Graeme D. Nicholl, Manager for North China Europe, the Russian 18th Division has been wiped out, and between 15,000 and 20,000 men either killed, or captured, or died of cold and hunger. With their tragic numerical inferiority the Finns have displayed fighting qualities which have amazed the world, as have also the strategical and tactical abilities of the Finnish high command. It is interesting to note in this connection the contention of Finnish military experts that they are not favoured by winter conditions, for in normal conditions the lakes, marshes, and isthmuses of Finland form an impregnable barrier, but that with cold' temperatures solidifying the marshes, and the lakes, the path of the aggressor has been smoothed to a considerable extent. The conclusion to be drawn from this is that if the Finns can hold out until the advent of spring they should be in a better position to continue resistance to the Russian onslaught than they are even now. From that it is to be deduced that the former conclusion that Finland must inevitably go down under the overwhelming numbers that Russia can throw into the field may be wrong, and that in the warmer months Finnish potentialities will be greater even than they are now. Nevertheless, as it has been pointed out miracles cannot be expected and it is the imperative duty of sympathizers with Finland to sce that the necessary assistance in war material, and even men, where that is possible, shall be placed at the disposal of the Finns, and that quickly.
An examination of any fairly detailed map of that part of Finland, where the fighting is severest, will show that the Karelian Peninsula is dotted with thousands of lakes, large and small, while it is a fact that the land in between is heavily wooded, adding much to the natural obstacles which the lakes present, and affording the smaller number of Finns opportunities to hold off the Russian forces, With the Mannerheim Line now some thirty kilometres deep, natural and artificial defences, manned by the indomitable men who are fighting in defence of their but recently won independence, the Soviet troops have been given a nut to crack which up.to the present has been completely beyond their ability. An attempt to turn the Line failed lamentably, and, outmanceuvred and out-fought, the Russian troops have met with nothing but reverses since they were launched on this campaign. It is a fact well-worth bearing in mind that on other portions of the Finnish front where the same natural obstacles to the Russian advance do not exist the Finns have been equally successful. The attempt to cut across the "waist" of Finland, from Soumussolini to Uleaborg on the Gulf of Bothnia has also been defeated, while Russian advances further north have met with no better fate. It will be for history to decide the reason for the Russian failure up-to-date, though there can be very little doubt that the Finns have shown themselves superior in all branches except in numbers, and that on the other hand the Russians are displaying all that they have lost in the various Army purges which were so enthusiastically carried out in recent years. The eliminations of officers with considerable experience of the last war, and the substitution for them of men schooled more in theory than practice is probably to a large extent the cause for the Soviet Army's lack of success. That view is substantiated by the reported request from Moscow to Berlin for assistance from German technical experts, which judging from recent reports seems to have been granted. But there is another factor which has not been shown in the cables which have come to hand.
Newspaper correspondents with the Finnish armies reporting to the British journals during December, declared that the Soviet troops were showing no desire for fighting and that their morale was not good. Past history has shown that the Russian is good fighting material if properly led and the conclusion is irresistible that deficient leadership is largely responsible for the poor showing which is being made by the Soviet forces. In the air the small Finnish force, reinforced by aeroplanes arriving from abroad, has been giving a good account of itself. At comparatively small expense to themselves the Finns have succeeded in destroying 240 Soviet aeroplanes, and as all but sixty of them were sent down by Finnish aviators it suggests that the latter are more able than the men sent against them, or that the Soviet aeroplane lacks in quality what it ties. Millions of people have returned to their native towns and villages and rehabilitation and reconstruction are proceeding, not as rapidly as one might wish, but it is actually proceeding. In Shanghai, of course, the changing economic structure of he city within the past year or so is one of the mest unusual developments through industrial expansion and the introduction of many new industries, bringing prosperity to some and employment to many. These are material factors in the existence of Shanghai, but it is pleasant to record thát there has also been a splendid outpouring of humanitarian endeavour in the communitys demonstration of charity and assistance to the lowlier residents of Shanghai. Probably never before in its history has the call to the charitable been insistent as during the past year, and never before has the response to all sundry causes been so magnificent, revealing that Shanghai has a soul although its critics would decry it Condemned I.R.A. Bombers The report that the Attorney-General has refused permission for an appeal to be made to the House of Lords in the case of Peter Barnes and James Richards, members of the Irish Republican Army, sentenced to death for a bomb outrage at Coventry in which innocent people lost their lives will be read with interest, for the condemned men having exhausted all the processes of law must be hanged, unless the executive side of the Government intervenes and reprieves them. It was reported some time ago that representations had been made by the Eire Government to Whitehall suggesting that the men should not pay the full penalty for their crime, and the opinion is held in some quarters that it would perhaps be unwise to exacerbate public feeling in southern Ireland by insisting upon the execution of the capital sentence. How weighty that political consideration might be it is difficult at this distance to ascertain, but it has to be remembered that the LR.A. has been declared an illegal institution even in Eire itself, so that the two men involved are just as much offenders against the law of Eire as they have been proved to be against the law of Great Britain. There i: always the risk that insistance upon the full punishment might convey martyrdom in the eyes of many misguided persons upon the two condemned men, though it is doubtful whether imprisonment for life would avoid it. With Great Britain at war these outrages by the LR.A. calculated to disrupt the processes oí ihe nation amount to nothing less than high treason, and as such should be punished. Tnc circumstances, however, do not present so clean zut an issue as that. Obviously those favouring the life sentence have in their minds the possibility that in a general settlement of outstanding questions between Eire and Great Britain these men might receive an amnesty. Any such thing as that would do nothing but arouse that important section of British public opinion which strongly resents the activities of the LR-A. and would like to see them sternly suppressed. The decision which the Home Secretary has to make in the circumstances is by no means an easy one, but if he follows the example of the Attorney-General, who refused when he could nave given further concessions to the prisoners in the shape of a flat permitting them to go to the House of Lords, a most unusual thing nowadays, and refuses to interfere with the sentence of the court, he will not be greatly criticized. After all the two condemned men do not appear to have been over careful about the lives of the people whom they killed by their criminal act, Poor Psychologists One of the more amusing aspects of German broadcast propaganda is the manner in which the broadcasters indulge in vast tirades of abuse not only of British personalities, but also of Great Britain itself. The practice is clear evidence of how completely the Reich propagandist: {ail to understand British psychology. It is true that some Britons are enraged when they listen to the stuff with which German radio announcers besmirch the air, but the majority regard the whole thing with a certain tolerant amusement, and have been known to make a special point of tuning in to the German stations for the sheer delight of listening to the broadcasters making such utter fools of themselves. The rantings of Herr Hitler, or the ravings of Dr. Goebbels may sound very impressive to ihe German listener, but to ihe British they only serve to arouse the risible faculties. They have always realized that "sticks and stones may break my bones, but bad words cannot hurt me." Practically every British child learns that tag early in life, and that is why abuse of the German type is conspicuous amongst the British by its absence. But there is another aspect of the matter of which the German propagandist loses sight, and that is that he runs a very grave danger of arousing the greatest possible pleasure in the British breast by such manœuvres, and probably even gratitude. That
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.