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Show Finns' Courage Inspires World THREE cheers for those stout-hearted Finns! For 12 days now they've held the hlghly-. hlghly-. touted armies of soviet Russia at bay having (lowed down the "red army's advance to a a nail's pace after initial rapid progress In unprotected un-protected frontier areas. Each day the Finns hold back the Russian Juggernaut adds greatly to their hope of withstanding with-standing the Invasion over the winter months. Any day now the Gulf of Finland may freeze over, hindering Russian fleet movements and Insuring that Finland'a coast will be safe from lnvmluu fur muiitlu. Eveii day Hie wialliu In Finland becomes colder, more bitter. Ice, annw and ever st skies are slowing down the- movement of mechanized Rusa armies and tanks, disorganizing supply lines and grounding ground-ing airplanes. There Is real hope that Finland will not be conquered, at least before spring. And by spring anything can happen. Russia might get tired of costly conquest and agree to reasonable reason-able peace terms. Germany rand the allies might reach a peace settlement and then call a halt to further soviet expansion. Those are definite possibilities for saving Finland. But the best chance of all is that the Finns' courageous resistance and the delayed Russian conquest will give stimulus and time tor the arousing of world support for Finland. Already Italy, Britain and Sweden are helping Finland In various ways. The United States has approved a $10,000,000 credit which (let's be realistic) although It la earmarked for "civilian supplies" simply leaves Finland's available funds free for the purchase of war materials. By spring, Finland should have her army at maximum strength, fully equipped. She should have more and better fortifications. She should have a much larger air force. She should have a considerable Influx of foreign volunteers volun-teers and homecoming Finns to swell her army. And It may be that by spring, other neutral countries threatened by soviet aggression will decide it is better to join Finland In stopping Russia now than wait to be gobbled up piecemeal. piece-meal. . Brave little Finland Is giving an aggression-weary aggression-weary world new hope. Her heroic stand may yet prove the turning point In the crisis that laces Europe, and. to a lesser extent, the rest of the world. Go to It, you Finns! The world didn't think It possible you could do It Your courage inspires in-spires us all. |