Evening star., 1939-10-18
Films De|iberating
Over Soviet Offer Of
Friendship PACT
HeIsinki Fears Domination
Of Neutrality; Will Make
Counter-Pr Proposals
By NEGLEY FARSON.


COPENHAGEN, Oct. 18 (NANA0.
Finnish statesmen are holding
grave deliberations over the terms
of Moscow's demands on the North
ern country, according to a we'll
informed observer in Helsinki with
whom this correspondent talked over
the telephone yesterda.
The trouble seems " be not so
much over the probable Russian de-
mands for the occupation of some
Finnish islands as over Moscow's
presumably proposed Friendship
pact" which, the Firms fear, means
domination of their neutrality. Juho
Paasikivi, Finnish representative in
the Russo-Finnish negotiations, is
expected to go back to Moscow with
the contemporaries in few days.
The Firms are maintaining such
an impeccable and inscrutable 81
lence about the Moscow talks that
there is even cruious tacit agree
ment throughout Finland not to dis
cuss the subject.
The Firms merely say that, if the
next Moscow talks are short, then
there will be breakdown and they
will be ready to defend their coun-
try. If the conversations are long,
there will be hope of peaceful
solution. Finland's principal cities
have been evacuated by civilians,
every one has orders for action in
an emergency, and. in fact, the
situation is only slightly different
from a declaration Of general mo-
biliZation.
No Scandinavian Front.
The meeting OF the Kings of Nor
way, Sweden and Denmark and
Finnish President Kallio in Stock
holm today should in no wise be in
terpreted as a gesture of a Scandi-
navian offensive or defensive front.
1t is intended to express the Nordic
countries solidarity and their deter
mination to preserve their neutral
tty
Denmark last May signed a non
aggression pact with Germany, while
Norway and Sweden refused to do
SO. In March, 1888, when influential
circles in Sweden seemed to be toy
ing with the idea of a "Nordic de-
fense alliance Thorvald Stauning.
Social Democrat, who had been
Premier of Denmark for nine years,
went to the city of Lund, in Sweden,
and made an emphatic speech stat
ing Denmark's refusal to join any
such combination. Staunings state
ment of Danish neutrality is his
toric and unswervable. The events
to date in this war have only in
creased Denmarks determination to
remain neutral at any price.
This. of course, does not imply
that these countries would not fight
If they were attacked The Firms
would fight to the last man before
surrendering to Russian domination
and SO, with more chances Of sue
cess, would the Swedes. But it is
not believed that the Russians in
tend to push things that far. With
winter fast approaching, no sane
observer believes that Moscow
would attempt a Scandinavian ad-
venture across the swamps, lakes
and forests of Finland and the
heavily-forested northern sections
of Sweden.
Sub Attacks Let Up.
The German U-boats seem to
have let up in their attacks on
Scandinavian shipping. There is a
report here that three Danish
freighters were diverted to Ham,
burg, that their cargoes were sold
there and that the findings of the
prize court will be made known in
November
Observers here believe the ruthless
activity of German submarines
against Scandinavian shipping in
the last week of September and early
days Of October was an effort to
drive the Nordic nations into some
form of peace front which might
be useful to German hopes in the
same direction. Now that it has
failed. new German attitude
toward Scandinavian neutrality
seems in sight. Connected with this,
and also fitting in with the German
Russian jigsaW in the Baltic Sea, is
the fact that the Germans have laid
a new mine field between Gedser,
Denmark, and Warnemunde, on the
German coast, dividing the Baltic
in two parts and enabling Germany
to control all the shipping coming
from the easteryn part of the Baltic