Show FINLANDS DES3LATION The Russlanlratlon of Finland pro > cecds apace The pracllcal suppression mtA of the autonomy which had been solmn lily li-ly guaranteed to the Grand Duchy by a fl succession of Czars was long ago af ILi fected Finnish postage stamps and currency cur-rency the Finnish Hag the separate organization or-ganization of tile Finnish army all uent by l the board The title of Grand Duke of I Inland Is no longer recognized by thn Czar who rules the Land of a Thousand Lakes not by virtue of being its Grand Duke but by virtue of being Emperor of all the Russlas So too Finnish officials have been generally replaced by Russian imported Into the country for the purpose pur-pose The process Is now carried further Tho schools of Finland are being Rus sianized llithorlo Finland has enjoyed ono of the best school systems in Europe and the tandard of education among tho people has been exceptionally nlrh Henceforth the schools will beunder lho Russian censor with half the studies hitherto pursued forbidden as seditious and with the Rupslan language Imposed ns compulsory The children of Finland will be compelled lo learn Russian and practically forbidden to use their mother tongue The hand of autocracy too Is laid upon the press The entire Finnish press has been suppressed and abolished and those who would form new Journals are permllled lo do so only on condition of depositing with the Russian Governor large sums of money as pledges that they will in heir editorial columns approve ap-prove and support the new order ot things I Now this would be harsh treatment for a province that had been seditious or rebellious re-bellious It would be harsh treatment for a conquered foe If for example Great Britain should Impose such terms upon tho Boer States after she had subdued them there would be a universal chorus of remonstrance and there would bo good cause for It But Russia thus treats an allied Stale hlch has even been conspicuous con-spicuous for Its loyalty to the sovereign Whatever conspiracies there were In any nart of Russia there never was one in Finland When tho Czar dared not trust himself In the streets of St Porrrbur or Moscow the streets of Helslngfors and every road in Finlmd WITU as ite nor him as tbe Innermost room at Petcrhor And even under the Ptresn of this unprecedented unpre-cedented oppression the Finns do not revolt re-volt nor conspire They bear their woo In silence and in pleace They will not however boar it as subjects of the Czar They prefer exile Last > car some fifteen thousand emigrated This year the number num-ber will bo four times an great And It IcJ judiciously estimated that within the next ten years more than threefourths of them will have left their old homes forever Finland will then be In truth a geographical expression It will be Finland Fin-land but it will no longer be the Land of the Finns New York Tribune |