Page:Lars Henning Söderhjelm - The Red Insurrection in Finland in 1918 - tr. Annie Ingebord Fausbøll (1920).djvu/53

 mere misleading sign. This was seen in the first instance from the fact that the strike did not end when the Lantdag passed the two Bills it was possible to pass—the eight-hour working-day and the municipal law—but not until a couple of days after, though none of the many other claims had been carried through. Furthermore, the real purpose might be inferred from the fact that the strike leadership was in the hands of a committee bearing the name of the "Revolutionary Central Council"—so it was intended to start a revolution. And last but not least, in the declaration which ended the strike, was found a passage showing that power was the ultimate object. "Finland's bourgeoisie is certainly not yet on its knees before the working-class," it says. And as a consolation: "The general strike has ended, but the revolution persists."

A couple of documents now accessible, from the days before the outbreak of the strike, give us another glimpse into its real purpose. On the 9th November a committee elected by the Social-Democratic Municipal Organisation meets at Åbo, the purpose of which is "to lead the approaching strike " (in the journal is added above the line: "or revolution"). At the meeting two persons are elected who, together with an interpreter, are to take part in the Russian executive committee's and the Bolshevik committee's meetings now sitting, in order to deliberate on the expediency of united action during the approaching revolution. The meeting is adjourned in order to await the return of the deputation, and is continued again at twelve midnight. Two representatives of the executive committee of the Russians are now present. The report of the meeting runs as follows: "The Russian comrades gave an account of their plans; we then explained the situation from our point of view. We agreed that the beginning of the fight should be