Show euro european pea n republic plays important international role prepared by national geographic society washington ash agton D C service finland d suomi to finns is represented in the american melting pot of races by native born finns or residents of finnish ancestry it is better kno known wn however everi for the prompt payments on its debts the loan from the united states was not truly a war debt since fin nd during the world maar w ar did not aist Is t as a nation that could incur debts it was still a part of th tho crumbling russian empire the money was borrowed to establish the new finnish national regime set up in 1918 after a successful revolution though one of Eu ropes dwindling family of war baby nations finland faland is not small with the dismemberment of poland the republic takes its place as the sixth largest country on the continent it is two thirds the size of france three times the size of england it would rank next to california and texas in the united states throughout Fin lands square miles however the finns are scattered with semi pioneer spacing in n no district does the population density density y exceed wie n sixth I 1 th I 1 of that for england and 0 yie e count rys average ave is only a awen ty fifth of En glands average northernmost nall nation on finland js as the worlds farthest north nation it lies within the latitudes of greenland which is she sheathed ached in ice but finland is covered instead with forests principally the pine and spruce in in terne 41 N KYOSTI KALLIO president of the republic of finland was elected in 1937 to serve a ax six year term faced with 1 the he problem of soviet dussias Rus sias power politics the president directed his country in in a program of preparedness pa redness for eventualities dional demand tor for timber and a smaller quantity of the birch which makes Fin lands superior plywood with its intricate network of lakes and waterways to float logs to the coast and as a leading industry finland can lead au all europe in the export of sawn timber more than four fifths of Fin lands exports comes from the forests as fc 1 imber wood pulp cellulose paper plywood i or wood manufactures such as matches spools skis and air airplane pline propellers the ice age has left still fresh footprints in its northward retreat across finland lakes of them they tey occupy almost a tenth of the area within the count rys bounder boundaries jes on the southern border between finland and the soviet union stretches broad ladoga cadoga the largest lake in europe the farmer as a rule is a forester and a fisherman as well with woods woodi around his land except where water gives him a broader blue ho the forest farmer is typical of suomi where more than three fourths of the people are rural and only five cities have more than inhabitants less than a tenth of the land Is cultivated but it yields the thrifty finn a sufficiency clency of rye and potatoes with enough fodder tor for his live stock the cattle in turn supply butter and cheese distributed throughout northern european countries largely by coop co op creative societies women outnumber men like england and other countries that suffered heavily from the world war Fi finland filand has more women than men having had the privilege of voting since 1908 1906 the women have assumed the responsibility of work which men do in other countries hod carrying bricklaying brick laying lumber jacking street streetcar car Fin fiands lands men have been particularly outstanding in athletics giving their nation a preeminence pre eminence in sports lile like that of ancient greece three of the world records set by the flying finn paavo nural one of the fastest things on feet are still un broken north of the glacier carved lakes and deep forests stretches Fin rin lands arctic where the midnight sun f for 0 r s six ix weeks makes summer hotter than it is miles south in the capital city helsinki the small pet samo stretch of arctic seacoast thanks thank s to the gulf stream is ice tree free and of great potential value tor for shipping in case of baltic sea hazards due to ice or hostilities |