GERMANY'S APPEAL TO CLASS HATREDS

A survey of the geographical position of the Murman Peninsula and its harbors will show at a glance the strategic and economic importance of this region and explain the keen desire of the Germans to obtain a foothold here. The Murman Coast is that section of the Arctic shore stretching from the frontier of Russia with Norway, at the mouth of the Voryema River; to Cape Svyatov, on the White Sea, a distance of about 250 miles. On the west the coast is a succession of precipitous cliffs and bluffs, pierced by a number of deep inlets, of fiords, several of which are excellent harbors for large ships. An inward sweep of the Gulf Stream washes the shore, keeping it free of ice the year around, though the White Sea, to the southward, is icebound six months of the year.

On this account it was long ago planned to connect this ice-free piece of coast with the interior of Russia by means of a railroad, but the project never went beyond paper until the beginning of the present war, when it suddenly assumed unusual importance. It was realized that practically all other Russian ports would be closed to commerce, but that the Murman Coast could still be reached by an open sea route. In the winter after the outbreak of hostilities the construction of the railroad to Kola was begun and completed by the fall of the following year, 1916. The railroad, which is about 800 miles in length, runs from Petrozavodsk to the little port of Kem, on the White Sea. Here it follows the coast to Kandalaska, also on the White Sea, whence it crosses the Kola Peninsula to the Port of Kola. This terminal port can be reached by ship from England quicker than Petrograd, while the route from New York is twenty-four hours shorter than from New York to Libau.

While this railroad remains in Russian hands, Russia has an open trade route with the outside world. Possession of this railroad would give the Germans control of this open doorway and so increase the strength of their economic grip on Russia. Furthermore, it would prove an invaluable base for submarine warfare.

As already stated, the Finnish-German forces began operations in this direction in April, and the Allies immediately landed a small force of marines to support the Red Guard defense of this important region. In June, 1918, the Finns and Germans resumed their advance on the railroad, heading for the important stations of Kem and Kandalaska. According to one report, the Germans had completed a railroad to Kem, along which they proposed to transport some 40,000 troops, stationed at Viborg. Lenine was disposed to make concessions at this point to the Germans. The local population, which is largely Russian, was violently opposed to German invasion. On July 7, 1918, it was reported that the people of the Murman Coast had risen against the Soviet Government, declared themselves independent, and appealed to the Allies for protection.

French, English, and American forces were immediately landed, in spite of the strong protest of the Moscow Government. As a matter of record, before landing, the British commander of the landing forces had requested permission of the Soviet Government, which had been immediately granted by Trotzky, minister of war. The protest which followed was therefore compelled by German pressure, which was applied so strongly that the Soviet Government made a show of mobilizing a special army for transportation to the Murman Coast.

After the landing of the American forces, in the early part of July, 1918, the Allied troops advanced on Kem and occupied that port, then continued on toward Toroki, the Bolshevist forces there withdrawing to Nirok. By the end of July, 1918, the whole Murman Coast had been occupied by the Allied troops, the German-Finnish forces, amounting to about a division, being too far south to offer any opposition. According to one dispatch General Gurko, one of the chief commanders of the Russian troops in the days before the revolution, had been placed in command of the Murman Coast army. It was also said that an appeal had been made for the support of the local population, which was being given with hearty enthusiasm.

The grip which Germany had taken on Finland was indicated when even so strong a reactionary as General Mannerheim, commander of the Finnish White Guards, resigned early in July, 1918, and left the country for Stockholm. Here he stated publicly that Finland had practically become a territory of the German Empire and would remain so unless expelled by force. He added that he was waiting for the opportune moment to rally the patriotic Finns against the Germans. Said Hugo Haase, leader of the German minority Socialists, in a speech in the Reichstag:

"The list of those sentenced to death in Finland contains the names of a former premier and fifty Socialists, members of Parliament, some of whom have already been shot. Owing to the number of daily executions in the town of Sveaborg that place has been renamed 'Golgotha.'"

The Finnish Constitutional Committee, by a vote of 16 against 15, has decided on a monarchial form of government, and the new constitution is being drafted accordingly.