The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-06-30
Assimilation of Finland By Russia
 Is Now Complete

It was seven years ago today, on June 30, 1908, that the Czar issued his imperial manifesto pronouncing the. incorporation of Finland in the peaceful and prosperous northern country had been a VRssal of Russia, but it was not until toward the end of the reign of Alexander III. that the movement for the classification of the grand duchy, now practically complete, was commenced. Always a proud and hberty-1oving people, the Films have resisted the steady en- croachments of Russia by all the means in their power. The results of imperial dominatio& have not been SO bad as they feared, however, and in5the great struggle now being waged the Films have fought varnant1y for the Czar. That there is still a. strong undereurrent of dissatisfaction is shown by the factsthat the Petrograd government still considers it neces- sary to maintain inF Finland a strong army of occupation, said to be about SOsOo0 strong. While a majority of the Films, Judging from their news papers, favor the cause of the Allies, they still hope that one of the results of the war will be thes restoration of at least a measure of their old inde- pendence.
 Finland. with it's myriad lakes, it's mountains and it's rock islets, had be- come before the war the summer re- sort of thousands of Russians, and reaped a. rich harvest of gold from the tourist industry It would be diff fic11lt to find a more industrious and intelligent people anywhere than the Films. Their institutions of learn ing are almost unsurpassed, and il- iteracy is almost unknown. In spite of the rigors of the climate, and the fact that crops are always exposed to the danger of sudden frosts, the peo- pie of Finland have maintained a standard of material and intellectual progress for which they deserve the highest praise.
 Although many of her old liberties have been annuIled and her constitu- ton has been abolished, and the coun- try is filled with Russian soldiers and secret police, Finland has accepted to be overcome, and, while cherish ing her national aspirations, has made 1 the best of things as they are
 The Russian side to the assimi1a- in the Dun1a some years ago by Pre- u1ier K0koVtseff. He pointed out in his speech that there are about 3,00,- 900 Films, and about 1 50, 900, GOO Rus ] sians. Was it fair, he asked, that ev- cry Finn should have all the rights and privileges of a Russian subject in ewery part of the Russian Ehn- pire while a Russian remained a for efgner and an outsider. without any rights, the moment ne entered Fin 1 land territory. He expressed the opinion sthaEsit was unfair that lit tie corner ofsthe eInpirel ike Finland should enjoy rights denied to all the remainder of the vast territories of the !Czar.
 The Russian. conquest of Finland 1 was accomplished in 1909, when the
 country was wrested from Sweden, | whichS had conquered Finland in the twelfth century. Peter the Great took the first step toward FinIand's occu-
 pation by annexing the province of | Wyborg to Russia, and plandng his I capital, St. Petersburg, on what was then Swedish territory. Swedenss ad- legged violation of neutrality in the
 NapoIeonic wars egawe Russia the ex- cuse for seizns the remainder of Fin land a, little more than a century ago.
 As Iate as 1905 the Car promised
 to restore Finnish liberties and to l grant universal suffrage, but in 1908
 he issued his proclamation ,incorpor- ating Finland in the empire.