Wairarapa Times-Age MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1940. DEFENCE OF ETERNAL VALUES.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 February 1940, Page 4

Wairarapa Times-Age MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1940. DEFENCE OF ETERNAL VALUES.

i n >'y v AwXass S" danger that the Soviet onslaught n.ny weight of numbers m weapons and men. 1 <ll ■ . tn be a question whether the Finns, by their own heioic efforts* and what has fairly been called superb strategy, st lnlemented by such external help as can now reach them, ca K”'longer hope to maintain the vital defences of the Mannerheim Line. i

It has to be added that there is no immediate!} w sable prospect of the Finns being helped on the scale that then necessities demand. The indicated trend of fighting m recent davs sim-o-ests that the present flow of foreign volunteers and of foreign war material is altogether insufficient to enable ti e defending armies to hold their own against the attack?; wl inch the Russians are pressing with an apparent disregard of the cost in lives.

Making an end decisively of reports that opposition on his part to. “adventures in Scandinavia might have .i. something to do with his retirement from the post of British Secretary of State for War, Mr Hore-Belisha has urged in a public speech that Britain and France should throw the whole of their military naval and air strength into the war again ■ Russia’’ and has suggested that though the risk of helping Finland may be great, the risk of not helping her may be greater.

Apart from the fact that the Allies evidently are not in a position to disregard Germany in any attempt they may make to help Finland, it remains obviously true that fully effective, help cannot.be rendered to Finland while Norway, and Sweden remain neutral. It would be possible to look moie confidently to the future if the Allies, with' the co-opteration of Norway and Sweden, (were taking measures not to throw the whole of their military, naval and air strength into the war ao-ainst Russia,’’ but to assist Finland on the scale that is needed to enable her to defend and maintain her frontiers. The Allies, however, cannot compel the Scandinavian, countries to abandon their policy of neutrality and the outlook foi the Finns in their valiant stand against invasion is correspondingly critical, if it is not altogether desperate.