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Starvation

By TORSTEN HEDENGREN

The writer of this article is a well known engineer long a resident of the United States, but a native of Finland, and in close touch with events in that country. His brother is one of the editors of the "Hufvudstadsbladet," the leading daily paper of Finland.

HE appeal to the American Gov

TH

ernment, made jointly by the Scandinavian countries-Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, in behalf of famine-stricken Finland, will be greeted with enthusiasm and gratitude by all friends of Finland. It means there more than so and so many tons of rye or wheat, it means the future of a people, it means the unity of the North, whether it will hold or break.

Finland's hope has always been with Scandinavia. Geographically, historically, culturally, Finland forms the fourth blade in the four-leaf clover of the North. The disappointment was great, nearly bordering on bitterness, when Finland, during her hard struggle for her newborn liberty, last winter saw herself almost deserted by her brethren, the Scandinavians. Now, when the bloody fight is won, and we are able to give a more sober consideration to the situation, as it presented itself during the first months of this year, we can better understand the attitude of the Scandinavian Governments. The Finnish rebels received active support from the Russian Government, and the danger of dragging the Scandinavian countries into an armed

conflict with Russia was too great. The Scandinavian governments chose to stand aloof, but certainly their choice was made with an aching heart, for the people wanted to help their struggling brother. In Sweden alone, within a few days, some 65,000 Swedish men and women, among them thousands of the country's best citizens, signed a petition to their government, asking for armed assistance for Finland. So the good will was there. We Finns know it.

STARVATION KNOCKING AT THE DOOR

Now another danger is approaching. The ugly ghost of Starvation, already for years looming on the horizon, is to-day staring the Finns straight in the face, knocking on

hundreds of thousands of doors in Northern Finland.

In spite of the fact that Finland is an agricultural country, she has always been compelled to import about half of her need of foodstuffs from abroad, mostly from Germany and Russia. The World War closed the first door four years ago, and the chaos in Russia finally shut the latter. Finland then appealed to America. The food shortage for last year was estimated to be 40,000 tons of grain. That amount was bought in

America last summer, paid for in Finnish money and loaded on Swedish ships. But the sailing was delayed again and again, and while the ships were lying there at the docks with 40,000 tons of grain in their holds, the food embargo was put in effect in America. The grain that Finland had bought and paid for was confiscated for the Allied armies. That meant starvation for tens of thousands of families in Finland.

Then came the great rebellion. Civil war swept the country from north to south. Agriculture was made impossible in many places. That again brought starvation to many more thousands of homes. And, finally, came frost and famine. Now thousands will have to go without bread, if help cannot be obtained.

Again Finland appealed to her Scandinavian brethren. With everlasting gratitude Finland will remember all assistance in various forms which the Scandinavian countries have given for the relief of the famine-stricken country. But the Scandinavian countries are themselves on short rations. They find that they have not enough to spare for their starving sister.

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the 1 minsa Government is willing to accept administrative control by Sweden, Norway and Denmark over the distribution of the foodstuffs.

FINNS NOT HOSTILE TO ALLIES

But the Americans say, how can we sell grain to pro-German Finland? This argument, so often repeated, is entirely wrong, and based on a misconception. Finland is not proGerman, if thereby is meant that she is inimical to the Allies. That is positively not the case with Finland. It is an undeniable fact that the Finnish nation gained her liberation from the threatening Russian Bolshevism, partly through Germany's help, and the Finns would certainly be a people without honor or pride, were they not grateful on that ac

count.

But, you will say, perhaps Germany only extended her helping hand to Finland in order to be able to exploit her later. Very probably, but that does not in the least change the fact. The drowning man, in his utter distress, grasping the lifeline, does not care who pulls him up from the water; and when your house is on fire, you are grateful to receive. the bucket from anyone, be he even a ruffian or a horse-thief. Every man with an open mind is bound to admit the simple truth thereof, and no one can, in fairness, blame Finland on that account.

But our friends among the Americans ask us, is it not true that Finnish boys in considerable numbers volunteered in the German army? Yes, indeed, and no one is more anxious than we Finns are, to have that affair fully explained and understood by our American friends. The movement referred to, among the

Finnish youth, was in its nature absolutely identical with the CzechoSlovak movement of the present day, which has received such ample praise and recognition from the Allied Governments themselves. This movement on the part of Finnish youths is clearly and unmistakably explained in a speech of the Finnish Socialist leader, Tokoi. In a great speech before the Finnish Diet, on the 20th of April, 1917, Tokoi, then Prime Minister, said, referring to the Russian offensive in Galicia during the winter of 1915:

"As the Russian army, sure enough only temporarily, penetrated deeper into Galicia, and the Russian Government thought herself well in the saddle, she forgot all her promises to the

small nationalities.

"The further the Russian army advanced, the tighter became the grip of the Russian eagle on the oppressed peoples. More and more, not to say unanimously, the thought began to gain headway among our people, that Russian victory meant Finland's ruin. To this point of view the movement in our country must be traced, that many a young patriotic Finn thought justice and his country's welfare demanded that he lend his support to the enemy, as this seemed to be the only way to reach the goal, a free Finland."

THE FINNISH "JAEGERS" And Tokoi was right. Thanks to the 8,000 Finnish "Jaegers" (chasseurs), Finland is not to-day a Russian province again. These Jaegers volunteered in the Germany army in the spring of 1915, with a written

pact that they, under no pretext, should be used on the western front, against England and France (America and Italy were then still neutral). This condition has also been respected to the letter. When the revolution in Russia broke down the autocracy of the Czar, the mission of the Finnish Jaegers in the war was fulfilled. They refused to fight further. But as long as peace was not concluded between Russia and Germany, the Finnish boys were not allowed, for obvious reasons, to return to Finland, but were stationed in camps at Riga.

Then, when the Bolshevik rebellion at the end of January, this year, broke out in Finland, the Finnish Government requested that these Finnish youths be sent home. And so they were. On Finnish ships, and with the assistance of Finnish icebreakers, the Finnish Jaeger battalions were transferred from Riga to Vasa, where they began to arrive. on the 18th of February. When we here, in America, during February and March, read about the "German invasion" of Finland, and how "the Germans" captured one place after the other, it was in fact the Finns, and the Finnish army who did it all. Their equipment was paid for with Finnish money and the ammunition imported on Finnish ships.

It was only in April that Germany, at the request of the Finnish Government, sent troops to Southern Finland in order to enforce the stipulation in the Brest-Litovsk Treaty for the evacuation of Finland by the Russian navy and army.

4. That thousands of innocent Socialists have been executed ("murdered") by the Finnish Government without any trial or reason what

Another reason was to hasten the suppression of the rebellion, and thus the rescue of Southern Finland from anarchism and complete devastation. German assistance in Finland's battle for freedom was, in reality, comparatively small and manifested itself grad-Kola railway, or the whole Murmainly in authoritative pressure on the Russians.

The confusion of the Finnish Jaeger battalion with "the Germans" is one of those fatal misinterpretations which have created an unfavorable opinion about Finland abroad.

FINLAND'S ENEMIES ACTIVE Innumerable other distortions and

downright falsehoods have been spread broadcast by the enemies of Finland, while the slow and afterwards totally interrupted mail communications with Finland, have made it almost impossible to check up those lies effectively and run them down, but meanwhile, a prejudiced and most unjust opinion about Finland has shaped itself in the American mind.

Among the deplorable falsehoods which have been widely circulated, mostly emanating from Socialist sources in neutral countries, I will only mention a few examples:

1. The story that the Kaiser has selected his fifth son or somebody else as king over Finland.

2. That Germany and Finland have agreed to create, by conquest, a "Greater Finland."

3. That a secret treaty existed between Germany and Finland reducing the latter to a vassal state of the former.

ever.

5. That Finland covets the Petro

man coast.

6. That a declaration of war or an attack by Finland against the Allies "can be expected at any hour,” etc., etc.

All the above-mentioned stories are absolute and deliberate lies, and have each and every one been officially contradicted by proper authorities, or disproved by actual happenings.

No wonder that a wrong opinion is formed, when based on such absurdities, spread by our enemies for the sinister purpose of making Finland appear as an accomplice of Germany.

FINLAND A BULWARK AGAINST

ANARCHY

Finland has recently, at the sacrifice of thousands of her best and noblest sons, erected a dam against the flood of Bolshevism. The civilized world will one day give Finland the credit that is justly hers, for bringing the Bolshevist menace to crumble. During six centuries has Finland been the outpost of western civilization, and once more has she stood as a bulwark against eastern despotism.

THE GERMAN MENACE

But there is now another danger brewing for Finland. There is not the smallest doubt that Germany is working ceaselessly to extend her influence there. Finland's ability to

resist Germany's efforts depends greatly on the attitude of the outside world towards her, and, I am sorry to say, it appears as if Finland, so far, has been left very much in the lurch.

America and the Allies have just now an unequalled opportunity to win not only the gratitude of Finland, but also her friendship, by material help for the famine-stricken people, and by giving Finland moral support through a solemn recognition of her independence. The advantages hereof are by no means only in Finland's favor. It is clear that the friendship of Finland will, for the Allies, be of the greatest importance for the future, as the Allies' intervention in North Russia is developing in a territory which for a distance of more than seven hundred miles borders on Finland.

THE FORCE OF FRANCE'S EXAMPLE In order to realize what effect this twofold help from America and England would have on the Finnish people, we only need to recall how the recognition by France of Finland's independence was received in Finland. The Finnish newspapers printed enthusiastic editorials in honor of France, and when the Marseillaise was played at the gala performances at the theatres, the audience rose and greeted the hymn of France with thundering applause.

Furthermore, France did not content herself with only a recognition of Finland. She understood that here an excellent opportunity presented itself to forestall Germany's efforts to monopolize Finland's sym

pathies, so France energetically and immediately (this was on the 4th of January) urged her Allies, America, England and Italy, to follow her example and recognize Finland's independence.

To our extreme regret, for some inexplicable reason, this was not done. It is safe to say that it was the saddest disappointment that young Finland has experienced, to see her independence refused by the world's two greatest democracies, America and England. An unequalled opportunity is now at hand to correct this mistake.

On the other hand, a new refusal to sell foodstuffs to Finland would have the most disastrous results and would inevitably bring about the very thing that should by all means. be prevented, viz: a further exploitation of Finland by Germany.

FINNS MUST HAVE FOOD

People have to live, somehow, and to that end foodstuffs are necessary. If starving Finland cannot get grain from America now, she will again be compelled to appeal to Germany; there is no other way. Germany, of course, is very much "up against it," and can hardly spare anything. However, she will not let an opportunity like this pass by. A few small shiploads of grain from Germany to Finland would, of course, not materially relieve the food scarcity there, but it would put Finland under a new, heavy obligation to Germany, and that should be avoided at any price.

The American consul in Helsingfors, Mr. Thornwell Haynes, has

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