Behind the Headlines in the War News

Waikato Independent, Volume XL, Issue 3664, 6 February 1940, Page 3

Behind the Headlines in the War News

EEHABKABLE PEOPLE

FINNS ARE RICH IN SPIRIT UNCONQUERABLE FAITH (R. H. Markham in Christian Science Monitor) Finland is one of the world's best monuments. Its people are a living reminder of the great things men and women have achieved and a source of unconquerable faith in the still greater things men and women will achieve. One feels certain that a humanity which could produce the Finns must eventually create a noble world order. What distinguishes a Finn is that he does much with little. The material he has had to work on is extremely meagre. But from that he has created an abounding culture. His land itself is anything but promising. It is big enough, but most of it is no good, Finland covers an area almost as large as California, but it has not many more inhabitants than Los Angeles County alone. It is largely uninhabitable. Not because it is too dry, but because it is too wet. Finland is a swamp. Its very name "su;omi" means swamp. Observers estimate that over half the land is covered with water or bogs. It is called "The Land of a Thousand Lakes," but that is like calling New York a city of 1.000,000 people. Finland really has forty, fifty or sixty thousand lakes, one of which is the largest in Europe. Even the land that does emerge above the water is covered with snow during a large part of the year. Finland is one of the world's most northern counties. Only •six per cent, of it is suitable, for agriculture and a large part of that is adaptable for only grass and hay. Wheat does not thrive. Almost the only root crop is potatoes. Not many sorts of fruit grow. Cows flourish best of all. Forest Wealth The only major source of income, besides agriculture, is wood. Seventy per cent, of the land area is covered with forests, many of which are of excellent quality. Finland is reputed to have the most extensive forests in Europe outside of Russia. It contains practically no minerals, only a little copper. The basis for civilisation in Finland is cows and wood, churn's and saw-mills, white milk and black tar,

potatoes and rye; on such a shaky foundation of soggy land and. soggy bread, the Finns set out to build an advanced, stable social order—and they succeeded. They succeeded, too in spite of the fact- that. they have almost never been free. During practically the whole of their history, they have been under foreign political domination. Not very much is known of the Finns' origin and early development. They seem to have drifted in from Asia and are probably right in considering themselves of Asiatic origin, related to the Hungarians, Turks and early Bulgarians. They sought lands of deep snow and long nights as places of refuge. They hoped to pierce so deeply into the swamps, retire so securely behind lakes, or penetrate so far into forests, that no one would molest them. They aspired to be beyond the reach of more predatory tribes and to occupy land no one else would care for. But in this very modest dream they were deceived. Eight hundred years ago the Swedes invaded Finland from the west. A bridge of- stepping stones made up of many thousand islands had been strung across the sea of Bothnia, from Stockholm to the Finnish port, Turku, and the adventurous went over it. They settled in Finland about a century after the iNormans seized England. They hardly had to fight at all. They went as missionaries displaying the cross more pijominently than the sword. They Christianised the land, occupied the best parts of it, incorporated it all into their country, established army posts in it, and made Finland's eastern border one of Europe's main frontiers \toward Russia. They placed a bar on ißussia's door, and made a Swedish lake of the Baltic Sea. They held that line for nearly seven centuries. In 1721, by the Treaty of Nystad, Russia obtained possession of a small but vital part of Finland and in 1809 annexed the whole land. In 1917, after the collapse of Tsarist Ru'sisa, Finland, with Germany's help, threw' off all bonds, and for the first time in modern history.' , . v Became An Independent State

Of course, those eight centuries of subjugation were not an unqualified misfortune. The Swedes gave the Finns Protestant Christianity, and also brought them definitely into the west. Though Oriental in origin, the Finns are Occidental in outlook, methods and aspiration. The century of Russian domination also brought certain economic advantages by opening up the markets of the greatest land, empire. However, the achievement's of the Finns, due almost to their own efforts, put them among the most remarkable of Europe's peoples. .It goes without saying that the Finns have not become rich. They could not perform that miracle. Their per capita annual income is only £25, not half of that -of the other Scandinavian countries. Their houses are simple, meagrely furnished, made of wood, and for the most part, unpainted. They live scattered throughout the forests and in the country areas. Only twenty per cent, of the pepole dwell in cities, all but three of which' contain fewer than 34,000 inhabitants each. The chief food is milk, rye bread and potatoes. Clothes are plain and substantial. Indulgences are few, and of a spartan nature; mostly bathing, gymnastics and longdistance .running. This lack of luxuries by no means indicates a dearth of spiritual (treasures. On the contrary, the Finns are rich in spirit. They opened their first university about the time Harvard was founded. They now have three, and maintain an excellent system of lower schools. Illiteracy is almost unknown.

Women are given almost the same opportunities as men. Universal male and female suffrage was granted in Finland earlier than in other European countries. Women are organised to take an active part in the defence of their fatherland, are eligible to. most civil service positions, and get the same pay as men for the same work. It is mostly women who conduct the outdoor markets. They are street-car conductors in 'some of the cities, and are an indispensible factor in Finland's dairying -business,

one of its chief sources of income. ..Finnish composers have won a very honourable place in the realm of the world's best muisc. The name of Jean Sibelius is known by all music lovers in Europe and (America. (Finnish architects and builders', combining grace with simplicity and solidarity, have given a beauty to Finnish cities that any country 'would be - proud of. Churches dot the land and the people are devoutly religious without being fanatical. The country became completely Protestant without undergoing a religious upheaval. The Russians subjected the Finns to a very vigorous proselytising crusade, but had no success. The Finns are ardently patriotic without being intolerant. The centuries of subjugation have given them an extreme appreciation of freedom and a naming devotion to their fatherland. They hare carried on revolutions and have even committed acts of violence, but the secret signing of a treaty 40 years ago by practically the whole adult part of the Finnish nation, beggingthe Czar to end the tyranny of a Russian governor, is much more typical of Finnish methods than the eventual assassination of that governor by a Finnish terrorist. They are free from the spirit of militarism. They have created at* effective army and worked out a good system of national defence in which all persons of both sexes participate, but military glory is not a Finnish ideal. . The nation has shown that it is ready to make supreme sacrifices in defence of liberty, but builders, writers, tillers of the soil, creators of beauty, hold a higher place in Finland than mere fighters. Few things are so symbolic of the Finnish ideals as the equitable distribution of farm land. Sixty per cent, of the Finns live .from agriculture and 80 per cent, of the people who work land own it. Two hundred thousand farms have been created within 30 ( years. It rs also worthy of note that the State-owns a large part of the forest domains and rigidly restricts the areas that may be bought by private companies. Land holdings are small, most being under 25 acres each and tenancy is uncommon. Though predominantly peasants, the Finns have never been 'serfs. , This •is a very rare record for Europe. Though subjugated politically by foreign powers, individual Finns have been free men. Agricultural production in Finland is behind that of Denmark and Sweden (for the swampy soil and cold climate do not favour high yields. More grass is raised than anything else. It is lusually cut with scythes and wrapped around upright poles in the ground to keep it out of the wet. Finnish farm animals, though native, are of high quality. The cows have become .adapted ito the cold, swamp land and are very hardy. The Finns lead Scandinavia in milk conSumption, and Finnish milk products are welcomed in world markets. In the production, sorting and marketing of eggs, the Finns are keeping abreast of their exceedingly advanced western neighbours. They are the world's chief producers of 'wood pulp and also export great quantities of cellulose. They have aided nature in connecting their lakes with one another so during half the year vast i*afts and piles of logs float toward the sea. By ingenious systems of canals, three great internal waterways have been created on which most of Fin- . land's merchandise is carried. There is also a very well-developed network of railways, used chiefly for transporting people. Finland has harnessed the power of "some of its extensive cataracts and raging rapids. Many locomotives use wood as fuel, others are driven by electricity. Not very much coal is imported. Politically the Finns are mature and balanced. The whole nation is interested in politics, but aims at good government, honesty and a fair deal rather than party victory. Liberty is balanced with order; order with liberty. No class is deprived of freedom of expression, but no extreme group is permitted to use its freedom as a means of gaining dictatorial power over others. Naturally, Finland has been affected by Nazi-ism and Communism; its land owners and its pro-

letariat axe sometimes in conflict. There have even been marches on the capital and bloody clashes. But surprisingly little violence has been used. Mutual promises rather than force form the basis on which order rests. By mean's of patience and sobriety, thrift and industry, the Finns have moved steadily forward. Though constantly under foreign domination, they have preserved their language and indigenous culture. They are sociable but not frivolous; serious but not dour, quite realistic, not very mystical, chiefly occupied with the solution of practical problems. Their main aim is not merely to make a living but to live; they "seek social security for the whole nation rather than for individuals. The basis of Finnish economy is co-operation. Now Finland faces an extreme test. Russia seems determined to gain military supremacy over 'the little State. The question of course, has two "sides. Finland's cannons are within 15 miles of Leningrad, Russia's chief outlet. Finland also maintains fortifications along the Gulf of Finland, which is Russia's only way to the open sea. In other words, Finland can almost shoot over the bow of ships sailing into and out of Russia. No great Power could be indifferent to such a situation. The United States would not wish any foreign power to exercise such control Over the Panama Canal not to mention New York Harbour. Great Britain would not be at ease if any State had cannon pointed at the mouth of the Thames. Both Finland and Russia have a valid case in the present issue. The solution must be a compromise. Little nations thrive by co-operation with great ones; great nations benefit by co-operation wtih little ones. If a balance of power were reestablished in Europe, both Great Britain and Germany would insist on Finland's independence. That State would then be secure even without holding a key to Russia's door. But since there is no equilbrium, one dares not predict what Russia will do next.