Evening journal., 1918-07-15

But 1t is not yet too late TO correct
this mistake.
The Allies may prevent Germany's
! plan in Kola from being carried out and
= their movement crushed by sending
there a considerable army. They may
for some time save the situation by
organizing some independent state" in
the Kola Peninsula. The reports in the
daily press today are that the "popula-
9 tion Of the Murman coast has declared
, their independence from the Soylets, and
J Is willing TO cooperate with the Allies"
} The news is plausible enough, but n
= should be remembered that the "p5pu-
! lati0n OF the Murman coast consists
I OF few hundreds of fisherman who GER
tainly can not form a nucleus OF an in
dependent occupation OF that region
There Is one grave drawback 10 these
plans. That Is that 70 VIII undoubtedly
cause suspicion in Russia that the "in-
| dependent state" is being organized with
the view OF making a basis Of opera
tions against the Soviet government OF
Russia. Such a suspicion would create
innumerable other difficulties which
would make questionable the possibility
of an Allied resistance to the Germans
on the Murman coast. Therefore quite !
naturally the question arises Why not
consider an easier and more efficient so
lution Of the situation? The majority |
OF the Finnish people bitterly resent |
the German occupation Of Finland and |
the rule of the white Guard" iunkers. /
In Russia there are tens Of thousands /
OF Finnish Red Guards" driven from
their own country by the German inyad- |
ers, who would jump at ths possibility |
of cooperating with forces opposed TO
German domination OF Finland. There
are sixty thousand OF these soldiers, i'm
bued with the most intense hatred
against Germany. Why not try to or
ganize them into an effective body which
from the midst of the Germanized Fin
land, as well as from the rear, would
attack the German-Finnlsh forces now
striving 10 occupy the Thurman coast?
This of course can be done only on
! the basis of sincere agreement with
| the Russian Sovlets. My contention Ia
that the value Of such an agreement
| should not be underestimate nor made
impossible by alliances with counter
revolutlonists in Russia, who quickly
would betray the Allies as did the Tx
rainian Rada and the Finnish white
Guards" Such a commission TO Russia
composed OF men who have the conf
dence Of the Russian Workers gov
ernment, and IL will be much more easy
/ than is generally imagined, TO establish
some real cooperation with the Finnish
and the Russian Soylets, which would
count very much against the Finno-
! German iunker rule in Finland and on
the Arctic coast.
II the Allies public and especially
the public In America were less under
the influence Of the wlllfully lying
stories circulated by pro-German
sources discrediting the Finnish Social !
lists and If there were less prejudice !
against cooperating with the Finnish |
Socialists. because they are Socialists, |
It would bo easy on the basis Of coop |
Grafton with the FinniGh Workers gov
ernment to bring about q genuine un-
derstanding between the Russian Sow
lets and America. To slight and TO ig /
more and even TO take steps deliberately |
hostile to the Russian Soviet by en- J
couraging counter-revolutionary ele-
ments in Russia is to play game from
which Germany alone can profit The /
proposed armed intervention in Rus
sian affairs will bring nothing but evil I
war and weakening Of the only element
in Russia and in Finland which natur-
ally is anti-German and TO encourage
such elements whose all interests lie
with Germany.
America today in the midst Of the
world war and as the most important
factor in the international situation is
called upon 10 understand the condi-
tons Of Europe inteligently. Why
should America, which so carefully is
guarding herself against the influence
Of German imperlalistic propaganda in
this country. allow her policies in the
near East to be guided by advice pre-
venting her from rsllylng the logically
only snti-Kaiser elements in the strug-
gle for the downfall Of German i'm
perlisism?
Money 10 loan securities 70 offer and :