The suspension of the Finnish-Soviet negotiations with regard to the demands which Russia has made upon Finland is a serious enough development, which, however, does not necessarily mean that hostilities are imminent, though that contingency must always be reckoned with. More likely is the statement of he official journal "Pravda" that -the Soviet is ready to embark upon a "war of nerves and resources" against Finland, for the purpose of securing satisfaction of her demands, involving a powerful Red army concentration on the Finnish border, and possibly a blockade of Finland's south-west coast in the Baltic. From all the reports which have come to hand it is apparent that the Finns have gone a long way towards meeting the Soviet's requirements, but some demands have been made which no self-respecting nation could possibly accept—The extent of Russia's demands may possibly be designed to secure Finnish rejection, for it is quite within the bounds of possibility, and is indeed probable tHat while Finland may be the immediate objective, the ultimate aim of the Soviets is to force a reckoning with the whole of Scandinavia. That has been stated to be the principal aim of the Kremlin, a view which is supported by the fact that the Soviet demande in connection with Petsamo would, if conceded by Finland, give Russia a common boundary with Norway. The example of Poland quite clearly demonstrates that M. Stalin is now bent upon Bolshevising neighbouring countries by force, and Germany itself by intrigue, and the outlook for eastern Europe is at the moment more than a little gloomy. Whether a mutilated Finland will be allowed to maintain its truncated integrity remains to be seen. She may even now be forced to fight to maintain her own sovereignty, and, if in the struggle she goes down. then the prospects of attempts on Norway and Sweden are such as cannot be lightly disregarded. When these things are realized it is possible to understand how completely Herr Hitler has betrayed all that he claimed to stand for, and how substantially he has played to be his greatest enemies. into the hands of those whom once he claimed The Lion's Whelps splendid way in which the Dominions have responded to the Empire's need since the outbreak of the war, is emphasized by the conduct of the men themselves. In particular the following interesting story of how four men in Australia speedily went to place themselves E don! of the Empire shows with what in the face of trouble, "o their duty devotion the lion's whelps raga y remote parts of the Northern Territory suffered Four men who have arrived at Dz gruelling hardships so that they could join the militia as soon as possible.
When news of war reached C. L. Terry, 24, he was working as labourer on the Port Augusta-Alice Springs railway at Fink, near the South Australian border. He "jumped the rattler" for 140 miles to Alice Springs, and rode on motor trucks and the mail lorry for the next 630 miles io Birdum, where he again "jumped" the train to Darwin 300 miles north. At Tennant Creek he was joined by G. Williams, 23, gold prospec-for, from Georgetown, near the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Williams was near the Queensland border when the mailman told him of the outbreak ọf war. He walked more than 100 miles to Tennant Creek.
R. G. Milton, 22, was on Spring Creek Station in the Kimberleys, when a passing motorist told him of the war. Within an hour he was on trail for Wyndham, 140 miles away, carrying only a blanket and ground sheet. He reached Wyndham after a three and a half days' tramp, living on wild gooseberries, various gums, and lizards known os Bungarra.
He travelled from Wyndham om foot.
Williams and Terry were each fined 10/, with 10/ costs, for having failed to pay their fares. They were also ordered to pay the fares—7/11 each. They will pay the penalties from their militia pay during the next fortnight,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.