Page:Lars Henning Söderhjelm - The Red Insurrection in Finland in 1918 - tr. Annie Ingebord Fausbøll (1920).djvu/152

 he is brought before a tribunal of comrades. Here it transpires that every time he has shot a prisoner Vuori has gone up to the body, and cut off the head with his sword. He is in the habit of showing his bloody sword, and boasting of the many throats he has cut. Vuori, however, will not put up with standing in the pillory alone. He summons his immediate superiors, "the Staff" (to which also Tanner belonged) before the tribunal of comrades, and accuses them of having given him vague orders. The Staff have never said that prisoners should not be murdered; on the contrary, they have recommended him to do what he likes with them, "and," they have added, "if you find a swamp, throw them into it." "Besides," says Vuori, "it was the general opinion in the Red Guard that we should not be able to get the better of our opponents if we did not kill them." The Staff have done nothing to counteract this opinion.

The judicial proceedings are, of course, without result, but Vuori's statement is confirmed by an "impartial" witness.

A militiaman has been called to a village near Toijala by the relatives of one of the murdered men. He reports as follows: "The murder has been committed by Vuori and his troop. On the telephone I gave an account of my investigation to the Staff of the Red Guard, and asked them to send on some men who could protect the population. But I got the reply that the matter does not concern the Staff, and that such cases need not be investigated. At the same time I learned that the Red Guardsmen considered it permissible to kill prisoners, and, according to my conception, this view has been supported by the Staff, as the latter has given Vuori continued authority to act as chief of the flying corps, although the Staff know very well about the murders committed—even from Vuori himself."