NEWS OF THE WEEK
THE fighting in Finland increases in intensity, and the odds facing the Finns are well described by the state- ment in a despatch from Helsinki that when a hundred Russians fall a thousand are there to take their place. Against that overwhelming weight of numbers the Finns cannot indefinitely hold out, even if they have the means of replenishing their ammunition and other supplies. In that respect their geographical difficulties, which are immense, are increased by the action of Germany which, as though the efforts of one Great Power were not sufficient to crush Finland, is holding up supplies routed through her territory, even though they were ordered before the fracas (accord- ing to Russia there is no " war " in Finland) began. The Russians themselves have in Leningrad a base no more than about twenty miles from the Finnish frontier, and only their own incompetence prevents them from making better use of it. It remains to be seen now what the practical value of the promises of help made at Geneva will be. The League reso- lution is of some importance, in that it is easier for a country like Sweden, where the popular demand for intervention is almost irresistible (Russia might profit by the reflection that it is the proletariat of every country that is most vocal against• her aggression), to act as the result of League decisions, and in some degree of concert with other League members, than to embark on isolated intervention. The new Government at Stockholm may find itself pushed further than it desires. Meanwhile the epic defence of Finland commands the admiration of all the world outside Germany and Russia.
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