The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-11-17
J. s. POLICY ON
 FINLAND UPHELD
pr. Sherman of Webber College Cites Historical
 Facts Justiiying Action
BY DR. JOHN M. SHERMAN Preeldent ee Weber College


 Bahson Park, Fla, Nov. 17s-Ein- land has elected to ,foreg0 the friendship of the United States in order to continue partnership in Hit.er's war against the Soviets. Let Us hope thatt his decision will lead ail Americans Co study carefully Into the history Of this heroic small nation. Here are the main facts.
 Finland was Q part of Russia un- dl 1917. During the World War she sought German friendship, sent vol- unteers to flRht in the German army and revolted from Russia to ally herEelf with Germany when the CEarist government fell.
 Then Germany began losing the war and Finlands position became extremely precarious, but the Rus- stan Communist government had Q policy Of international peace and self determination for small peoples which it consistently practiced and urged other nations to practice un- tii le3e. So in 1918 Soviet Rus. sia voluntarily gave Finland her independence.
 Simultaneously the United States loaned money to the little new nae ton. It was not war money. Fin- land never owed Us any war debt, Little Finland that always paid" was making rather easy payments on the loans which had made her independent existence possible.
 Finland was almoct our only deb- tor which was In position to make the god payments which we were then demanding, being the one which lived by sale of foodstuffs to large nearby foreign markets, where payment was secured in gold instead Of by exchange of goods or credits.
 A Cynic had defined gratitude as "the lively anticipation of favors yet Co conae." Finland was grateful and paid regularly to rich Uncle Sam. Toward the struggling, iTn- poverished soviets who had volun- tagily given them freedom the Finnc took Q very different attitude.
 Flrst they disfranchised 46 per cent of ell their vosers for having expressed approval of Russia's form of government, Then they ap- pointed the German general Man nerheim to command their army and used American loan money to finance c military campaign by which they grabbed off ( part of Russian territory which never had been Finnish. and which when tak- en from Russia left Russla's second largest city (St. Petersburg, now Lenlngrad) in practically indefen- siblO position.
 This strategic piece of land, lying between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Dagoda, IS the area which RusEia took back in 1889 when the present war began and General Mannerheim with full approval Of the Einnish government began again to conduct Finnish mi itary affairs as though under tutelage of Ger many.
 If stalin had not snatched back that defensive ground when he did, Leningrad would have fallen to the Germans long ago. the route to Archangel would now Do cut off, Moscow would probably by now be c shambleS, and we in America would be apprehenSively watching Q successful Germany occupany of the Caucasian oil fields and Q fresh reach through Spain and Morocco toward Dakar.
 Perhaps these are the conSldera- tions which led our wise and patient Secretary of State to take his un- popular step. He warned Finlad as one who means 1t.
 Can it be that independent Fin. land. like independent" Italy or independent" Rumania, has been swallowed by her German friends2 The exact text of the Finnish goy- ernmentS reply to Secretary Hull was published in Berlin several hours before it was released in Fin- land oe the United States.