Gallery
GIRL PROMOTER OF INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISE
Though most of the Letts are peasants, there are no illiterates among the adults of Lettish nationality; and this industrial worker is one of a large army of capable men and women who are helping to build up the economic life of Latvia
Staunch and loyal to their national ideals through years of oppression, it is not surprising to find the Letts, now that they have secured their independence, a strictly conservative and cautious folk. Wrapped up heart and soul in their country's welfare, and mindful of the long years of misery behind them, they are determined to protect Latvia from political friction and internal disputes calculated to undermine the national spirit and endanger their hard-won independence. "United we stand, divided we fall," they remind one another.
Under the careful rule of her conservative sons, Latvia is prospering, and although one of the oldest of European nations, she is thoroughly up to date. Her cultural, agricultural, industrial, and commercial life, so sadly disorganized by the war, is gradually righting itself, and proving in innumerable ways that Latvia may justly be classed as one of the most progressive countries in Europe—a fact that presents a striking testimonial to the recuperative powers of the State and the patriotism of the citizens.
Reticent by nature, the Lett wisely meets success without effusiveness or bravado. Memories of the past "heavy times," which have impressed their stamp of melancholy not only on the adults, but also on the growing generation, are still too fresh, and the blessings of peace have been his all too short a while that he should treat them casually. With a spirit of quiet, unobtrusive determination, he looks hopefully ahead; courageously basing his faith on the glorious motto: "I prefer the risks of liberty to the stillness of servitude."
