The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1918-08-01

Inc news Ludl TIE iIlDi>H W mite
Guard government IS about To declare
war on the Allies or that the Allies
will be compelled To carry on an actual
warfare against the Germany's Fin
nish White Guard, which with large
army of their German allies Is trying
To occupy the Murman coast, is by no
means surprising Several months ago
pointed out 10 the United States gov
ernment and to the people Of America
that that would be the eventual out
come Of the situation.
The Finnish junkers. in order to sub
due the majority Of the Finnish people,
which was backing the Workers Gov
ernment, invited Germany into Finland
as natural defender Of oppressive
autocratic rule. 1t appealed to the
Finnish junkers. out numbered by the
awakening people Of Finland, as their
only salvation. But even if the Fin
nish junkers by inviting Germany 5
help, originally did not have in mind
the furtherance of German imperial
istic aims, but were principally inter-
ested IN the preservation of their own
class rule, it is perfectly obvious that
they could get German help only on
terms Of their helping Germany. The
German lGnkers are not altruists. They
work for their own imperialistic pur-
poses.
Finland is point Of utmost STRAIT
egic Importance to the warfarlng ma
tions. The occupation of the Aland
Islands by Germany and German dom
nation in southern and western Fin
land makes Germany an undisputed
ruler of the Battle Sea and the adjoin-
ing countries, including Scandinavia.
With Germany entrenched in Finland
and on the Aland Islands, Sweden and
Denmark are more than ever made de
pendent of Germany.
The greatest interest Of Germany,
however, lies in the occupation of the
koa Peninsula and the socalled Muir
man coast, as well as East karela
between the White Sea and the Finnish
border A German controlled Finland
stretching from the Aland Islands to
the White Sea on the northeast, and to
the Arctic ocean in the north, in add
tion to Germany's occupation of the
Kola Peninsula, will not only menace
these lands of the Arctic ocean. which
have been SO important during the past
few years but it also will menace Nor
way and the North Sea, making posi-
BILE attacks on England from new an.
giles
There is no doubt but the German
imperialists consciously figured out
these advantages when they more than
three years ago entered into an agree
ment with the Finnish reactionaries,
encouraging the recruiting of Firms
| into the German army and establish
| ing in German special Finnish battal
ions to be used for the occupation OF
Finland Such plans were in detail
1 proposed to Germany by the present
dictator of Finland. Mr. Swinhufvud
and agreed upon Certainly Mr. Swim
hufvud we'll deserved the iron eros,
which was given him by the German
kaiser during his recent visit in Ber
! lin.
1t is a pity that the plain facts ot
the real nature of the Finnish White
/ Guard have not been realized in Amer
ica until now. 1t is pity that pro
1 German propaganda, obviously inter
ested in describing the German inter
ventlon in Finland as work of civil
ization" against the anarehiste rule
Of the Red Guards so cleverly succeed
ed in muddling the situation If tn,
truth about these things had been un
derstood a few months ago, the stua
tion today could have been very differ
ent. If the Finnish Workers Govern
ment, which did not represent an unor
ganized band of roWdles, as told b,
those who are interested in Germany
domination of Finland. had been giyei
material support by the Allies at tina
time, the situation today would haV
been vastly different. have beel
told that when the Workers militia o
Finland was being driven back by tn
German army, backed by the Flnnisl
White Guards, the Finnish worker
made several appeals for cooperation
to the American representatives il
Russia, but so far as know, those ap
peals were left unheeded, thanks f
the prejudice which was SO rleverl
created against them by Germa
agents.
But it is not yet too late to correc
this mistake,
The Allies may prevent Germany
plan in kola from being carried GU
and have her movement crushed b
sending there a considerable army
They may for some time save the sit
uation by organizing some "independ
ent state" in the KoIa Peninsula. Tn
reports in the daily press today ar
that the population Of the Murma
coast have declared their independence
from the Soviets, and is willing to co
operate with the Allies. The news i
plausible enough, but it should be re
membered that the population of tn
Murman coast consists of few hun
dred fishermen who certainly canno
form a nacIeus of an independent occu
patton of that region. There is on
grave draw back to these plans. Tha
is that it will undoubtedly cause suspi
cion in Russia that the ndependen
state is being organized with the vlel
of making a basis of operations agains
Llt A1bN ltt XIV ti Ilultlii VI lANNN d. tNuN
a suspicion would create lnnumerabl
other difficulties which would max
questionable the possibility of an
effective Allied resistance to the Ger
mans on the Thurman coast. Therefore
quite naturally, the question arises
Why not consider an easier and NOR
efficient solution of the situation? Tn
majority of the Finnish people bitter
resent the German occupation Of Fin
land and the rule of the White Guar
junkers In Russia there are tens o
thousands of Finnish Red Guards
driven there from their own country b
the German invaders. who would jun
at the possibility of cooperating wit
forces opposed to German domlnatlo
of Finland. There are sixty thousan
of these soldiers, imbued with the mos
intense hatred against Germany. VII
not try to organize them into an efet
tive body which from the midst Of tn
GermaniZed Finland, as well as frof
: the rear, would attack the German
Finnish forces now striving tu occup
the Murman coast? This of course
: can be done only on the basis Of sir
cere agreement with the Russian st
vetS My contentious that the valu
pf giIpb SbDuId ,4pt H.