SO-CALLED “RED GUARDS” REP
RESENT NEWLY FORMED RE
PUBLIC IN THAT COUNTRY.
“WHITE GUARDS” PRO-GERMAN,
Representative in the LTnited States
of the People’s Republic in Finland
Writes Letter to Finnish Newspa
per Telling of Aims of Organizers
of Republic.
The political situation in Finland i.
not very clear to people in the United
States, hence the following article
from the pen of the representative in
the United States of the People’s Re
public in Finland, in the form of a
letter to the “Tyomies,” a Finnish
newspaper published at Superior, Wis
consin, will throw some light on the
subject. The letter follows:
SIR:—
Judging from recent articles and
editorials appearing in some papers
there seems to be considerable misap
prehension about the significance of
so-called “White Guard” and “Red
Guard” struggles in Finland and 1
hope you will grant me, as the repre
sentative of the government of the
People’s Republic* of Finland, the
courtesy of your columns to make
clear certain aspects of the situation
there. Our government has been tem
porarily defeated by the Finnish aris
tocracy in conjunction with the Ger
man army. But the fight is not end
ed. The great majority of the Finnish
people awaits the first opportunity to
drive out the Gel-man invaders, and
the day of reckoning will come soon.
It is impossible to understand
events in Finland without considering
the social and political background.
Up to 1905 there was no popular rep
resentative in the government. The
great mass of the people were totally
without political rights. Under the
old feudal constitution most of the
nvnrlTir-intr noniilnt.ion were in a condi
tion of virtual serfdom. Tenant farm
ers were compelled to yield the weal
thy overlords payment in labor. The
inherited Swedish-speaking aristocra
cy, with feudal class privileges, were
able to continue under the old consti
tution mediaeval forms of appression.
In spite of this the Finnish people
are probably the most literate in the
world. Ninety-eight per cent of the
population can read and write. A pop
ular culture has grown up as part of
the labor movement, along with a
strong co - opei'ative organization
which is vital in the life o? the people,
In Finland, as in most of the Russian
border provinces, the labor movement
has come to the fore as the onl>
organized force opposed to and seek
ing to crush the feudal system ol
privilege.
The revolution of 1905 established s
single chamber diet in Finland, based
on universal male and female suf
frage, with proportional representa
tion. In the first diet elected undei
this democratic franchise the social
ists secured 40 per cent of the mem
bers, by far the largest bloc among
the various parties. This strength
was increased in successive elections,
and in 1916, the last legal election
the labor party secured a clear major
ity in the diet. Most of the laws de
signed to relieve the feudal oppres
sions under which the great mass of
the people suffered were vetoed by tin
czar, through the influence of the aris
tocracy, which was in close contad
with the Russian bureaucracy. Fin
land was a grand duchy of Russia
The czar meanwhile was attempting
the Russification of Finland through
a system of military terrorism, which
was being opposed by the strong so
cialist organization.
There was a clause in the Finnish
constitution providing for the inde
pendence of the country when the gov
ernment of the czar ceased to rule. Ii
accordance with this, after the down
fall of czarism, the diet declared Fin
land independent. The aristocracy
seeing in this the end of their privi
leges, managed to persuade the ther
Russian government to dissolve the
diet. This wholly illegal action was
carried out by the sending of Cossack
troops to Helsingfors to crush the
representatives of the Finnish people.
New illegal elections were held, in
which for one reason or the other
large numbers of electors did not take
part, and a so-called “government”
was formed, precursor of the “White
Guard” government of today. Recent
dispatches from Finland show that
immense election frauds were perpe
trated in that election in order to de
feat the labor party. It has been
maintained by the supporters of the
“White Guard” that it only recently
became pro-German and then merely
because they were faced by the neces
sity of “saving their little farms and
factories” from anarchy at home. The
fact is that the junker elements in
Finland, forming the “White Guard”
leadership, were covertly plotting for
German intervention in Finland from
| the early days of the war and actually
j sent thousands of Finnish young men
| to Germany to be trained in the Ger
| man army. Today the “White Guard”
| leaders are openly boasting of this.
; In the issue of “Ivaleva,” the official
“White Guard” newspaper, of March
2 last, now on my table, appears a
copy of a laudatory telegram sent to
the German chancellor by the “White
Guard” prime minister. It begins:
“On this day, when the Finnish
‘Chasseurs,’ who have been drilled in
Germany, are returning to their fath
erland to fight on Finland’s soil for
the freedom and independence of
their country, the government of Fin
land is sincerely impelled to express to
his majesty the German emperor and
to the imperial government not only
its admiration of the glorious deeds of
the German people and their illustri
ous leader, but also the gratitude
welling from the bottom of the heart
of the Finnish people because of all
which Germany has done for our
country and for the Finnish ‘Chas
seurs’ who three years ago’today vol
untarily entered the military service
in Germany.”
The coup whereby the democratic
diet was dissolved angered the Finnish
; people. As time went on they saw
that reaction was in the saddle. Rev
olution was in the air, and late in
i January of this year a great uprising
: of the people took place, beginning in
a general strike. The “White Guard
government” fled to the sparsely-set
tled northern part of Finland, leaving
the capital and all the agencies of gov
; ernment, and all the popular manufac
turing districts in the hands of the
people’s forces. A Feople’s Republic
; was declared, and a provisional gov
! ernment formed, which has appointed
1 me its representative in the United
i States. This government was imme
! diately recognized by the soviet gov
1 ernment of Russia.
At the time of this revolution the
I
| “White Guard” was formed, com
’ posed mostly of hired thugs and
| strike-breakers, armed with German
weapons and officered by the “Finnish
Chasseurs” above referred to, trained
in the army of the kaiser. This
“Butcher Guard,” as the Finns call
them, would have had no chance to
impose its will against the desires of
the great mass of the Finnish people.
Fighting alone, it was doomed. But
the German govei-nment, spurred by
the desire of making Finland an out
post of German imperialism and se
curing a road to the Russian arctic
ports of Kola and Archangel, which
would give Germany control over
Scandinavian shipping, heeded the call
of the Finnish junkers and sent 40,000
men. The forces of the provisional
government, a hastily raised volun
tary army of upwards of 100,000 men,
poorly armed and more poorly fed,
was no match for the German war
machine. Finland has fallen. Today
the “White Guard” is giving the Ger
man officers lists of their political op
ponents, and the Germans are slaugh
tering the proscribed men and women
by thousands. In this primitive fash
ion, the system of Sulla, the “Whites”
hope to manufacture a majority.
For many weeks there have been
stories in the papers about “Red
Guard” atrocities. Many of these have
been exaggerations and many down
right lies. They have come mostly
from German sources and reactionary
Swedish sources and from pro-Ger
man “W’hite Guard” leaders who up to
SHORT LINES
SEVENTEEN HUNDRED MILES OF
SHORT LINE ROADS REVERT
TO PRIVATE OWNERS.
UNCLE SAM RETAINS SEVERAL.
Some of the Owners of the Short
Lines Made Every Effort to Have
Their Systems Remain Under Gov
ernment Management During the
War, But to No Purpose.
WASHINGTON, D. C., June 20.—
The federal railway administration i
has turned back to private ownership 1
and control seventeen hundred miles *
of short line railroads, just before the
congi-ess passed legislation relinquish
ing them.
Between three and four hundred
(
miles of railroads that were relin
quished sought to remain under gov
ernment management.
About four hundred miles of snort j
line roads are retained as part of the
national system of railways.
a few weeks ago seemed to be able '
successfully to camouflage their real
purposes from any honest American
representatives with whom they were
in contact.
That there have been killing by
the “Red Guard” that should have
been avoided, I do not deny. In any 1
country in revolution a certain ruf
fian element, devoid of principles, in
evitably bobs up to take advantage of 1
the situation for plunder. The provis
ional government leaders have taken
stringent measures to put down such
persons. But there is also another ele- 1
ment of honest persons who, in the 1
heat of revolutionary passion, some
T-T
had inherited a foreign-speaking aris
tocracy who in this war betrayed'Am
erican democracy to the German mili
tary power, it is possible that here
and there groups of Americans would
give short shrift to these rascals.
But from the start the forces of my
government have been under strict
orders to give “White Guard” captives I
all the rights of organized warfare,
though the “White Guard” leaders j
have openly boasted that “Red Guard” j
captives were to be slaughtered as
“bandits.”
The producing classes of Finland, j
strongly organized, traine din over
ten years of parliamentary acheive
nient, desire to establish in Finland a
co-operative commonwealth, without
special privileges or political or eco
nomic exploitation of any kind. They
are opposed by the artistocracy, lead- i
ing the junker forces of Finland, will
ing to accept German vassalage to
perpetuate their feudal control and
keep the mass of the people in chains.
The labor movement in Finland,
which welds the great mass of the
people together, is the only organized
democratic movement opposed to
mediaeval junkerism and German con
trol. It is the form the democratic
movement takes in Finland, as well as
in Russia, and a necessary form. In
Finland and Russia the ideas of social
and economic democracy are just as
vital to this democratic movement as
were the ideas of politcal democracy
to the democratic movement in Amer
ica in 1776. Surely the tolerant Am
erican people will be patient with the
democratic movement in Finland and
Russia. The American states, after
they achieved their independence,
went through six years of political
chaos before they achieved stability.
The much far-reaching economic and
social readjustments which the great
mass of the Russian people desire,
cannot be accomplished throughout
that great population, in that huge
territory in a few months. In Fin
land our task is somewhat easier, be
cause the foundation has been laid in
over ten years of parliamentary or
ganization.
Only a continued German occupa
tion and a German peace can keep
Finland safe for autocracy.
Very truly yours,
If ALE PRESIDENT SAYS PEOPLE
AT HOME MUST CONSUME
LESS AND SAVE MORE.
MONEY IS NOT REAL FACTOR.
Ahat Does Count, Says President
Hadley of Great American Univer
sity, Is the Amount of Labor and
Sacrifice Needed to Win the World
War.
NEW YORK July 1.—In an article
n the New York Times, President Ar
;hur T. Hadley, of Yale university,
jives some wholesame advice to the
American people, as follows:
The money cost of anything is the
imount of dollars and cents which we
)ay for it; the real cost is the amount
>f labor and sacrifice which we under
jo in order to win it. In the ordinary
>perations of everyday business we
leal with money costs. In studying
arge questions of national policy we
nust fix our eyes on real costs.
This is particularly true in the case
>f a great war like the one in which
ve are now engaged. It is not fought
vith dollars and cents; it is fought
vith labor and the products of labor
—with men and munitions, with rail
•oads and ships, with coal and iron
ind wheat. Whatever amount of these
hings is used for war purposes repre
sents so much subtraction from the
ivailable income of the nation. The
otal amount thus subtracted repre
sents the real cost of the war.
The easiest way to get a rough
neasure of this cost is to express it
n terms of labor. Of the 100,000,000
people in the United States, 40,000,
)00, more or less may be classed as
vorkers. The aggregate product of
he brains and hands of these people
c? flin finn’c nri’Acc annual inPAmo
I'he greater part of this product—rep
resented by food, fuel; and service of
'very kind—is used up in the course
>f the year. A much smaller amount
s invested, either in permanent means
>f enjoyment, like houses, or in prop
'rties which increase the future pro
luction of the community, like factor
es. But whether consumed or invest
;d, the results of this labor are em
jloyed in time of peace to contribute
;o the national enjoyment and well
jeing.
Labor for War Purposes.
In time of war the case is different.
A great deal of the nation’s labor
nust be utilized to increase our fight
ng efficiency rather than our nation
il enjoyment. We are at present em
ploying five very large groups of la
oorers for war purposes:
1. Those who are withdrawn from
industry in order to be used for war
service abroad.
2. Those who are engaged in man
ufacturing arms, munitions, and oth
er means of warfare.
3. Those who are engaged in pro
iucing food and supplies for our al
lies—supplies which they cannot un
der existing circumstances produce
for themselves in adequate amount.
4. Those who are building and run
ning the ships needed to support our
army and our allies and are produc
ing the coal necessary for their opera
tion.
5. Those who are engaged in put
ting our railroads into condition to do
proper war service.
It is difficult to get statistics as to
the aggregate number employed in
all these war occupations; but it can
not be less than 6,000,000, and may
be considerably larger. Six million
workers out of a total of 40,000,000
represents an apparent loss of 15 per
cent to the nation’s productive power.
But the actual loss is much greater,
for the labor thus drawn out from
productive industry is of unusually
high character.
The draft takes healthy men in
their most efficient age. A majority
of the auxiliary war industries require
special strength or intelligence. Even
if the number of laborers employed
for purposes were only 15 per cent of
the working population, the propor
tion of productive power thus divert
ed could probably from 20 per cent to
25 per cent. And this proportion is
likely to increase rapidly as time goes
on. For each new man that we send
into the field we must call upon more
munition workers to keep him sup
plied, more seamen to man the ships,
more miners to produce the coal, more
railroad trains to haul supplies from
the interior of the country to the sea
boards. Instead of devoting a fifth or
a quarter of our labor power to war
purposes of various kinds, we shall al
most certainly have to use a third,
and may have to use half.
Must Lessen Home Consumption.
How is this loss to be made up?
How is the country to live with a third
or a half of its labor power devoted
to war purposes? No system of bank
credits, however well devised, will
meet this difficulty. No system of
taxes and loans will lighten the aggre
gate weight of the murden. Those of
us who are left at home must increase
our production and lessen our con
sumption in order to have men and
supplies available for fighting.
The nation can increase its produc
tion in two ways—by employing new
labor, particularly the labor of wom
en, and by speeding up the old labor
to a higher grade of efficiency.
For the moment, therefore, we
must lay our chief stress on reducing
our consumption to a war basis. We
must abstain from unnecessary ex
penditures in the way of comforts
and services. We must avoid waste
in the use of necessary things like
food and fuel.
Savings Are What Help Most.
A subscription to the liberty loan,
or the purchase of War Savings
stamps, which is based on savings’ of
this sort is worth at least twice as
much to the country as one based on
bank credit or on sales of securities.
The man who has borrowed money
from the bank has simply promised to
contribute to the liberty loan. The
actual contribution comes when he
pays for it. The man who sells stocks
or bonds in order to contribute to the
liberty loan is merely converting one
kind of propei-ty into another. He
makes it a little easier for the govern
ment to ^raise capital and a little
harder for corporations whose work
may be almost as essential to the
safety of the country as that of the
government itself. The man who
buys War Savings stamps, but does
not pay for them out of savings, con
tributes little to the government.
But the man who has earned his
money to subscribe to the liberty
loan, or who has saved his money to
put into War Savings stamps, has
helped to meet the real cost of the
war. If he has increased his earnings
in order to subscribe, he has furnished
j
the country some of the labor power
j it needs. If he and his household
! have diminished their consumption in
| order to subscribe, they have saved
j the country some of the supplies it
needs. The surplus of a worker’s
earnings over a worker’s consumption
| represents an actual net income avail
; able for war purposes. This is why it
is even more important to have a loan
widely distributed among the people
than to have it taken up by large corp
orations. It means that we are doing
what we pretend to do; paying the
: real cost as well as the money cost of
! war finance.
OLD TIME ALASKAN
RETURNS ON THE ALASKA
S. Swanson is registered at the Ho
tel Parsons and arrived in the city
i Saturday night on the steamer Alas
j ka. Mr. Swanson is returning from
i the outside where he spent the winter
j in San Francisco and southern Cali
I fomia. He is an old-time Alaskan,
' having spent 13 years mining in the
interior and was formerly an exten
sive operator in the Fairbanks district.
Mr. Swanson will outfit from Anchor
age for a season’s prospecting trip in
the Broad Pass region and will go into
Fairbanks later in the fall. He says
he heard of the possibilities of the
Broad Pass district from friends he
met in San Francisco during the past
winter. Mr. Swanson says that in
comparison with other Alaska towns
Anchorage wins by a big majority.
Subscribe for the Anchorage Daily
and Sunday Times.
DEPART ON S
FIFTY GO TO FORT LISCUM AND
REMAINDER WILL GO TO
FORT W. H. SEWARD.
NINETY-EIGHT IS NUMBER.
Acting on Instruction from Governor
Thomas Riggs Local Exemption
Board Meets and Makes Apportion
ment in Accordance With Sugges
tion of Executive.
Following instructions received
from Governor Riggs, the local ex
emption board met yesterday and pro
portioned the draftees for Fort Will
iam Henry Seward and Fort Liscum
as follows:
For Fort Seward.
Dan Gagule, Robert Nakki, Theo
dore Hansen, Ador Gustafson, Ashley
DeWolf Warner, John Rogulish, John
Heer, Constantine Ntotsikas, Demit
rius Gialenios, George Tokoff, Mich
ael Combolos, I. Simonson, Theodore
E. J. Tiegs, Steve Glomavich, Eser
Wikholm, Frank J. Fleckenstein, Sav
ante Kvllonen, George Bumess Fisk,
Alex Boruff, Sam Kibizoff, Erik Sap
pala, Jovana Malacame, Nazarene
Crace, Alexander P. Kupoff, Nicholas
Hjalmer Neklasen, John SopofF, Will
iam McGatty, Jora Urumoff, Angelo
Croma, Nicholas Bogress, Severin
Bradlund, Axel Nelson, Sam Yellich,
Guiseppe Noel, Gustave Danielson,
Harold Graham, Nick Speropolos,
John Bailos, Alex Sagoff, Poe Radish,
Ernest Zinetti, Arthur Harry Olson,
Gustaf Alex Lindgren, Mike Gibson,
Martin Christian Larsen, Ingemar
Meier, George Krtinich, John Richard
Neglesen, John Dolan, Alfred Daniel
For Fort Liscum.
George Vlahas, Umberto Barei, Carl
Susnoir, Christian Peter Madsen,
George Balon, Sam Maloff, Sam Ma
rende, Christian Clausen, Harry Lu
cas, Gus Nikitos, Oscar Lund, Field
ing Conley, Picola Giacomo, Marengli
Celeste, Gus Costacos, Tom Sarvich,
Francis Flynn, George Frank Baker,
Joseph Florenao Pampanin, Eno Oja
kangas, Stojan Svilar, Einer Waldmar
Carlson, John Hjalmar Dahl, Arvid
Hamrun, Carl Leander Johnson, Peter
Psaloumis, Nels Theodore Gilbertson,
Mike Lymbar, Edward E. Kurtz, An
thony Verna, Spiros Apostolon, Dan
Mclnnis, Raymond Chelsea Linton,
William Hansen, Samuel Anthony
William, Dado Daboff, Mike Baksa,
Frank H. Morgan, Harry Archie
Long, Emery Graham Jones, Jack
Sutherland, Pete Garson, George Gof
tos, Alex Gotuff, William Anderson
Smith, Alex Gibson, Charles Lidsten,
Gary Jackson Butcher.
NENANA REPORTS A
PLETHORA OF DOGS
NENANA, Alaska, July 1.—Ne
nana just now would welcome an in
dividual with the powers of a Pied Pi
per of Hamlin. Nenana has no rats to
speak of, but if someone could walk
whistling through the town and charm
several hundred of the town’s home
less orphan dogs to follow him so far
out into the trackless wilderness that
they would decide it would save time
to keep on going instead of coming
back Nenana would rise up and bless
him.
At this time it is said there are
more dogs here than can be fed by
scraps and there is not enough other
dog feed to meet the demand. The re
sult is that dogs are eating better
food than they are accustomed to, or
they are eating none at all—
The food administrator for this dis
trict has taken cognizance of this sit
uation, and has ordered stores not to
sell food for dogs which should be
sold for family use.
"Champion Benny Leonard was one
of the principals in a patriotic boxing
exhibition at San Francisco recently
where $23,000 was raised and turned
over to the soldiers in the camps for
the purpose of buying athletic equip
ment.