The past year brought happiness to our Lithuanians in Chicago, besides good deeds that were accomplished, spiritually and materially, there were organized many Lithuanian societies and many Lithuanian printing shops opened. All taken into consideration one of the greater events was the celebration of the annual birthday of our great patriot Simonis Daukantas, Up to his time we had been kept in darkness and in ignorance by our masters and barons in Lithuania.

Brothers, let us not give up hope. Lithuania will become as great as she was in the past. Our forefathers shed their blood by protecting Lithuania's independence; their bones and dust for the last few centuries have been calling on us to uphold unity, to get education, to remember the good deeds of our forefathers that were forgotten in the past.

The good deeds of men never die.

Brothers, let us look to Frenchmen and Englishmen, they love their mother country, we we ought to do likewise.

You see that God furnished the barons, the oppressors of Lithuania, Those masters enslaved Lithuanians, planned with them, did what they pleased, in order to keep us down in darkness. They destroyed our books, destroyed everything that was Lithuanian. They, the barons, sold themselves to Russia for the 2sake of the exploitation of our mother country. Today the same barons, our exploiters, are servants of Jews, because their power is destroyed by Russia and none, the barons themselves, have nothing to eat. Now, the Russians are laughing at the barons, our past slaveholders. Now Russia keeps under yoke the same barons, who helped the Russians to oppress Lithuania. God tells us that for bad deed the end will be unfortunate.

Brothers, we can accomplish many good deeds if we will have unity; we must have education in order to understand why we are living on this earth.

When we obtain education we will be able to show to other nations that we are people of Lithuania, which was a great nation in the past. It is very bad among us that a majority of our people does not care to educate itself. A man without education is worthless, and he even cannot show that he is existing.

Brother countrymen, let us pray to God that the coming year will be better for us. Let us help our brothers the best we can, do the best for our nation, let us help our mother country with words, money and activity.

Countrymen, let us take action in politics, by doing that we will do good not only to our brothers, but to our mother country Lithuania as well.

With best wishes for the coming year of 1893.

W. Gedeminas Stanionis