Germany's thinly veiled conquest of Finland, coupled with her apparent designs upon the Scandinavian countries, is a matter of serious concern to the United States and our allies of war. The Aaland Islands, a neutral outpost of Sweden in the northern Baltic, have been occupied by the Germans, and German military forces have been stationed at Aabo, on the coast of southern Finland. No serious resistance was offered to the invaders, who appeared in the garb of helmeted angels of Finland, and the Finnish "White Guards," working hand in glove with them, lost no time in signing a peace agreements as drawn by the Germans and providing for the customary commercial privilege for the benefit of Germany.

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Whether the country was seized by force or agreement, whether it is to remain nominally a Republic, or to be blessed with a German made king, is, of course, immaterial. What matters is that Finland, with its coasts and islands and resources, has come under complete German control. The Baltic, including the Gulf of Finland, and the Gulf of Bothnia, is now a German lake. The only Baltic egress to the sea left to Russia under the Bolshevik peace treaty is the channel leading to Kronstadt and Petrograd. This is commanded by guards in German service, and firmly intrenched in the Aaland Islands, in person, or by proxy. Germany controls the commerce of Northern Sweden, with its large exports of lumber and iron ore, which are of pre-eminent importance at this time and in the next War, which, in Germany, is regarded as a matter of course.

Apart from these advantages, Germany will be aided materially in other ways in her conduct of the War by her control of Finland and her resources.

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Finnish dairy products will be extremely welcomed in the empire, where butter, cream, and milk have been and still are very scarce. Of much greater importance is the forest wealth of Finland. Vast stores of timber and lumber, which have been accumulating in various parts of the country during the War will now be available, and the German commanders will know how to make effective use of them for trench building and other war purposes.

Another immediate military advantage which Germany will reap as a fruit of her hold upon Russia and Finland is submarine bases on the Artic seas. We do not know the full terms of the peace concluded between Germany and her friends, the Bolsheviki. But from what has leaked out, it appears that the Germans have stipulated for restrictions upon the commerce of Archangel, 4the Russian port on the White Sea, until general peace is restored. That the Bolsheviki, under the leadership of Lenin, will concede all that the Germans see fit to demand or suggest goes without saying. That means, among other things, that Archangel is to be made a German port and submarine base. The repeated explosions and destruction of war supplies which have occurred at Archangel show that German spies are strongly intrenched there, German U-boats may expect to sneak out from a new base or building here, as soon as the ice in the White Sea hall breaks.

A landing of Allied troops has already been made to prevent the establishment of a more dangerous base for U-boats at Katharine Bay, at the mouth of the Kola River, on the Kola Peninsula. While Archangel is icebound the greater part of the year, Katharine Harbor is open all the year around. It is located at the head of a fine winding fiord some thirty miles long, that 5cuts into the western part of the Kola Peninsula, about two hundred miles west of its northern point on the white Sea, and twenty-five miles east of the boundary line between Russian Lapland and Norway.

After abandoning or postponing her way to the open Atlantic across Sweden and Norway, Russia, some years ago, set about to build a great ice free harbor and port on territory already hers, at the mouth of the Kola River. The place was distant and almost inaccessible by land, but railroads could be built to it, and plans were made for the construction of a double track road across the peninsula to connect the Kola fiord with the Finnish and Russian railroads.

Katherine Harbor, the name selected for the new city and port, soon became a beehive of activity. Plans were perfected for a great naval establishment, 6and a commercial city and port along thoroughly modern lines. Real-estate values began to rise and kept advancing to the satisfaction of the most enthusiastic boomers, though comparatively few people in this country were aware of the future possibilities of this new center of sea power and trade on the Arctic.

A great deal of construction work had been done when the war cloud burst upon the world. Work had to be slowed down in consequence of the War, but it did not cease. At least, as late as a couple of years ago, Katharine Harbor was a place of busy bustle, and a short time before the Russian revolution, investments on a large scale were under consideration by well-known American capitalists.

A third base might be rigged up at Bear Island, located about midway between 7North Cape and Spitzbergen and claimed by Germany. She also claims a slice of the great Arctic "No Man's Land," Spitzbergen, which is not subject to any recognized lawful authority, except such steps as the government of Norway has taken in recent years for the protection and convenience of tourists and other visitors. Russian writers have from time to time been insisting that the whole Spitzbergen Archipelago is a rightful Russian possession by virtue of alleged occupation, but the claim has never been recognized by any power.

An obscure and ambiguous clause of the German-Bolsheviki treaty appears to cede Russia's shadowy rights to Germany, thus providing the Kaiser with some sort of pretext for grabbing all of Spitzbergen, which is known to be rich in coal of fine quality, iron ore, and other minerals. One or more submarine bases in Spitzbergen would complete Germany's chain of Arctic U-boat stations, 8and enable her to assert her pretended rights to the Archipelago with greater force.

German preparations for a submarine establishment at Archangel cannot be prevented while the Bolsheviki are in power in Russia. All the Allies can do here is to watch for the U-boats when they come out, on their way to the sea, which is likely to be attempted from time to time, before the White Sea is free from ice.

Should Germany succeed in establishing a chain of submarine bases in the Arctic, she would have the Scandinavian countries encircled on three sides: from the south, east, and north. Her army is on their southern flank; by her control of the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, she threatens the entire eastern front of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, and her Arctic naval bases would command their northern flank. Will she attempt to complete the circle 9at this time? Is she planning to strike at the Scandinavian countries to envelop them in the folds of the empire by conquest, or by a systematic campaign of threats, starvation, and other forms of German ruthlessness?

That Scandinavia ultimately must become German is a fixed article of faith in the Pan-German mind, as much so as has been the idea of a Central Europe ruled by Germany. As a matter of fact, German Scandinavia forms a part of "Mitteleuropa," as it has been conceived by Pan-German writers. Every author of this school who writes in the spirit of the full sweep of "Weltmacht" and "Kultur," includes the northern countries in the world empire to be created. A few quotations from well-known writers will serve as typical illustrations of the Pan-German designs upon their neighbors to the North.

Albert Gottlieb, writing in 1914, says in an article discussing Germany's 10opportunities for conquest: "Our gaze sweeps wider from the North Cape to the Indian Ocean, embracing an empire that from the geographical, economic, and political points of view, possesses boundless possibilities."

It is unnecessary to lengthen the string of quotations. Battalions of Pan-German writers preach the same gospel of grab with persistent monotony. The rights and wishes of the states to be absorbed are not considered in the least. In German national philosophy, small states have no right to exist; nay, a small state affronts a stronger neighbor by the mere fact of existing, at least, if this neighbor happens to be Prussia or Germany. To the Pan-German, it is even the high duty of Germany to absorb neighboring communities in order to bless them with German "Kultur".

if a campaign for the absorption of Scandinavia is deemed expedient at this 11time, it will be undertaken: no restraints of a moral character exist to prevent it. Whether it is advisable or expedient from a German point of view will be determined by the same powers that forced the War upon the world, and have been conducting it so far and will continue to run it: "Headquarters," the great general staff, the essence and directing force of Pan-Germanism in arms. As the world knows, it is the policy of "Headquarters" to do a thorough job of it now so as to leave everything in the best possible shape for the next war.

To Germany, control of Scandinavia would offer military advantages of no mean order. To begin with, the Baltic would become permanently a German body of water; with her control of the Baltic provinces of Russia, Finland, and Scandinavia, Germany would own the entire shore line of the Baltic, and command all inlets to it. The mineral resources of Sweden and Norway, including 12rich iron beds, copper, and other useful minerals, the wealth of their extensive forests, the inexhaustible stores of sea food represented by the fisheries of Norway, the vast water power of Norway and Sweden, with its industrial possibilities, all this would be at the command of Germany.