Telegram-herald., 1891-07-23
MORALITY IN FINLAND.
A Land where q Good Name Is
More Than Riches.
Ths Pa<A.h s.sas for cr4As Dass Net WIZ
Goa shs stain aud wealth Czaaos
Sssapeas>ss Zoe Io.s OF
hspatstsoa-


rAs standard Of morality in Finland
not that morality Which consists mere
~ Ia the keeping upof sppearanees and
the throwing Of dust In our neighbors'
eyes--is mach higher than Ia most eoan-
sfis- decidedly higher than ia Sweden,
which has grated SD maRy Of It's civil
izing institutions or the Finnish stock.
Finland is united 70 the Russian empire,
and us capital, Helsiagfors. is but
nights ioarnsy from ~. Petersburg,
and vet the difference between the two
countries IN religion. morality and we'll
being could not be greater were they
separated from each other by the earth's
aiamster.
This enormous difference N manifest
tn outward things; IN nothing so strik-
ingly as the aspect OF the streets of Fin
nish cities at night A woman. or
giri. would DC afraid 20 walk alone at
night. even on the Nevsky Prospect. in
s. Petersb~rg. and this feeling is amply
justified BY the insults To which those
Psspeetable females are occasionally
subjected whom dire necessity drives
out after eight or aims o'clock at night
In Heisin2fors, on the contrary, a girl
may walk alone In any quarter Of tho
city IT any hour of the night without
the slightest risk or apprehension And
this outward appearance of decorum
and propriety. which sorpasses any
thing have noticed in any other Eu-
roPean city, is not u mere ornamental
mantle. coating Of whitewash given
20 . moral sepulcher. a beautiful OUT
side, but within full of dead mems bones
and of all uncleanness, says u writer
in the London Telegraph.
II is a very fair Indication Of the NOR
al coalition of the Grand Duchy. In
Finland public opinion Is an irresistible
force-incomparably stronger than mere
legal restraints and barriers-and il is
wholly enlisted on the side of morality
and justice. The population is one i'm
mcnse family of two millions and half.
all the members of which, when once
they have attained a certain standard Of
public usefulness. are more or less
known To each other, and each one feels
that in all the turning points of life the
eyes of all his eourtryrnen are fixed
upon him. and disgraeeful action is re-
nembered for generations
A good name and fame, therefore. is
. concrete reality. in Finland, where,
without it, man is disqualified from
occupying post Of trust in the Office
Of any large Arm and serving the state
In any capacity. The only refuge open
70 hirn-if there chance To be vacancy
u Ill E.n,teh h<>r>lxo
and newspapers for the Russian gov
ernment, an occupation which erects
an impossible barrier between him
and his countrymen for all time
In Finland bankrupt, whatever the
cause of his failure, is under a cloud
which, even il favorable cases, il re-
quires ssme tiuse and great efforts to
dispel; and. il a dishonest bankrupt, he
is under lock and key as we'll And al
though when he has undergone his SEN
tencc in prison and afterward remained
in moral quarantine for year, or two
or three. during which he must keep
aloof from all trade and commerce, he
is permitted to begin anew. sadder
and q wiser man. he is usually wise
enough ~ refuse to avail himself of the
privilege. well knowing that no amount
Of capital can compensate for the loss
OF ones good name. without which
trsdc or commerce in Finland is an
utter impossibility.
The visible results Of this healthful
moral tone of the community are that
vice aud crime are rapidly diminishing
and show = strong tendency to disap-
. pear. Aud this Is perfectly natural
The collapse OF most men in all coun-
tries in the struggle for life can be
shown to be in ccnsequenceof moral
rather than intellectual defects. and il
is To this collapse that the greatest
number of vices and crimes are attrib-
utablc
Now. the Firms are intellectually less
nimble and plastic than the French,
less imaginative and subtle than the
Russians and tcss sentimental than the
Germans. but they make up for a ccr-
tain mental sluggishness and stiffness
by an extremely delicate moral sem
sibility, 70 which they are indebted for
most Of their political and economical
successes