Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1918, Russia, Volume II

File No. 860d.00/13

The Minister in Sweden (Morris) to the Secretary of State

[Telegram]

Stockholm, February 18, 1918.
[Received February 19, 4.25 a.m.]

1523. The Finnish Legation gave out following statement this morning:

1. Despite fact that Russian commissioners have recognized Finland’s independence and repeated representations on part Finland’s government the Russian Government have failed not only to withdraw their troops from Finnish territory but have added to them.

2. Before outbreak of Finnish war masses Russian agitators arrived in Finland who excited the people to fight the government and Landtag.

3. The Russian territorial committee at Helsingfors, representing the Commissioners’ Council,¹ has declared war on the civic guard and Finland’s government. The Commissioners’ Council have officially not taken any marked attitude.

4. Against Finnish government troops stand numerous Russian troop divisions, Red Guardists, Russian soldiers garbed as civilians, and Finnish Red Guardists, armed and provided with artillery guns, armored train and automobiles.

5. The war in Finland is a fight between army Finnish subjects and Russian troop divisions including native rebels and is not a civil war.

6. The tension between a portion of the Social Democratic Party and majority of the Finnish people would never have developed into war had the Russian troops not interfered.

Morris

1. Soviet of People’s Commissars.