Page:Lars Henning Söderhjelm - The Red Insurrection in Finland in 1918 - tr. Annie Ingebord Fausbøll (1920).djvu/160

 could not, stop the movement they had set going, and they did everything to conceal the serious condition of affairs from their adherents.

Tammerfors was taken by the White army. The Germans landed at Hangø and Lovisa—fell into the rear of the Red. But by incredibly false reports of the fighting the people's courage was kept up. It is significant that in the time from the 3rd to the 12th April, from the landing of the Germans to their entry into Helsingfors, the Red Press without ceremony denied the presence of the German troops in the country. It is true that German uniforms had been seen, but they were worn by "disguised butchers."

The Russians and the leaders of the Red, however, perceived very well what was now before them. The Baltic fleet was seized by a fever of activity, with the result that most of the ships succeeded in making their way out of the ice and disappearing towards the east. Less efficient vessels were sunk or left. The leaders of the Red, however, prepared for flight.

It is perhaps the most offensive trait in these demagogues that in the hour of destruction they went on rousing their bands against a superior foe while they themselves fled, after having filled their pockets with millions of the notes of the State Bank. On the 8th April the Red Government left Helsingfors. But the last number of their official organ for that day contains another appeal from the great "Central Council," which deserves to be cited here on account of its characteristic contents. It runs as follows:—

"Comrades.

"For more than two months the Finnish working-man has fought with ardent enthusiasm against his blood-thirsty extortionists. During this time he has doggedly defended the great common cause of the working-men.