The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1918-06-15

The coup whereby the Democratic
Diet was dissolved angered the Fin
nish people. AS time went on they
saw that reaction was in the saddle.
Revolution was in the air, and late in
January of this year a great uprising
Of the people took place, beginning in
general strike. The white Guard
Government" fled to the sparsely set
tied northern part of Finland, leaving
the capital and all the agencies Of the
government, and all of the popular
manufacturing districts, in the hands
of the peoples forces. A Peoples Re-
public was declared, and Provision
al Government formed, which has APP
pointed me its representative in the
United States. This Government was
Immediately recognized by the Soviet
Government of Russia.
At the time of this revolution the
"White Guard" was formed, composed
mostly of hired thugs and strike
breakers, armed with German weap-
ons and differed by the "Finnish
Chaseurs" above referred to, trained
in the army of the Kaiser. This
Butcher Guard" as the Firms call
them, would have had no chance to
impose it's will against the desires of
the great mass of the Finnish people.
Fighting alone, it was doomed. But
the German government, spurred by
the desire of making Finland an out
post Of German Imperialism and Sc
curing road to the Russian Arctic
ports of Kola and Archangel, which
would give Germany control over
Scandinavian shipping, needed the
call Of the Finnish junkers and sent
10000 men. The forces Of the Pro-
visional Government, hastily raised
a voluntary army of upwards of 100,-
1000 men, poorly armed and more
poorly fed, was no match for the Ger
man war machine. Finland has fall
en-. Today the white Guard" is CIV
ing the German officers lists Of their
political opponents, and the Germans
are slaughtering the prescribed men
and women by thousands. In this
primitive fashion, the system of Sui
la, the Whites" hope to manufacture
a majority.
For many weeks there have been
stories in the papers about "Red
Guard" atrocities. Many Of these
have been exaggerated and many Of
them downright lies. They have
come mostly from German sources
and reactionary Swedish sources and
from pro-German white Guard"
leaders who up to few weeks ago
seemed to be able successfully to cam
outage their real purposes from
many honest American representa-
tives with whom they were in contact.
That there have been killings by
the "Red Guard" that should have
been avoided, do not deny. In any
country in revolution certain ruff
fan element, devoid of principles,in
evitably hobs up to take advantage
of the situation for plumber. The
Provisional Government leaders have
taken stringent measures to put down
such persons. But there is also
another element Of honest persons
who, in the heat of revolutionary pas
sion, sometimes see red. If the
United States had inherited for
eign-speaking aristocracy who in this
war betrayed American democracy
to the German military power, it is
possible that here and there groups
of Americans would give short shrift
to these rascals.
But from the start the forces Of my
Government have been under strict
orders to give white Guard" cap
tives all the rights Of organized war
fare, though the white Guard" lead
ers have openly boosted that "Red
Guard" captives were to be slaugh-
tered as bandits"
The producing classes Of Finland,
strongly organized, trained in over
ten years of parliamentary achieve
ment desire to establish in Finland
cooperative commonwealth, without
special privileges or political or eco
nomic exploitation of any kind. They
are opposed by the aristocracy, lead
ing the junker forces of Finland, will
ing to accept German vasalage to
perpetuate their feudal control and
keep the mass of the people in chains.
The labor movement in Finland,
which YIELDS the great mass of the
people together, is the only organized
democratic movement opposed to me-
di@val junkerism and German con-
troll. 1t is the form the democratic
movement takes in Finland, as well as
in Russia, and necessary form. In
Finland and Russia the ideas Of So
cial and economic democracy are just
as vital to this democratic movement
as were the ideas Of political demo-
cracy to the democratic movement in
| America in 1776 Surely the tOler-