The Washington times., 1935-05-14
F|NLANDOUSTED
! REDS To SAVE
DEMOCRACY.
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Of all the new parliament build.
mgs in Europe, sit 200 members
and rs are socialists, representing
the working classes. It is the
largest single party, though the
conservative farmer coalition
germs the government.
These are the guardians Of
Finnish liberties. They threw
out the Reds to keep their hber-
ties. What are their liberties?
Firms have still got them all.
even unto today when liberty Is
vanishing from so many courl-
tries. They have freedom Of
speech, Of press and assembly.
Their homes are inviolable. Their
post, telegraph and telephones
are secret. Their police are
servants Of the people, not their
masters.
Today the guardians Of these
treasures, long discarded by the
relationships Of Communism and
FaciSm, gather Economically
around the shining milk.bar in
their resplendant marble parlia-
ment and debate the growth OF
deSpotismS in Europe. They reach
for cleaning pots Of thick cream
that stand there free as drinking
water. They snatch a snack OF
horS d'oeuvres and hot mush-
rooms. or oatmeal porridge
drowned in cream, with a dish OF
grilled liver, wiener schnitbel,
filet beefsteak or dried fish, pay
20 American cents for a fat
meal and wonder what they are
going to have for lunch.
Rich in Men
Does this mean they are rich?
Or that Finland is rich? They
are poor and Finland is poor.
But only in money. Finland is
rich in men, and in food.
The prime minister gets $3.50
q year. A lieutenant general in
the army gets 1914. The presi-
dent Of the Appellate Court gets
$2,024. A college professor gets
1894. A school-teacher gets 1858.
An office clerk gets 1888. A mail
carrier gets $506. A track walker,
brakeman or flagman on the rail-
road gets $40.
This looks. like q rather low
standard of income. The test is
what can be done with them. Take
one luxury article-alcoholic bev-
erageS. They are cheaper and
more plentiful here than anywhere
on earth, not excepting Shanghai.
What restaurant bar or liquor
dealer in the world carried in
stock 22S kinds of wines, 112 kinds
of cognac, II kinds Of liquors. As
brands Of whiskey, SO varieties OF
champagne, Q Of beer and 3 Of
porter?
There is only one answer: The
10Y Alkoholi1iike Alb" That means
the Finnish government alcohol
supply monopoly. Firms went dry
for quite a long time, but when
they fell off the wagon they
showed it off the dock. Their
slogan today is "undersen the
bootlegger," and it takes 4S pages
to list their Scotch. Irish, Hun
garian, Russian, SPAN wines,
their sherries, madeiras, ports,
their punches, cocktails, burgun-
dies, bordeaus, moselles, rhineS,
tokays, at prices for everything
from chateau d'yquen to vodka
universally cheaper than in the
land Of origin.
Ruin BOOtleggerS
Bootleggers collapsed when al
koholiliike, put out karhu-vilna,
favorite Finn strong drink, at so
cents a quart. Liqueur whiskey
goes for $1.90 a quart. Most ex-
pensive Scotch brands, which sell
for $3.50 a quart in Scotland,
sell for $3.50. here.
Arrests for drunkenness hoped
from S1.796 in 1892, the year
repeal of prohibition, to 10000
In 1884. This stumped the au-
thOrlCleS VINO WanUeQ repeal 10
increase temperance, but the pro-
gram, Is still to fight fire with
fire, and meanwhile the standard
of drinking in Finland tops the
world.
Moscow might sniff at this
form of superiority! But dwell
Ings. are matter Moscow con-
siders vital. This year official
Soviet figures give seven square
meters as the average living
space for each inhabitant of the
Soviet capital. and a little less
than that for all the cities of the
Soviet Union.
Measure it off in strides. It is
two strides long and three and
ooe.half Strides wide That means