TOPICS OF THE DAY

Waikato Times, Volume 126, Issue 21034, 9 February 1940, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY

End Of An Epoch “The Finland invasion marks the end of an epoch,” says the News Chronicle. “The principle of self-determination, as the Soviet Ambassador to Britain pointed out in a speech some time ago, formed one of the basic ideas of Communist theory. Over many years, the Soviet Government continually reiterated its sincere attachment to the ways of peace. It made non-aggression pacts with many of its neighbours: it joined the League of Nations; it signed the BriandKellogg pact for the outlawry of war: it urged disarmament and. when that failed, collective action against the aggressor. All that has gone by the board. Russia has reversed her policy and is now herself the aggress-.:-;. For t/iuse people who believed that the Russian Revolution held out hope for the underdog, this change of policy has come as a profound shock. Where now are the idealism and the faith in the creation of a better world which an every anniversary of the November Revolution drew to the Red Square thousands of men and women from every corner of the earth in celebration ? All that is over. Russia must now be reckoned an ambitious and unscrupulous nation embarked foi iU own ends on the ur&iy gaoae of power poii’nc*.”