The Wilmington morning star., 1940-03-10
TOTAL finn AID
ASKED OF ALLIES
Continued from Page One)

or twenty thousand men Wouio W
but a drop in the bucket" as an ald
to Finland herself.
On the other hand a CONSIDER
able force" - an army corps OF
roughly $4,000 men was used as an
example would be something en-
tireIy different, and tonight's IN
formants said the Swedes would
"gratefully welcome" it, especially
if 1t were accompanied by war;
ships and planes.
TN to now Sweden has said she
would refuse the passage of any
foreign force, and much significance
is attached to the contention of the
Allied press that, under the league
of Nations covenant, Sweden is OBJ
ligated to let troops go through to
aid Finland.
Tonight there were indications OF
a tightening British censorship on
reports concerning possible dispatch
of Allied troops to the north. But
through the curtain of state secrecy
this much came from sources close
to the British foreign office:
Great Britain and France feel
that they cannot let Finland fall
before Soviet Russia, either at the
green table or in battle. But they
are faced by a grave dilemma: Can
they aid Finland with troops, bat
tleships and planes without pushing
Russia into a full dress military al
lance with Germany? Can they
provide enough troops for both
France and Scandinavia?
In France the rigidly controlled
press was permitted to mention the
possibility that an Allied expedition
airy force might be sent to Finland
if Finland gives the word. At the
same time sources close to the
Quai D'Orsay openly expressed the
suspicion that the move to end the
northern war at Finland's expense
was directly traceable to German
diplomotic maneuvers in conjunc-
tion with Moscow and with neutral
Sweden.
It is easy for the French and the
British to see how Germany might
gain from this. Not only could the
U. S. S. RS attention be turned to
helping Germany economically once
is free from p~reoccupation in Fin
land but the ultimate result of Ger
man mediation might be a great
extension Of German influence in
Scandinavia, source Of many of the
supplies she needs.
The work of making peace, SEEM
ingly in a final stage, appeared now
to be largely in the hands of Ger
many and Russia. There were in
dications that the scene of negotia-
tons had shifted to either Moscow
OF Riga, but there was no inclina-
ton by anyone in the know to
throw light on their progress.
Another Speech
Adolf Hitler sent Foreign Minis
ter Joachim Won Ribbentrop to
Rome to see Mussolini and decided
to make another speech himself to-
matists believed Hitler wanted to
scan the chances of Italian help in
case war envelops Scandinavia as
the result of Allied military inter-
vention in Finland. One Informed
Italian source said Mussolini prob.
ably would insist on remaining at
peace.
Sweden, nor or less finished with
her role in providing Finnish-Rus-
sian negotiators with a front par
lor," believed that DR.. Juhu Justi
Paasikivi, who may be Finland's
plenipotentiary, was on his way to
Moscow. The former Finnish presi-
dent, Per Evid Svinhufvud, who in
1913 pleaded successfully for Ger.
man military help against the Rus
sian Reds, will trail Won Ribben-
trop from Berlin to Rome. His part
in all this ~peace-seeking is shadowy.
1t is known that Russia refused
Finland an armistice until her
peace terms are accepted, but no
one would confirm reports that she
had reduced those terms to de-
mands for only a part of the
Karelian Isthmus and q secondary
naval base at the mouth of the
Gulf of Finland. Previously she
also claimed Viipuri and the Fin
nish Gibraltar" at Hanko.
Moscow offered no explanation of
conferences between United States
Ambassador Laurence A. Stein.
hardt, Soviet Premier V. M. Molo-
toff and the Swedish minister to
Russia, but in Washington Secre-
tary Hull said Steinhardt had made
a factual summation to the State
department Of the Russian-Finsish
situation and had nothing to a
about mediation.
Glumly Silent
The Firms themselves, exerting
all their energies in resisting So
Wet armies which have won a. foot.
hold on the northern coast of the
Gulf of Finland west of Viipuri.
were glumly silent about peace
prospects.
Those in Britain who favor mill.
tary Intervention in Finland find
the war office their biggest bar
rier. The military chieftains feel
they cannot be expected to divert