The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES." SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1939 SHATTERED ILLUSIONS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20110, 2 December 1939, Page 4

The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES." SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1939 SHATTERED ILLUSIONS

A good deal of uncertainty still exists regarding the actual developments in Finland during the past two or three days but there are some things which have been placed beyond doubt. It has been definitely established, in the first place, that the Soviet rejected all proposals that would have made possible a peaceful settlement of the manufactured dispute with Finland. Then, in complete disregard of its own specific pledges, of international law, and of the dictates of humanity and decency, Russia launched a brutal invasion on a people possessing only one-fiftieth of her own strength. Having callously massacred innocent womeii and children and wrought destruction among their towns and cities—to give a foretaste of what might be expected if opposition were displayed—the Soviet then proceeded to issue an ultimatum. It spurned peaceful negotiation, foi which the way was always open, and elected to dictate its terms by force. The Soviet now stands exposed in all its barbarity and the one thing that emerges crystal clear is that the chief effect of the bombs which are being dropped over Finland will be to shatter whatever illusions may have been held regarding the Soviet Union and its political doctrines. Finland and its people, and the things for which they stand, have survived onslaughts of this description in the past, and will do so again; but the damage that has been done to the prestige of the present Russian Government is beyond repair.

In the imperialistic aggression of the Kremlin, Helsinki has received treatment similar to that meted out to Barcelona and Warsaw. It must now completely share their fate by attempting to withstand the attack or else, like Prague, surrender its soul to save its body. Finland, like Czechoslovakia, is an outpost of democracy and freedom and. if it is compelled to surrender, as seems likely, it will be another victory for dictatorship. It is fitting to recall that twelve months ago those who worshipped at the feet of Stalin, the idol with the feet of clay, were bemoaning the sacrifice of Czechoslovakia and demanding intervention on its behalf. Will they today demand intervention in an attempt to save Finland, or do they see a distinction between aggression, with its attendant murder and rapine, under the hammer and sickle and that under the swastika? In truth, there is no difference either in procedure or objective, because Russia, as much as Germany, and possibly a great deal more so, aims at the subjection and domination of the free peoples of the earth. After all, it was Russia, and Russia alone, which made possible the German invasion of Poland, and now it is Germany which makes possible the invasion of Finland by the Soviet. The two dictatorships are in unholy alliance and have issued a challenge which the world cannot ignore.

The Moscow radio to-day boasts that the Red Army “is covering itself with new glory” by its “victorious advance” against an opponent only a fraction of its size—by its massacre of innocent women and children and its destruction of defenceless towns. Finland, in the meantime, having formed an all-party Government, insists that there is no question of surrender. The alternative to surrender, in the circumstances so carefully chosen by the brave and courageous Russians, is decimation. Ultimately, Finland must either surrender or else face defeat, for the sympathy of the rest of the

world, which goes out to her in such abundant measure is a poor weapon with which to fight the Red hordes. But Finland will live to rise again, because freedom cannot forever, or even for long, be suppressed. The final defeat will be that of Russia itself, because the Soviet, having itself risen to power by championing the cause of freedom cannot hope to survive by its suppression. It has callously abandoned, the ideals for which it claimed to stand. By this betrayal it must divorce itself even from those who have hitherto supported it with blind faith and by its conduct in Poland and Finland it will antagonise all those Powers who believe in the rights of mankind to a free and independent existence. The invasion of Finland, tragic though its immediate results may be, may well prove to be a blessing in disguise, for it makes possible a clear alignment between the forces of democracy and dictatorship, between aggressors and peace-loving Powers.

Of ultimately greater importance than the immediate effects of the Russian invasion are the reactions in other capitals. In Japan, a member of the Axis, the Soviet move is regarded as a lesson to Japan and a warning of the futility of any pact with Russia. Hungary, which has been inclined to sympathise with Germany, is now forced to realise that her own existence may depend upon the success of the Allies. In Italy there is spontaneous rage and even Holland is. moved to resentment and to action against those who have sympathised with Russia in the past. Spain sees in the exposure of the real Soviet policy a complete vindication of its own recent struggle against bolshevism. In the United States, from the President down, there is horror at the unprovoked aggression against a peaceful people. In the whole world, Russia is without a friend other than her partner in crime, Germany. No longer are there any illusions as to what the Soviet really stands for, but in their place is a world-wide realisation that freedom and democracy are finally at stake in the present struggle. From this realisation will inevitably develop greater sympathy and support for the cause which the Allies have espoused and if it prove to be the case that Russia’s perfidy is the means of bringing all the freedom-loving peoples together in one common aim then out of the present evil good may ultimately come.