New-York tribune., 1920-08-23
lrotzky Promises
10 Teach Finland
'sMerciless Lesson
I'VE Shall Strangle Her for
Conspiracies and Treason
She Has Hatched," Said
Red Leader Long Ago

LONDON. July 18.-A correspondent
writes IN THE Morning POST:
The Socialist" the offic organ of
the Socialist Labor party, in ITS issue
Of July l, publishes speech made by
lrotzky on the relations Of Soviet Rus
sla to Finland. The speech was made
last year to the Petrograd Soviet, and
about the time that Trotzky wrote to
Lorlot IN France stating that when the
Red army had finished with Denikin it
would deal with Poland. In this speech
Trotzky explains that:
Petrograd, standing as it does on
the coast of the Baltic Sea, is now the
only door left to US which opens to-
ward Western Europe. 1t is as dear to
us as our eye--it is our eve We
cannot, and we will not, tolerate any
approach too near Petrograd, the great
nerve center of our country"
Ihe leader Of the Red army saws
that Finland is under the influence of
Great Britain. The Bolshevst govern
ment does not desire to attack Finland
II 1t can avoid doing so. But the strug
gle the Bolshevists have embarked upon
IS "on universal SCALE" and it will
not be decided on the Esthonian or
Finnish front-it will be decided on
the front of the whole world"
He continues:
The result of the struggle depends
on o., the action of the workers of Great
britain and France, on the action of
the suppressed and subject races in
ASIA, China, Persia, Afghanistan and
india On these factors depends the
result OF our struggle against the i'm
penallsm Of Great Britain, the most
powerful, dangerous, cruel and treach-
elous imperialism the world has ever
seen.
"Thc overthrow of the Finnish and
Esthonlan bourgeoisie will be difficult,
because they are supported by the
ghoullsh and monstrous centipede Of
brlush imperialism. When you settle
the struggles that involve London,
Paris, India, Persia and China, the
question of Finland and Esthonia will
automatically settle itself"
Declaring that the "enemes of the
Soviet government have found their
everlasting peace in the churchyard,
but we are alive and sound" Trotzky
says:
"We can say calmly and convincingly
to the Esthonian bourgeoisie: (which |
KIND of death do you select for your
selves? Death by way Of open hostili-
ties against us, or by way of your
peaceful extinction?' We can, there
swer during the coming days or
weeks"
The Soviet government, says Trotzky,
will not allow Finland to be used as a
tool for ood-letting by England, and |
he threatens Finland with dire dis
astcr, saying:
"And practical lesson will first be
given to finland. Finland will be the
first to come under the fist of the Red |
army, and viii be we'll rewarded for all |
the panic, provocation, conspiracies and |
treason Matched by her. We shall |
strangle her mercilessly. Comrades, |
we have concentrated brave divisions
at Pctrograd which will be reliable re-
serves for you when you start your
that the greatest battles have yet to
come:
I'VE must strain ourselves to an
even greater degree than we have
hitherto done. Our enemy is not yet
broken. A few days ago we got q Sc
cret message from England. Our
friends, the Communists, there write:
Your progress in the heroic struggle |
against counter-revolution fills our
hearts with the greatest admiration.
Many forces in our land which We're
inert up to the present are now becOm-
ing active. Everything goes to show
more and more that England will soon
stand on the threshold of the revolu-
ton"
This revolution in England is essen
tial to the world revolution planned by
the Bolsheviki, and the above message |
from "the Communists" perhaps ex-
plains the ignorance of Lenine about |
English conditions. Trotzky in this
address discusses how this great revo-
luton will begin. He does not know
whether it Will break out in London,
"carried thither from Paris" or wheth- |
er it will begin in the East, because
unrest is growing there, where the
people are "crushed by the English"
and are ''rcvolting against English
tyranny"