The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1934-02-23

anu tltCITlC LILIES, ulOSC Oh Cne water ana
electric power plants, much of the
forests and the mines. The government
also has possession of some large farms
and factories.
But what can Suomi offer a tourist?
When an ocean liner glides past in
Vulnerable islands found along the
shores of Suomi and drops anchor into
the harbor of the much admired white
City of the North" Helsind (Helsing-
fors) attracts attention. The city is
beautiful from the distance, but the
better one becomes acquainted with it,
the more attractive one finds it. The
population is about 100000. 1t is very
modern in it's buildings. All tourists
have been impressed by the cleanliness
of the city. But as attractive as the
city is with its sightseeing places, the
greatest interest is in the beautiful
lakes, woods and the pictureques old
castles which are found in different
parts of the country. In summer the
tourist falls under the spell of the
white nights. BY the end of June the
sun does not set at all. Especially in
the northern parts of the country one
can see the sun dropping toward the
horizon, but almost at once it appears
to rise again. This gives the nights of
Suomi mystical fascination that, once
experienced, can never be forgotten.
The charm reaches its climax at
Petsamo, on the shores of the Artic,
where Nature is undisturbed in it's
ruggedness and the Lapps with their
large reindeer herds make the country
truly the land of Santa Claus as it was
pictured in our papers during the
Christmas season. The tourist move
ment into Petsamo has increased year
by year. An excellent highway makes
travelling there by automobile possible
and pleasant.
Although Suomi has no snow-capped
mountains, delighted tourists have given
it the name Switzerland of the North"
Fascinating as is the trip northward,
it is contrasted in luxuriant scenery at
the monastery of Valamo in eastern
Suomi on an island in Lake Ladoga.
The monks still living there greet the
guests and with pleasure show them
their civilizations, their dense forests
and their church
Suomi has long been known for its
athletes. And this one thing was the
first to attract the attention of the out
side world toward this small republic.
But in later years it has drawn the at
tention of others by its progress and
the natural beauty of the country.
Tourists have written and spoken their
praise in papers and in books published
as result of their visits, and so have
made this far northern republic better
known to the world. Suomi has thus
acquired new, true friends. Many a
visit has been made by people from
our own country to see the activities
of this younger sister, who so recently
has become ruler over her own destinies.
In recent years numbers of Americans
have taken trip to Suomi, among
them have been students, authors, news
paper men, writers, business representa-
tives and government officials. We
have been well represented in many of
the international conventions held
there. All those who have been there
have expressed their delight and pleas
ure both in the scenery the country
offers and the people they met. Among
those we wish to recall is Mr.. Brodie,
who was the American minister at
Helsinh recently, whose daughter there
became married and has made her
home in Suomi. The country, its people
and its climate were all well spoken of
when he returned to his home in
Oregon.
My short presentation of Suomi does
not deal with everything that could
be said of it, yet hope this could be
an inspiration to some reader to get a
better acquaintance with Suomi, the
country. who alone stood back of her
war debts to Uncle Sam, and perhaps
encouraged to go and visit that land
of the midnight sun in some future
summer.