davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The New York herald., 1921-02-20
To Call In German Assistance
Means to Revive Old Menace

One resource remaIns-to call in the as
sistance of Germany-and Winston Church, Il.
has already limited at his avaing himself of
that most dangerous expedient. But If Ger
many is asked to assist Poland, the Baltic
States or Finland against the aggression of
Red Russia, she will insist on being allowed
to arm and raise army again, and once
armed and with her troops at Warsaw,
Narva. Viborg and perhaps at Petrograd she
will have all the cards in her hands and he
in stronger position than she was before
the great war.
British experiences in Egypt, Austrian
experiences in Bosnia Herzegovina, and
American experience in the Philippines show
how difficult IL is, even with the best inten-
tions in the world, TO withdraw an army of
occupation. The Baltic States and the mac
cessible Polish and Ukrainian lands will be-
come Businesses wherein Prussia will breed
a new menace to western Europe. How can
England and France ever send armies into
these remote regions, especially when-and
that day must come some time--they have
Withdrawn their troops of occupation I'm Ger
many itself reduced their own armies and
set themselves to the task of paying their
bills? These complications may not come for
fifty years, but what Is fifty years in the
life of nation? Germany was exactly fifty
years leading up to this great war.
And IL Russia has I'm the meantime become
monarchistic or established some republican
system things will be no better, for a White
Russia will resent the Independence of her
border States still more than Red Russia
does. and Germany will be her willing ally
In any attack on that independence. And In
that case the Western Powers will find 1t
more difficult than ever to intervene. What
could they do against united Germany and
Russia? Occupation Of the Rhine provinces
would only drive Germany further eastward
make her more inaccessible and prepare
Russo-German amalgam which would con
The New York herald., 1921-02-20
Theory of the SuperState
Foremost With White Russians

M. Klafton here spoke not only for Kol-
chalk but also for Denikin, Wrangel, Yuden-
ich and all the White Russians; and hold
ing as they do the same theory of the super
state a gigantic engine without soul,
many of the Bolshevik leaders take the same
views. AS regards the Baltic republics, M.
Klafton was equally mercess.
,"Russia cannot" he said, give any of
them complete independence any more than
England can give complete independence to
Ireland. We bear i'll will to them, but
nature has unfortunately placed them in our
way to the open sea, just she placed Ire
land in geographical position which would
make the complete independence Of that
country absolutely fatal to England. If
they were situated our Chinese frontier
their independence would not matter a straw
to us. Situated as they are, it would strangle
us, and a nation of 1876 millions cannot allow
itself to be strangled thus.
I'VE are willing to grant them the fullest
measure of autonomy, but independence
never! And even if we did grant them full
independence they could never retain it, but
would inevitably be swept into the orbit of
Germany, a nation which is, unfortunately,
very far from having been finally disposed
Of They are too small to stand alone with
their couple of million inhabitants each. their
mutual jealousies and their large martial
and well organized German minorities.
AS TOT Flnlanu, Sne also, WITH ner small
population of Firms and her large Swedish
minority, cannot possibly stand by herself.
and must inevitably fall into the orbit of
Sweden, and therefore of Germany for Swe-
den is pro-German. This would mean that
the Baltic would become a German lake
and that the Berlin Government would be
stronger than it was in 1914. 1t must be re-
membered too, that Finland absolutely con-
trolls the entrance to Petrograd; her from
tier reaches to within some twenty miles of
the Russian capital"
| do not subscribe to the above views, for
Finland has much right to be nde-
pendent as Denmark, whose people are far
closer racialy to the Germans than the Firms
are to the Russians. l only give these views
at length in order to place on record the
official White Russian attitude
The idea of small and peaceful people
like the Films blocking the entrance to Pet
rograd is absurd The Firms are not going
to sper1 their money constructing fleets and
building great naval bases in order to men,
ace any of their neighbors. The Govern
ment at Helsingfors recognizes the neces-
sity for Russia having free access to the
Baltic, and some of the highest officials of
that Government have told me that once
Lenine and Trotzky have been replaced by
sane statesmen Finland will offer Russia
free transit across her territory to the Bal
tic and special facilities for trading with the
outer world through one of her ports.
The New York herald., 1921-02-20
Helsingfors. With All It's Gayety,
Lives Under a Constant Menace

The life and activity of Helsingfors can be
seen at o'clock in the morning in the
principal hotel of Helsngfors, as we'll ap-
pointed a hotel one could find i'm New
York. situated on a broad and well kept
esplanade. whose well stocked shop fronts
blaze with electric lights-for in these high
ATTITUDES the darkness Of the night has not
yet gone The bells of the swift electric
cars jangle cheerfully, and the sidewalks are
full of smarty dressed clerks of both Sexes
Fastening 10 their work, but I know that
only a few hours distant not as far as
Buffalo Is from New York city, lies the Red
frontier, with its trenches and barbed wire
entanglements and its hundreds of deserted
summer, residences, once occupied by bu-
reaucrats and the merchant princes of
Petrograd, which city again. Is only a few
hours distant from that frontier.
| have been down at Terioki and have
seen that the bureaucrats and the merchant
princes left their houses so hurredly that
their furniture and pictures are still there
that in some cases their overcoats and hats
are still hanging In the vestibules And
between that frontier and Petrograd the
Fifth Soviet army is still massed hungry,
shoeless, undemobilzed. No, II is no Joke
at all for a small State of couple Of million
inhabitants. a good many of them Red to
have as a neighbor n famished and derelict
empire of 1875, 900. 900 souls.
The people here have, I admit got used
TO the danger, and the heads OF the Govern
ment are taking part in the festivities of the
winter season just the members Of the
Lithuanian Government when I was at
Kovno few weeks ago were taking part in
fox hunting. But for all that there is no
The New York herald., 1921-02-20
Anti -Bolshevik Forum

TT Is not generally known that the
Knights of Columbus in their jealousy
of the doctrine Of true Americanism
have established a system of meeting and
parrying the attacks on our Government
and social systems by foreigners who may
be and who may not be acknowledged Boil
sheviks. The way this rebuttal testimony
Is given is mild but effective, for the X. OF
c. realizes that violent agitation is not ef-
fective, but simply leads 10 further vio-
fence. Therefore 1t follows these disturbers
OF the peace by peaceful speakers who pre-
sent testimony I'm rebutal of their argu-
ments.
In the vanguard of the X. of c. forum
squadron are Peter w. Collins, former labor
leader and Government industrial expert
David w. Goldstein, ex-Socialist candidate
Tor the Boston Mayoralty. and DR.. James j.
Walsh of New York. well known medical
publicist and cultural authority. Each year
they deliver from 200 to 300 lectures in
definite areas assigned to them by the X
of c. The lecturers follow up Bolshevic agf-
tators and in their audiences they find
many of this sort. who try to heckle them
with questions. The work of this forum
is therefore, seen to be constructive
Occasionally the lecturers of the forum
will engage in debate with champions from
the Bolshevist ranks. The result. left to the
decision of the audience has never been
against TIE X. of C. speakers, for the reason
that they deal in common sense.
The New York herald., 1921-02-20
Little Races Retain Identity
By Superior Civilization

These little races in northeastern and
southeastern Europe preserved their ma
tional identity because the Russian and
Turk were less civilized than the western
races which they conquered On the other
hand, the Poles and Lithuanians in Prussia
lost in many cases their language, religion
and nationality just under the rule OF
highly organized conquerors the Irish lost
their language, though not their religion nor
their nationality. Had Ireland been con-
quered by Russia or Turkey its civilization
would now be at lower level than 1t u.s. but
the Irish language would be flourishing.
must also add that the jealousy shown by
some of the Cars for German and Swedish
influence prevented the Teutonic and
Swedish elements from altogether crushing
Lcttish and Finnish, though IL introduced
new element In the shape OF Russian.
In Esthonia one first comes across the
Scandinavian and Finnish strains The
Esthonians are. indeed. n Finnish tribe and
their language is almost the same as Fin
nish. the principal difference between the
two being due to the fact that, while
Esthonia was subject TO Russian and Ger
man influence Finland was subjected for a
lcng time to an equally powerful Swedish
influence, as Is shown by the fact that m my
OF the people I'm Finland speak Swedish and
that Swedish as well as Finnish is spoken
in the Diet at Helsngfors and that Finnish
and Swedish are officially recognized as the
two national languages of the Finnish Re-
public.
Reval was founded by. the Swedes, as
Riga was founded by the Germans, and the
latter city was ruled at one time by the
Poles and at another time by the Swedes
The New York herald., 1921-02-20
Officials Show General Tendency
To Close Eyes to the Eruption

And with all that | find everywhere
general tendency on the part of officials
and of elected persons to close their eyes
to the active eruption of which they them
selves are a part and to persuade them
selves that so far as their own particular
community Is concerned. q state Of rest and
eternal permanence has been attained. This
tendency is strongest exactly in those places
where the confusion Is greatest and the
most enormous changes certain and imm-
nent. For the last year have spent my time
in the very heart of the uproar, and I found
nobody so convinced that he had based his
system OF government on eternal granite as
the one man whose feet are planted in the
centre OF this seismic observation-disclosures
Lenine.
He fully admits that utter chaos will
break loose everywhere else, but with the
ground quivering beneath his feet, he pro-
tests that his position, at least. is safe. In
The New York herald., 1921-02-20

craftsmanship, Poland will be- handicapped
to a greater extent than ever by that in
durable defect in her national mentality
which contributed to her downfall once and
will contribute to it again.
Imperial races have a collective mentality
which destines them for empire. The
Romans had it to a supreme degree. The
British have it. the Germans have it, the
Americans have it. The Irish and the Poles
lack it, though they have other very high
mental gifts; and to make either of these
peoples Independent is to constitute, out of
sentiment an artificial state which cannot
possibly stand. Before the war Poland got
all her raw material from Russia and all
her capital from Germany; yet. filled with
immeasurabe pride, she is quite certain to
antagonize both Russia and Germany, with
cut whom she cannot exist We divided up
Poland thrice and there is nothing in the
world to prevent us partitioning her fourth
time"
The New York herald., 1921-02-20

Disgusting the greatness and the propinquity
of the peril.
l intend in this article to give some gen.
eral observations about all these border
States before going into further detail about
any one of them 1t is a subject of fascinat-
ing interest, for. far as the American
reader is concerned it deals with undiscov-
cred peoples. THE New YORK HERALD once
sent Stanley to explore darkest Africa, but
there are in Europe races almost as little
known to the man in Broadway as pigmies
of the great equatorial forests, and their
future development around the Baltic Sea
The New York herald., 1921-02-20
Attributes Poland's Downfall
To Operation of Natural Causes

"She is purely artificial production" he
said, "and cannot possibly last. great deal
of poetry has been written and great deal
of sentiment has been wasted on the subject
of her downfall. but that downfall was due
not to the criminal cupidity of neighboring
empires or to the reckless ambition of
despots. but to the operation of natural
causes and to the inevitable development of
historical processes. Frederick the Great
cannot be blamed and Catherine the Great
cannot be blamed for IL Is a question of
forces and of conditions. not of men. You
might as we'll blame the president of a great
American trust or railway system for the
disappearing of the little Industries before
the growth of his mighty organization.
Those Industries were not suited for the
changed conditions. and nothing could keep
them alive--least of all the president who
could no more control the advance Of his
giant engine than a constitutional king can
control the growth of the peoples he nom
inally rules.
"rhe natural causes which lead to the dis
appearance of a nation are economic as well
as political internal as well as external
They correspond to the natural causes which
lead to the death of an animal or a plant
In the case of Poland the economic factors
operate far more powerfully to-day than
they did two hundred years ago, and the
political causes will operate more powerfully
than ever Tomorrow, when Germany and
Russia are again stiong and when. under
the new and tryine conditions OF modern
The New York herald., 1921-02-20

tendency. The publicists. the professors. the
heads of Government say to me: I'VE have
found stability. There will be no more
change here. Write to that effect to THE
New YORK HERALD. 1t would be bad for our
trade and our economic conditions IL you
said otherwise. 1t would scare away capi-
tal"
l must confine myself at present. how
ever to the problem of the Baltic, with its
curious, undiscovered peoples. whose past
Is so obscure and whose future is wrapped
in such mystery. Experts have, of course,
The New York herald., 1921-02-20

stitute the most formidable explosive man
kind ever invented.
And 1t would be well to remember that
whatever kind of government Russia gets
she will be anti-Ally. The White Russians
now hate England and France with as much
intensity as the Reds themselves and would
be more likely to join hands with Germany
than with Germany's conquerors. More
over, they will be more likely to violate the
independence of the border States than
Lenine and Trotzky are.
1 have talked during the last two years
to thousands of Russian Liberals, and
never met one of them who was willing to
acknowledge the independence of the border
States. Admiral Kolchak had no intention
Of doing So and il he had entered Moscow
in triumph, instead of dying misterably in
Siberia, he would have accorded them no
more than a limited measure of autonomy
In September 1919. 1 discussed this point
with M. Klafton, one of the Admirals prin-
cipal advisers, at Omsk, and that gentle
man, who belonged to the Kadet party and
who certainly spoke on this occasion for the
Supreme Ruler, rejected with indignation
the idea of granting independence to the
Firms, Esthonians, Let's and {.ithuanians.
AS for Poland, he was willing to concede il
independence, but it's frontiers, he said. must
be drawn by the Russians and Poles them
selves without any interference from out
side-which might very well mean that Po-
land would be restricted to those Polish
lands which have been under Austrian and
German rule, and that Russian Poland
would revert to Russia.
He did not conceal his conviction that Po-
land could not exist as an independent State
and that she had not got within her the ele-
ment necessary for building up and the
maintenance OF q separate nation
The New York herald., 1921-02-20

These facts show how the tide of empire
has ebbed and flowed in this part of the
world and prepare us for further changes
in the future.
In America such a condition of imperma-
nence is difficult to recognize but here it is
a fact that has to be faced and the very
violence with which the heads of the various
Baltic Governments have assured me that
they will fight for their independence to the
last man, and that, come what may, Russia
will never be back again among them, gives
one the impression that they dread in their
heart of hearts the return of the Moscovites
or the arrival of German help" which, hav-
ing helped, will stay on.
With the exception of Finland the new
States are all wedged in between two mighty
empires, both of them temporarily crippled
and they know that the critical moment in
their fortunes will come when these empires
have pulled themselves together again and
begun to look around. They know that If
reconstructed Russia attacks them England
France and America can give no assistance
America Is out of the question, and the peo-
pies of France and England will not stand
for any more intervention Because, in the
first place their Soldiers will fight at present
only i'm case of an attack on themselves,
and in the second place because their own
serious economic condition forbids any more
such adventures.
The New York herald., 1921-02-20

known of them all along, but IL would D.
incorrect to say that the busy man in Broad
way was until recently aware of their ex-
istence. In moments of irritation he Jumped
them all. together "Dutchmen." Just as
he Jumped together the variegated and
sharply differentiated races of southern Eu-
rope "Dagoes," and If called upon for
more scientific definition he expressed the
opinion that the Firms were Swedes, the
Lthuanians Poles, the Let's Germans and
the Esthonians God knows what. He was
unaware of the fact that the Lithuanans
are different from the Poles and the
Let's as different from the Germans as the
English are different from the Italians. Po-
land he knew. of course, to be Sav, and
about the Germans and Scandinavians he
had a fairly accurate idea.
Lithuanian Tongue Among
The Oldest Spoken by Man
The Let's and Lithuanians are of Indo-
European stock. but speak different Ian
guages which are both far removed from
the Slav and the German tongues. The Lith-
uanian tongue which was nearly crushed
out of existence by the combined efforts
of the Poles, the Russian officials and the
Lithuanian gentry, and which was only
resurrected as a literary language during
the last seventeen years. is one of the Oldest
tongues spoken Dy men, Delng mostly akin
to Sanscrit.
The revival of Lettish which is also a
very ancient tongue, began at a more re-
mote period, and the language itself is con-
sequently in a stronger position. Polish
and Finnish are in the strongest position
of all and there is now no possibility of
their being destroyed, but all these lam
guages were threatened with extinction at
one time another by a succession of
conquerors. The danger of extinction was
always greatest when the civilization of the
conqueror was of higher standard than
that of the subject race. Thus Swedish
very nearly killed Finnish, just as German
very nearly killed Lettish, while Polish went
nearest of all to accomplishing the COM
pete obliteration of Lithuanian.
The Russian conquest really saved all the
little languages and preserved all these lit
tie nations; but 1t deserves no credit for
this any more than the Turk deserves for
having failed to destroy the language and
the civilization of the Serbs, Bulgarians,
Rumanians, Greeks. Armenans and the
other ancient peoples who had fallen under
his sway.
The New York herald., 1921-02-20
By CAPT. FRANCIS McULLAGH.


Copyright, 1921. by THE NEW YORK HERALD
HELsINGFoRs. jan 10.
T HE present series of articles which
am writing for THE New York HER
AID deal with all the new republics
which have been formed out of the wreck of
Russia. So far have only written of Lat
via and Lithuania, but 1 shall soon deal
with Esthonia, Finland and Poland
The republic in the Far East need not be
considered at all. as it is only upheld by
Japan and will become Boshevist the mo-
ment the Mikado withdraws his protecting
hand Georgia may also be left out Of ac-
count for it is completelysat the mercy Of
the Reds; all it's sister republics have dis
appeared, and it's own downfall is expected
daily. There only remain, therefore, the
little States of which 1 have spoken, and
the future of them all is enveloped in such
obscurity that study of their present con-
dition is one Of the greatest fascination.
I am visiting every one of them for THE
NEW YoRK HERALD and getting the opinions
of their leading men on the subject of their
own future and of Russias future. 1 am
also collecting many facts possible
from independent sources. To draw in
dependent. and even hostile, sources is nee
essary, for the simple reason that states
men in office tend to be very cautious, to
indulge only in generalities and very often
to say nothing Of the fears which beset them
most. But one fear all these statesmen have
in common,-a fear of Bolshevism of the
stupendous Red republic, whose very shadow
is blighting their nascent prosperity. and of
the Bolshevism within their own borders,
which Is an even greater danger.
Internal Enemy Leaves It's Mark
In Burned Factories and Graves
From Riga to Narva and from Narva
across to viborg this internal enemy has
left its mark on all of them in the shape of
burnt buildings and ruined factories and un-
numbered graves. Thousands of bullets are
still sticking in the shop fronts of the Riga
streets, and owing to the difficulty of i'm
porting plate glass, there are still to be seen
in hundreds of shop windows the perfora-
tions made by Boshevik bullets. Even in
Helsingfors. rapidly as it has recovered, L
have seen in shop windows similar telltale
perforati0ps temporarily closed by small
discs of wood clamped on each side of the
glass bv iron rivets.
When 1t is remembered that the internal
danger in Finland, Esthonia, Latvia and
Lithuania is liable to be exploded from with
out at any moment by an enemy who is
only few days march from the capitals
of the republics in question, it will be seen
at once that these young States have every
reason for disquiet. They are all, in fact. on
the edge of a volcano, which may without
any warning belch forth its floods of red
fire and lava, so that the mystery is how
these new nations manage to keep up such
an appearance Of calm.
1t is no use in saying that Lenine wants
peace, for his soldiers may want war and
they may disobey him. as he taught them
to disobey their old officers. 1t is no use
i'm saying that Russia Is excessively poor
and miserable; that very poverty is what
makes 1t formidable.
The New York herald., 1921-02-20
Baltic Republics on Edge of Soviet Volcano Remain Calm

Finland which live
proximity Troops the Finnish
The New York herald., 1921-02-20
Latyia Eshona Lhuana Finland Tension
Over Situation With Red Troops Border but Unable Help
Themselves, and With Many Within Favorng Bolshe
Literally Between the Devil and the Deep Sea

DESSIMISM as to the future predomi-
4 mates in the graphic pen picture of
the future of the FIVE little Baltic repub-
lies drawn by Capt. Francis McCuIIagh.
THE NEW YORK HERALDS CORE
spondent. investigating the political situa-
tion in eastern Europe. Overshadowing
Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Esthonia and
Finland is the Red menace of BoIshevisn.
Not only are the borders of those places
fringed by Lenine's troops. but within the
countries themselves are strong Soviet
sympathizers. When the volcano may
break forth and overwheIm them Capt.
McCuIlagh does not venture to. say-that
ii may be at any moment is certain from
his observations. With all the world look
ing for permanent peace the situation is
dark indeed