The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1920-03-04
Finland. Hermit Nation of
Europe
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(Continued from pdge y
One piece of news only came through
in the early days of the war, to the effect
that the dowager empress of Russia had
returned from Denmark by the way of
Finland and had shown much courtesy
and common sense on her passage. 1t was
said that she had caused her personal
guard to be greatly relaxed, that she had
talked with Firms everywhere and had
taken pains to create a good impression.
But shortly after her return the Firms
were specially and officially warned mot
to build any false hopes of restored liber-
ty" upon the friendly demeanor of the
dowager empress.
Naturally this ill-advised policy has had
very bad results. AT the beginning of the
war many Films were in favor of the
allies, chiefly by reason of their English
trade connections and English sympathies.
But when Russia's most powerful and
necessary ally forbode to say one word in
favor of a reasonable treatment of Fin
land, and when the English press by its
undiscriminating praise of all things Rus
sian actually gave more strength to the
powers of reaction, then the Firms can
not be blamed for looking elsewhere.
Their exiles hocked to Germany in
great numbers, and it is said that more
than 5000 Firms took up their residence
| there. The Germans are further credited
with making active propaganda for their
cause among the professors and students
of Finland, but it seems doubtful whether
they would really have found it worth
while, when the allies themselves were
unconsciously doing so much to spread
pro-German sympathies there. If.but no
one can say more than if-Finland was
occasionally used as a channel for COM
munication between Germany and the
traitorous party in Russia the allies have
only themselves to blame.
However this may be, it seems pretty
clear that there were several German
agencies in more than one part of Fin
land trying to stir the people up to an
armed revolt.
Since our reactionary press at one time
took upon itself to repeat the venerable
and discredited cliches about Finland's
desire for independence or for union with
Sweden, it is well to say once more that
Finland's great nationalist movement was
all directed against Swedish influence, and
that there are not five wiseacres in the
whole country who would dream of the
possibility of such union. Nor has the
fercest advocate of Finnish freedom ever
contemplated absolute independence. The
position of the country and its very small
population wholly forbid it.
Surely this tiny nation has magnificent
future! 1t may even be possible for them,
highly trained and politically qualified as
they are, to hurry through the intervening
stages of their economic development and
show to Europe the working model of
cooperative commonwealth. They are in
the main Mongolians, patient, passive,
secret and unfathomable, and their kins-
men in Japan and China have done equal
ly marvellous things.
Yet alien from us as they are racially,
their development is so western that no
Englishman who has spent much time in
Finland has any sense of race barrier.
On the contrary, they seem, once known,
curiously appealing and sympathetic, this
brave, ugly little people, with their high
cheek bones, great foreheads and deep-set
eyes.
Their literature, like their landscape, is
extraordinarily varied and beautiful and
there runs through it sense of the time
less forests and the unbounded North. 1t
haunts you; no one who has felt the charm
of Finland is really content till he sees
the Land of Thousand Lakes again.