LITHUANIA 496 LITTLE HOCK It was in this region that the first heavy engagements between Russia and Germany took place, in 1914, when, shortly after war was declared, the Russians crossed the Nieman and in- vadjed East Prussia, only to be hurled back in the Masurian Lakes by Hinden- burg. In the fall of 1915 the Germans began their drive through Courland into Lithuania proper, with Vilna, the ancient capital of the Lithuanians, as their ob- jective. On Sept. 11, 1915, the battle for the possession of Vilna and the surround- ing territory opened. Three days later the city was in their possession. The battle continued, however, until Sept. 28, and was one of the important engage- ments in this theater of the war. Having acquired military possession of this territory, the Germans prepared to consolidate their possession by forming a civil government that would give them support. The descendants of the court favorites, to whom Catherine had made the land grants, still Germans at heart, co-operated with the GJerman Government in this effort. In September, 1917, these elements, assuming the right to repre- sent the Lithuanian people, formed the Grand Diet at Vilna. On Dec. 11, 1917, the executive body of the Diet, the Lithuanian National Council, supposed to represent all the political parties among the people, issued a declaration of independence, which advocated "a per- manent, firmly established alliance be- tween the Lithuanian State and the Ger- man Empire, which should be realized primarily in military and commercial conventions, and in community of tariff and currency." It was the German contention that this kind of civil organization in all the occupied Baltic provinces constituted "self determination" of the people that caused the disruption of the Brest- Litovsk peace negotiations in February, 1918, the Russian Bolsheviki demanding that the German military forces with- draw and give the people the right to declare themselves vnthout pressure from German influences. On March 23, 1918, a delegation from the Lithuanian Grand Council was per- mitted to present its declaration of inde- pendence to the German Imperial Chan- cellor, who, in his answering speech, said, "Lithuania will take a share of Ger- many's war burdens, which are promot- ing Lithuania's emancipation." The ef- fect of this declaration created a senti- ment against the alliance with Germany, even among the German landowners, who constituted the limited body of voters in the new State. On July 11, 1918, the Diet held a meeting at Vilna and de- clared in favor of a monarchical form of government. To forestall the proba- bility that the Germans would demand that the King of Prussia be elected head of the new government, the Diet chose the Duke of Urach, a Catholic prince of the cadet branch of the Wiirttemberg royal family, as their king. The final defeat of the Central Powers, however, brought about the downfall of this clique of rulers of Lithuania. In January, 1919, the Lithuanians, fearing aggression from the Russian Bolsheviki, and a possible revolution within Lithu- ania by Bolsheviki sympathizers, placed themselves under the temporary admin- istration of the Polish Government. In March occurred a Cabinet crisis, brought about by the withdrawal of their support of the administration by the Socialists. A new Cabinet was constituted, repre- senting a Christian Democratic majority, with Dovaitis as Premier. On April 4, 1919, Antanas Smetona, a lawyer, and the former president of the Council of State, was elected President of the Lithu- anian Republic. LITTLE FALLS, a city in Herkimer CO., N. Y., on both sides of the Mohawk river; and on the New York Central and Hudson, and the West Shore railroads; 22 miles E. of Utica. The chief indus- tries are dairying, cheese-making, lum- bering, and the manufacture of knit goods, and calfskins. There are Union Free School and Academy, public library, city hospital, waterworks. National bank, daily and weekly periodicals. Pop. (1930) 45,941; (1920) 65,142. LITTLE BOCK, a city, capital of the State of Arkansas, and county-seat of Pulaski CO.; on the Arkansas river, St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern, the St. Louis Southwestern and the Rock Island railroads; 125 miles S. W. of Memphis. It is the trade and jobbing center of the State; and has cotton-seed oil mills, gas works, railroad machine shops, cooperage shops, etc. It is the seat of the Law and Medical College of Arkansas, Arkansas Industrial Univer- sity, and the Ai'kansas Schools for Deaf Mutes and the Blind, Little Rock Uni- versity, Arkansas Female College, and Philander Smith College. It contains the State capitol, State Library, St. John's Military College, high schools, and convents; and has gas; electric light and street railroad plants; waterworks, many daily, weekly, and monthly periodicals. The city was settled in 1814; made the capital of the territory in 1820; and was held by the Confederates during the greater part of the Civil War. Pop. (1910) 45,941; (1920) 65,142.
