The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1924-07-14
FINNS ARE
NOT SAME
AS RUSSIANS
Country of Men Who Figure
in Olympic Games Is
Progressive,
By FRANK J. TAYLOR

Fl LOT of folks thinks of those
| q Firms, who gave the Amer
- leans such a hard run for
first place honors at the Olympic
games. as a branch of the Russian
family.
Nothing could make the Firms
more angry. They are not Rus
SLAMS, and they want the world to
know it. They hate the Russians,
who for years have dominated Fin
land
Perhaps a few words about the
Films will interest folks who read
the sporting page more than they
do geography or history. The
writer visited Finland, following
travels in a dozen other European
countries. and he was impressed
with the fact that the Firms have
made their Land of Marshes as
the country is known in the native
tongue. the most civilized and pro-
gressive state in Europe.
Firms Are Alert
Where the Russians are easy-go-
ing, the Firms are alert and eff
cient. While Russian cities are
known for their filth, Finnish cities
are remarkable for their cleanliness.
While Russian trains run when
they get ready. Finish trains are on
time and are speedy. While the Rus
sian children go to school if they
want to, the Finnish youngsters are
so educated that Finland has the
lowest percentage of illiteracy in
the world, lower by far than that of
the United States.
Who. then, are these Films?
Their nearest kin in the families
Of nations are the Hungarians. The
Firms came originally from around
the Ural Mountains, in Asia. They
fought their way for a thousand
miles across Russia, back in the
Middle Ages. They refused to anal
gamate with the Russians, as did so
many lesser peoples.
Cnuer OWn h1ng
Under their own kings and pos
sessed of an invincible national pride.
they chung together until they
reached the land of lakes and
marshes between Sweden and Rus
STA They defended themselves from
Ioo+L 49, r,,--ior 90 49, cs...oSo-
though at times they were con
quered and ruled by both nationau-
ties
Following the war they broke
away from Russia and established a
republic, of which they are tremen-
dously proud. Their capital is the
little city of Helsingfors, clean, hos
pitable, beautiful.
Finland is a welcome sight to the
American who has been abroad some
time Travelling across Finland on
the train reminds one of a journey
across Michigan, or Wisconsin, or
Minnesota, with the lakes, the neat
farm houses, the well-kept farms
and the trim little villages.
Ihey cooperate
Many Films have come to the
United States. They were forerun-
ners in the cooperative movement in
this country. In Brooklyn, N. Y.
where many Of the settled, they
have model cooperative apartment
houses at a cost of about $50 a
month for six rooms, which are the
envy of their less cooperative Amer
lean neighbors.
The Firms won't live in slums.
Back home they loved good air and
the outdoors; over here they insist
upon it, incidentally. those Brook
Ign Firms eat bread that costs about
half the regular price, because it
comes from their cooperative baker,
and they buy their food at a cooper
alive store. as wholesale prices.
They have brought a lot of other
progressive ideas on how to live and
be happy from the old country to
this one.