The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-11-20
RUSSIA'S HEEL ON FINLAND
THE DRASTIC MEASURES TAKEN
 TO STAMP OUT
National Feeling and Their Failure Gratitude to Those Who Have Pleaded the Cause OfFinIand.

Recent political events have brought
 the country of Finland into a promin.
 ence she never sought for nor desired
 Content to go her own way, steadily
 acquiring under a liberal government
 and free institutions culture that put
 her on level with the Scandinavian
 nations to whom she is so closely al
 lied by race and creed, she has been
 so unfortunate as to arouse the at
 tention of certain Russian officials tc
 whom her ideas of liberty and educa-
 tion are alike hateful. On and off for
 the last fifteen years the Panslavist
 press, led by the "Novoye Vremya'
 and the "Moskoskiya Viedomosti."
 has carried on a violent campaign
 which only four years ago the present
 Czar, following the custom of his pre-
 cedecessorS, took a solemn oath to up-
 hold. The alleged reason of the edict is
 the absorption of the Finnish army by
 that Of Russia, at the same time in-
 creasing by more than skiold the
 number of recruits drawn from Fin
 land-another sacrifice to the Moloch
 of militarism, which is menace to
 Europe and a curse to mankind.
 But whether this be the true reason
 of the recent move or not it can only result in the deliberate ruin of loyal
 and gallant little nation, whose only
 offence has been too great a love for
 freedom of thought and action. That
 this is clearly understood is proved by the absolute unanimity shown by all classes of persons to resist the Russian
 demand You will find but one opin- ion in Finland; we can never yield to this indignity," said one of the most prominent Finlanders to me when ex- plained to him that I was here for the purpose of making a personal investi- gation of the situation.
 And this statement I have found to
 be literally correct the poorest peas ant having apparently as clear grasp of the danger which threatens his country as the upper classes. This is shown by the fact that the mass peti- tion to the Czar contained the names of more than five hundred thousand Films, while counter petition got up by an agent of the governor general was signed by only six people, and not OlIe Ol lIlSot was c SCiluliC illii- Again, 1t is significant that every reso- 1ution voted by the Diet in reply to the Emperor was adopted unanimously in each of the four chambers. The, inn mediate effect of the edict was the complete fusion of the two political parties in Finland-and this in country where party feeling existed to an extent unknown in England. Sveko- man and Fennoman agreed to sink their differences, and to concentrate their forces for/ the defence of their country At present there exists but one idea, but one question-how to preserve the life of the nation.
 The effect of the endeavor to Russify Finland has up to now had the result of producing strong national sent1- ment. The few Russian customs which were rife in Finland have been drop ped, and this may be seen even. in the most trivial matters. For instance, the drosky drivers of Heisingfors have hitherto worn the Russian uniform with the full skirts, which always strikes foreigner as being so strange; but the cabbies now object to wear any longer and are abandoning it for an- other as Qu1cKly dS pOSSlDle.
 One of the first steps which was talk en in Finland to meet the attempt at was the. formation of a society whose object was to assist the peasant in outlying districts to study the history and laws of his native land. The vice-chancellor of the University of Heisingfors and the Lutheran arch bishop of Finland are among the dis tinguished men who at one placed at the head of this move ment, while the actual work is carried on by university students and others, who cheerfully volunteered to spend | their vacations in this cause. When | the society came under the notice of | the governor general of Finland-Gen- sral Bobrikoff-he at once journeyed to St. Petersburg with the object of ap- plying to the Czar in person for power to deal with the matter. and returned ! In the possession of a document giving | .he necessary permission, with the fol- owing note written in the margin ill he Czar's own handwriting: "In the unsettled state of the country t does not seem profitable to form any lew societies" The formation of any Jew societies-even literary or scien- ific- IS for the next two years to be ! renal offence in Finland.
 It is much to be regre ted that the Var should have annotated this and ,i.r1Iar documents, and a very strong exists here that certain minister's arc endeavorirs; to obtain written expressions of opinion from lis Imperial Majesty in order to make etreat difficult if not impossible. It is obvious that an endeavor to top by such means would be quite fu- ile. I myself was present at a gath ring of the peasantry in the house of landowner some distance up country, nd it was not difficult to perceive the lose attention with which the remarks f all host were followed. Men and yomen of all ages were present, a lumber of them having come long dis ances. No wonder that the high tandard of education existing among he laboring classes in Finland should raw down upon the heads of those oen to whom it is chiefly due the ,rath of such Russian officials who re- ard all instruction as dangerous, and ,hose aim seems to be that of keep lg the peasant as near the hunger ne as is consistent with transquility nd as ignorant as is compatible with gricultural laDor rrl,o pf II a 3SSOpia tiODS ic l