Page:Lars Henning Söderhjelm - The Red Insurrection in Finland in 1918 - tr. Annie Ingebord Fausbøll (1920).djvu/102

 On the morning of Sunday the 27th the activities of the Red began. From the Russian arsenals in the Sveaborg fortress numbers of rifles and a lot of ammunition were transported into the town, and the Red marched forth and took possession of the railway station, the police offices, the telegraph offices, the telephone exchange and the printing offices of the bourgeoisie press. The district prison received orders to keep 150 cells ready for the prisoners of the Red. A number of house-searches and arrests were made. The Red were obviously waiting for the Protective Corps to make a sortie, so that they could honourably conquer the city with arms. They knew very well that the Protective Corps was rather inferior in number to their own forces. That they expected a fight is seen amongst other things from the proclamation which was affixed to all posts and trees, and which, verbatim, ran as follows:—

"To the Inhabitants of Helsingfors.

"All the peaceful inhabitants of Helsingfors are urged to keep out of the streets during the fight with the slaughtering guard, or the consequence will be that they may be shot down.

"The Working-men's Revolutionary Guard desire to avoid the shedding of blood of innocent persons.

"Helsingfors, 27.1.1918."

"."

But as no hostile forces appeared, shots were fired in the air and "order" energetically maintained. In the night a search for the members of the Government was started, but they were not found in their houses. Early on the Monday morning all Government offices were occupied, and a proclamation declared the city to be in a state of strike. At last the public learnt what was meant by all this, when later in the day an