ht knnwi that in 15 minutes he can earn the cost of a packet of dgarets. His opposite number in Britain has to work 90 minutes for tha same result These and other facta were revealed by the Anglo American Council on Productivity in support of the contention that the UJS. working man will work hard to attain maximum produc tion because, apart from food and shelter, he can buy more with an hour's labor than his British counterpart . INCOME TAX SERVICE PSIPARED IN THE PRIVACY OP YOUX HOMU ' ' Rvenhur Appointments ," $4.61 Each Form DON HBLBUKN : PHONI 2-3290 Matchless goodness and full-bodied richness make Hills Bros. Coffee your best buy for enjoyment If s a blend of the world's finest coffees, and "Controlled Roasting," an exclusive Hills Bros, process, roasts the blend a little at a time-continuously- for uniform perfection. Vacuum-packed for flavor-freshness. Eeryaheri...Ptflp!i Art liytof .. 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