A bloodless revolution took place in Lithuania or, Friday, DeCember
17th. The GoVerninent :which was overthrown had certainly offended the majority of the Roman Catholic peasants by its educaticinal legislation, but its. chief offence was to have raised false hopes that the coveted city of Vilna would be recovered from Poland with the help of Moscow. The Soviet Government had entered into an agreement with Lithuania which suggeSted that the Bolshevists regarded Vilna as rightly belonging to Lithuania. When Poland protested, how. ever, the Moscow Soviet calmly declared that it had no intention of helping anybody to wrest anything from Poland. This humiliating collapse of the foreign policy of the Kovno .Government was too much and the Lithuanian Army called upon the President to get rid of the Government and authorize Professor Valdernaras to form a new Government. The new Prime Minister is a man of learning and a noted linguist. No doubt he has enough experience of the world to save him from illusory projects which depend upon co-operation with the Bolshevists. A nation of smallholders has nothing in common with Moscow.
Previous page
