860D.00/2–545: Telegram

The Secretary of Mission in Finland (Higgs) to the Secretary of State

30. Stockholm press telegrams have presumably informed Department of yesterday’s announcement of withdrawal of candidatures of Tanner and other prominent war politicians, 11 in all. I was told on previous day that the Government had just received from Control Commission a list of 12 names which should not be in the election lists. Former Foreign Minister Ramsay’s name is not among those announced yesterday and his is probably the 12th.

Last sentence of Department’s 11 February 3 might imply that intervention in matter of these candidatures can be related to armistice terms. My 12, January 22, 1 p.m.,18 indicate Soviet Government does not consider this to be the case, and remarks of Paasikivi, reported [Page 604] in my 16, January 25 repeated to Stockholm as my 7 and of Shepherd, 119 reported in my 24, January 28, 8 p.m.,20 suggest Finnish and British views on matter may accord with Soviet view.

I stress this point because in his statement to the press yesterday Tanner claimed present pressure did not accord with democratic processes as it denied voters free choice of their representatives, thereby providing colour for possible later charges by his faction that coming election was not “democratic”. Extreme left wing factions incidentally seem already to be laying basis for similar charges on their part by alleging that in holding elections so early they were denied opportunity to present their case on an equal basis to the people and that in being denied use of meeting halls of now disbanded Civic Guards (meeting halls are in fact a very important asset in Finnish elections) they were at tremendous disadvantage with established and “reactionary” parties who have such halls.

In any event it now seems, however, that ice has been broken for widespread removal of “war culprits” from position and influence. I have received reports that some corporation boards have already notified such persons they will not be reelected to their corporation positions and the chairman of Helsinki Golf Club, lives,21 who is on our black list, has just voluntarily resigned. Aside from precedent now established, it should not be a politically difficult matter for the Diet, once freed from Tanner and similar influences, to oust for instance Ryti from Bank of Finland.

Higgs
  1. Not printed: in this telegram Mr. Higgs reported that Pavel Dmitriyevich Orlov, the Soviet Political Adviser to the Allied Control Commission, complained that the Finns were doing nothing about their war criminals, but “He admitted no obligation to do so existed under armistice terms and that any action would have to be solely on basis of Finnish law and constitutional procedure.” (740.00119 Control (Finland)/1–2245).
  2. Francis M. Shepherd, British Political Representative on the Allied Control Commission for Finland.
  3. Not printed; in this telegram Mr. Higgs reported that Mr. Shepherd had not yet considered the possibility of developing some positive course of action on the part of his Government, but he agreed to consider it (860D.00/1–2945).
  4. Eero Ilves, Bank Director and Treasurer of the Finnish Red Cross.