While it has been denied that the Soviet has demanded from Norway a port on the latter's western coast, that does not mean that sooner or later such a demand will not be made. The whole of Russian policy has been devoted towards securing an ice-free port on the Atlantic, and the invasion of Finland was only a move preparatory to making such a demand upon Norway. The Finnish-Soviet peace terms, it was pointed out at the time, place Moscow in a favourable position for making an attack on both Sweden and Norway at any time it suits M. Stalin's book, and the developments in Finland are to be taken as merely a preliminary stage to further attempts at expansion westwards. Judging from the severe treatment its armies received at the hands of the Finns, and realizing the determination of the Scandinavian countries to defend their independence and territorial integrity, it is more than likely that the Kremlin will decide to wait a while before putting forward further demands. The Finnish campaign clearly demonstrated that the Russian army was not all it was said to be, and certainly in no condition early to embark upon another campaign, in which it is to be confidently expected the Norwegians and the Swedes would emulate the gallantry of the Finns. On the other hand the latest developments in the Balkans and the possibility of Germany becoming very interested in the desir ability of maintaining Rumanian independence may serve to oblige Russia to maintain her concentration on the Scandinavian peninsula, for in the Balkans she appears to be at any rate for the moment held in check. Free access to the Atlantic at all times of the year is something which would prove of enormous economic value to Russia, permitting of continuous communication with the outside world in a manner which is at present denied her, and sooner or later Moscow may be expected to seek to attain her objective, if not by negotiation, then by the utilization of force in precisely the same wa as she used it against Finland.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.