Page:Lars Henning Söderhjelm - The Red Insurrection in Finland in 1918 - tr. Annie Ingebord Fausbøll (1920).djvu/164

 Finnish Labour Party never had leaders with backbone, courage or character.

It was, of course, impossible in the long run to keep up the illusion about the victorious revolution. The retreat was begun. A difficult retreat, during which as much plundering, murder, and incendiarism as possible was carried out. At Björneborg, Raumo, and Åbo all the steamers in the harbours were sunk, railway engines and bridges were blown up with dynamite, all safes which had not yet been burgled were broken into, all the money found in the customs and post-offices and at the railway stations was taken. The supply of stamps and receipt-stamps was appropriated, the food supplies were either carried away, burned or soaked with petroleum, shops were looted; even the tables at the telephone exchanges were smashed with sledge-hammers.

In the rural districts there were still worse doings. Here there were not so many valuable plants that could be destroyed, so instead the farms were plundered and burnt. How complete was the destruction is seen, amongst other things, from the following list of burnt and destroyed property in the little municipality of Vesilaks, south of Tammerfors. The Red burnt down 149 dwelling-houses and 355 outhouses, and they took away with them 89 horses, 688 cows, 353 sheep, 67 pigs, 400 hls. of rye, 278 hls. of barley, 2,800 hls. of oats, 66 hls. of beans, 830 hls. of potatoes, and 27 hls. of wheat. In other words, in this municipality there was nothing but the bare ground left. The farmers were plundered of the little they possessed of objects of value. The Red at Viborg, on the 21st April, gave a receipt for having received from their troops at the north front of objects: 33 kgms. of silver, 47 of plate, 857 of copper, 126 of brass, etc.