Vapaa Sana, March 28, 1942

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PA01I
IMA5MA
(PKCE HIESI)
- - ft TORONTO ONTAM — jahääaymahch Jl NO aii
FHMiMi Can—ian
PuM#4 VW TiMMday Thr
My m totiirtlay y Th Vapaa m Prtm Limited Toronto out
NO UNHOLA PrMKtent
VAINO MALMIVUORI Manaor
RKYNOLD PEHKONEN Edltor
Hvat Addraaa of Protidonf
4 Soho St Toronto Ont
uolnoaa and Editori! Dapart- -
monto:
MO Spadlna Ava Toronto Ont
Phono WA 7721
ftaglatarad aa aacondoaaa mattar
January 19th 1932 at tha Poat
Office Department Ottawa Ont
ttubacriptlon rataa In Canada jnd
Unltad States: Par Yaar 375 dix
Montha &00 Three Montha 100
In othor Countrloa: Par Vaar SaOO:
I Montha KM
The Past Decade
To-da- y this papcr ppears In
kind of a festä 1 garb in honor of
its tenth annlversary The pist ten
years and the results our papcr has
achievcd during that tlme nnturally
do not loom very large outside the
Canadian Finnish colony but amon-- j
oursclves thia period has mcant very
much in many ways
Before the ycar 1932 the Cana-dia- n
Finns did not possess a newj-pap- er
vhich could have servcd
them more conspiruously in cherish-In- g
the lovo of democratic freedom
whlch is heriditary to the Finnish
people At that timc the chief factor
among us Finns was the corn-munist- ic
ncwspaper Vapaus pub-lish- ed
In Sudbury and backcd by a
nation-wid- e network of organlza-tion- s
vhich formed the most acttve
sectlon of the Canadiun Co:nriun'it
party Other liberal organizations
worthy of notc did not exlst but th}
arrogancs of the said conimunist
group and the flagrant sprcadmg
of conmunlst dictatorshtp-doctrlne- a
among the Finns had aurrcd up a
aplrit of resentment not only nmon
the comnuinists themselvcs but to a
greater degree also among the tens
of thousands of Finns who werc
outside the said group The unre-strain- cd
communist activity has-ten- cd
the dcvelopment of the sltua-tio- n
nnd when In tha 'ali of lf3t
a few venturcsomc soula began a
hustle to establish a new papcr vhicn
vould be the mouthpicce for the
the liberal and democratic Finns In
Canada it found n sympathctic
rcsponso vith ali exccpt with the
communists and a fcw very rcac-tlonary-mln- dcd
Finns
Our paper comnicneed publication
the bcginnlng of the year 1032 at
first as a veekly paper latcr twlcc
vcckly and finally three tlmes a
wcck Fium the very 3tait lt had to
struArlc agalnst financial diificultiorf
and prejudic for its opponents did
thelr utmost to make the task very
difficult but aftcr a few years of
hard strugcle resistance began to
crumble and the papcr saw bettcr
days The financial position improied
as subscriptions mounted and it
can b-- statcd nov that the papcr is
on a sound business basis
As has becn atated pre1ously
the history of our paper during the
past ten years dces not at first
glance aeem very Importanl outside
the Finnish communlty although tr
us lt is prcgnant with meaning The
Vapaa Sana has during Its deccnnlal
existance overcome the influenee of
both the communistic and reac-tlona- ry
groups with their totalitarian
doctrines and now the great mijontyt
Kalevala
The hiitory of our epics la a fascinatlng one It Is qulte comprehenil&ie
that people with ome degree of llterary culture irera able to create
Immortal llterature but that ancient and illlterate people wbo were
unable to put their thoughts and emotlona Into wrltlng were nevertheless
able to express them orally in such stately verse that today tbey constltute
some of our priceless llterary treasures is not so readlly conclevable
In the realm of ancient epics we flnd that the Finns are the proua
possessors of the great epic Kalevala slgnifying the Land of Heroes
Venerated and loved by ali the Finns lt clalmg fam e not only in Finland
'but its plare as the fifth national epic of the world and contalns a whoIs
treasury of poetical beauty 'folklore and mythology lt represents tnt
poetry and accumulatlve wlsdom philosophy and experlence of a people
It was commited to writlng only one hundred years ago and "lt U
regarded" says pro f John Martin Crawford translator "as one of the
most preclous contributlons to llterature of the World made alnce tbe
tlme of Milton or the German classics" Centuries before It was reducel
to ritlng its passed orally from generation to generatlon and comprlses
the only history of the ancient Finnish race
The greatly loved American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow found
a German translatlon long before the Engllsh translation was made and
was so thrilled by hls discovery that he decided to preserve and perpetuate
the slmple and beautiful meter and pian of Kalevala In hls lovely mythlcal
poem HIawatha
A pagan epic the vhole Finnish peole its author Kalevala dates to
remote antkjuity Scholars bellere that parts of Kalevala at least are
over four thousand years old composed long before Russlans and Swedea
were their neighbora as no mentlon Is made of them Vhen the Finns —
that sturdy sombe1' and medltative race who wandered from their origlnal
home in the Ural raountalns and beslde the Caspian sea — were driven
farther Into the bleak northland they went slnging ali the way and that
singlnj grew Into thelr national epic —
Legends from the tlme forgotten
Slnce we now are here together
Come together from our roamlngs
The almilarity between the lncantatlons storles and proverbs and those
of ancient Hunganan wrltlngs Indicate that these two people were
sometlmes united It eiuals Iliad In length and possesses merits like those
of tlio Greek epic
Vere It rot for the palnstaklng labours of the country-doctor-profess- or
Llias Lönnrot who collcted the oral poems and songs from the mouths
of the agid by the firc-sld- e the fishermcn on the lakes and the shepherds
in the fields this llterary gem vould have suffered oblivlon On horsebacic
he-rod-e from vlllage to village and throughout the countrjslde seeking the
tards vith their songs He as often beset by poverty and crltlcism was
heaped upon hlm Soine clergymen frowned on hls efforts to collect
"pagan trash" Success crowned hls work and finally on Feb 28 1835 tho
lii Rt manusTlpt wls submitted to the Finnish Llterary Society whlch had
It published in two volumes Immedlately Its importance was recognlzed
In llterary clrcles nnd Dr Klias Lönnrofs fame was established The Finns
ure so proud cf it today that Feb 2Sth is declared a legal holiday and Is
celebrated as Kalexala Day throughout the nation
There nre tales of hlgh adventure and herole deeds vrondrous vootngs
eddlng songs of rare beauty lt Is ablaze lth luxurlous splendour—glow-In- g
colour georgeous ralment slieen and sllver and gold and the sparkle of
jewels siiKPPstlng that Finns In thelr roamlngs may have touched the
flowery and brllllant lands of the Orlent Ali nature is artlculate The deep
forests the blue lakes the beautiful raplds the pine-cla-d islands — ali
speak n langua?e of their own to the ancient Finn The poem reveals
eharmlng pictures of the home life of a people whose natural language Is
poetry nnd whose understandlng and love of nature is profound Here a
niother-inla- v Is givlng thanks for a "second daughter":
Wiio can stlr the flre at evenlng
Who can veave the flnest fabrlcs
Wiio can twlrl the useful splndle
Who can rinse tny sllken rlbbons
Larger bulld our bumble cottage
Wlder bulld the doors and Windows
Hlsher fashlon tbou the celllng
Decorate the Malla in beauty
Kalevala beglns wlth the creatlon of the world "In the solltude of ether"
"from the eggs of a duck who flew" "over the blue back of the ocean"
to flnd a nesting plact
of Canadian Finns stand unani
mously for democratic iaeais
If we appralse this task merely
from a Canadian vievpolnt itJ
social slgnlficancc shotild be recos-nize- d
About one-hal- f cf Canada's
population Is other than Anglo-saxo- n
so the edueatlonal ard cul-tur- al
vork porferme among an
Immigrant grcup vho cannct speak
or understand Erjslish fully which
endeavors to acqualnt thom In thelr
mother tongue vith the lavs cus-to- ms
and history of tne:r new
adopted country shoulrt rot be con
sidered altogether insipnificant
There have been nniong Uie lm
mlgrants— and stlll are—a number
of forelgn language nevspajers who
are opposed to the prevailln? system
of government in Canada therefore
the vorth of tho newspapers ui
national publie life vhlch firmly
support democracy against totalita
rlan doctrines is Invaluable though
lt is not alway recognlzed by the
leaders of our country
Vapaa Sana can regard In tht
respect vriXh satisfaction the work
accompllshed during the past ten
years and start the second decade
with hlgh hopes lt has steadfastly
en-e- d the caue of dewiracy and
will eontlnue faithfully to tread
the sime path in the future
Prof Kaarlo Hilden Ph D lec
turer in anthropclogy In the univer-sity
of Helsinki Finland gives the
follONVins explanatlon:
"In ansvver to this question
vhcnce come the Finns the succes-slv- e
staxes of colonlzation give
clear proof The ontlquities of the
Roman Iron Age indicating a
sett!ed population have ali been
found In South-We- st Finland nono
at ali of that period having becn
found In other parts of the country
The earliest antiqultles of flxed
agriculturista found in the region
of Lake Faijanne Ir Central Finland
da te from about 50C A D those in
Ladoga— Carelia in East Finland
from about the ycar SOO lt is an
important fact that the oldest
Carelian Iron Age finds clearly
descend from tTes ordinary m
West Finland and are not of East
European character From this fact
we may conclude that the definite
colonlzation of the country in tht
Iron Age began in South-We- st
Finland gradually spreading from
vest to east thus clearly establish
ing the fact that the Finns did not
wander into thelr present homeland
from the --east via the Carelian
Isthmus as has been prevlously be-liev-ed
but from the south over the
Gulf of Finland This is also proved
by the fact that the antiqultles from
the beginnlng of the Iron Aee In
Finland are of Baltic type Moreover
in additional pro-i-f we find old
loanwords in the Finnish language
It is evldent that this immigra
tlon to Finland contlnued cver a
Stirring Epic of the Finns
By Rev A Lappala
Vilnimölnen in this story is tbe Finnish Hercules but older and more
cunnlng Tbe greatest of tbe heroes be inrented the harp and made it
from such by-produ- cts as the jawbone of a flsb and the sllken hairs of a
beautiful maiden for strings The new harp or Finnish Kantele In the
crafty hands of Väinämöinen broke into such majestlc music that
Ali the northland stopped to listen
Leaped the squlrrel from tbe branches
Climbed the ermlne on the fences
0'er the plains the elk deer bounded
And tbe lynxes purred wlth pleasure
Wolves awoke In far-of- f swamplands
Ducks arose from inland waters
Swans came gliding from the marshes
Tiny flinches green and golden
Flew in flocks that darkened sunllght
The Finns have not only glven the greatest llving composer Jeau
Sibelius to the world and produced an internatlonally known and promis-in- g
young viollnlst Heimo Haitto but with thelr colorful folk songs they
have a reputation for fine choral music The Helsinki University Chorus
and The Finlandia Male Cholr who thrilled great audiences on this
continent a few years ago are stlll remembered for thelr vibrant and
stirring choral messages From Kalevala we learn that the ancient Finns
loied music and song Väinämöinen with hls harp did not allow song to
disappear "into the cracks of the earth" He sang
Tili the copper bearing mountains
And the flinty rocks and ledges
Heard hls magic tones and trembled
Mountain cliffs were torn in pieces
AH tbe ocean heaved and tumbled
And the dlstant hllls re-echo- ed
Much of the poem centres about the forging of the sampo a magic
machine vsbich glves ease an luxury to llving a machine
On uhich one side the flour Is grinding
On another sait is maklng
On a third is money forging
And the lid Is many colouied
Somethlng subllme and sacred Is revealed In the passlonate love and
devotlon of the Finns for thelr homeland lt Is more preclous than life
Itself and there is no other country so beautiful and perfect When th?
ancient Finn wandered away frem home he felt the pangs of
homeslckness
One's own country it the dearest
One's own table is the sveetest
One's own home the most attracthe
Grant klnd Ukko God above me
Grant that I agaln may vlslt
Mr beloved home and country
Hetter dwell in one's own country
There to drink its healthful waters
From the slmple cups of blrchwood
Tlian In forelgn lands to vander
There to drlnk the rarest llquors
From the golden cups of strangers
Hiisi the devil In Finnish mythology bearln? also the epithets Juutas
(Judas?) Piru and Lempo as chlef of the forest demons and exceedingly
wicked He ereated the serpent the
Vilest thlng of God's creatlon
Wrlthing hlsslng thlng of evll
The Finns have been a Godfearing people I)iig before the Lutheran
reformation came to Finland and before the crusades planted the Christian
cross on Finnish shores they sought succor and guldance from Ukko
(old man) the hlshest flelty In Finnish mythology Under that name they
concelved of God Ukko Fields the thunderbolts like the Greek god Zeus
and also svlngs a hammer like the pagan god Thor An amazlng ethlcal
and spiritual note is found in the slmple but majestlc prayer oi
Väinämöinen
Guard us thou O great Creator
With thine arms of grace protect us
Help us with thy strenght and vlsdom
Guide Ihe mlnd of ali thy heroes
Keep arlght the thoughts of vomen
Keep the old from speaklny evll
Keep the young from sln and folly
De to us a help forever
Whence Come The Finns?
long period of Ilme larger and
smaller gronps wandering in between
100 and 600 AD They brought with
them the culture of the Iron Age
They brought with Uiem a knowledg
of agriculture" and cattle-rais'n- g and
lald the ground for a permanent
occupatlon Naturally th inhabl-tant- s
also carried on huntbig and
flshlng and from their villages In
South Finland they started out on
expeditlons Into the vast forest
regions that spread over the country
at that tlme
Here a new question arises Has
lt been possible deflnltely to esta-blish
the original home of the Finn
vhence they began thelr vanderings
to the Baltic regions and Uience to
Finland? It must be-- stated at the
atart that the hypothesls of the
famous Finnish philotogist M A
Castren who in 1340 declared that
the Finnish people originated in the
Altals in Southern Siberia can not
be maintalned in the lightt cf new
Scientific research There is indeed
not a single blnding proof for
assumlng Asiatic origin but on tho
contrary much tliat speaks agalnst
the assumption In the light of the
archaeological and linguistlc eMdence
avallable it seems extremely pro-bab- le that the origlnal home of the
Finns is to be found somevnere in
European Russia vrtthin the forest
regions lying between the Urals
Kiev and the Baltic Sea — in ary
event vest of the Ural momtains"
I The racial eompositlon of the
Finnish people has not as Jet been
definltely analyzed However In the
light of research Prof Hilden makea
the fol!owing comment:
"1) The general opinion prevailin
heretofore that the Finns are of
Asiatic origin and Mongolian race
is not based on Scientific fact
2) The East-Baltl- c race is the
most Important cumponent part of
the Finnish nation which race is
blond relatively tali and sturddv
built
3) The blond Ncrdic race forms
the second Important racial corn
ponent vhich has been estiblished
in ali sections of the country but
most partlculary In the West
4) The Samian race clement ie
the Lapp influnece is noticeable in
the north and east withcut how
ever being determinative to any
marked degree
5) Racially the Finns 1-el-ong
to the
rest of the European peoples without
any sharp dema reations connected
more espedally to their nearest
geographical nelghbour- s-
A Stormy Decade
(Continued from page 1)
tn ali these thlngs our paper has
accompllshed a difficult task during
the past decade It has not only
crushed totalitarian strongholds
among the Finns but Inculcated them
with democratic ldeals and inspired
them to be intelltgent guardlans of
the democratic ay of life Proud of
i these achlevements It begins Us se-cond
decade
Ofth
Record
There are many pohucaj ► tons in this World
Their number may be Ur- „- we suspect
We mav be on fr
have nid en n„ !
hurt thoiKh We fl
nnnv 6WJ =
pT1ai l~m uUc rcaunu or our refw of the life around us It i mT
a three dollar enint- -
ftirvuee odfollsaorniemiIsntdaikveiduaIlts cuc+rUaL
tinker with our demorate "!L
They think that thev are
ing the machine wherea th2
axUlieiU~s™6 v_jui me Deanngs ~imc c
For example some individ'
and organs have begua to lauJ?
a ucinwTaiic machm- - grease that smells cf dictaton " "cj-- are noi SloppecJ the bu
will burn "
Let us examlne these busj--
SO that M--n „ tr„io„ U-lave- Wt r
The conscription plebiscitc lsssnt going through rough weather S-o- argue that the peoplä must h
sulted vhether they want to sh the gun and go to the ttOa
Empire'3 borders to chase ani- - &
enemy otners say that no -
tions please make then shoufc the gun and go a ttird grouj
no guns and no conscription ä
sun a rourth ch'rps in that la the people think d-- 3 not ti let the enemy plaster 0ur hosfl siin ieaa we want no guns
Aiia mey au vvant to
our social machinery the c- - brand of grease becausc they kac now to run the machine
slmpletons pohtlcal
'v
hkrc- -
with
just
xsui mere are also somj (M
fools
These are reahy alarmLie rt
have begun to plash the beucz
ana tne axles with the cheap ra4
dictator-oi- l Some individual u
organs you see have bemjn to ju
glowing pictutcs of the Coaaua
social machine and vhen the onpa
happens to a bit gloomy it li iLr
fully retouched ma made presc
able
The surprising thlng abcut tha
bunglers Is that they Ime sei- -
seen how the dictatoiV nacia
vvorks neither have they ever pci
thelr noses into their paraiss
given it much practical thoufchtli?
are singing their h)mns cf pm
thousands of miles avay rjj
because peddlr3 are sdlirg t':
the Idea i
The writer has seen to typrti
dictator-machin- es In operatoa ia
from cxperlence we must say tä
it Is no pie eating ccntest for &
common vorklng man
We vrite fron expentnc
could teli a thlng or two to
Reverend gentlemen who have ö
covered such beautiful Chra- -
features in dictatorship We
teli them exactly what thej K
would be lf communis'ii nansat
some other brand of d-rUton- !?
besran to ralse a row in Ca
They would be qulte simplf
patched to klnsrdom come No ot
reason would be ne ded except
fact that they are r verend fca
men
ji course u wouiu uuitit---
worshinned the ereat r Vrn Eatv
the Dictator If they kep '-- 1'1
Vr
ChrisUanity and knelt f
diebitor and thr hliz ar ♦" - --- 1! -
bosses of the Godless Lea? et l
would nrobablv be saved--
The picture we have pait'
admittedly dismal But thert ii j
♦ Vilnir an nv fir lt! 11 -- !
Ka tniifiliuii I Il CXACtly
on personal experience we'v k1
dictators
TherAfnr wa would adrlit
Ib rvartntr pet burned fr2 S
nel1 maebl-- M thAt Ui? --"l
behalf of dictators eontlnue te 1
the good old democrauc 11
remember to use lt wise!y '
4 ~ iti y un dirJTtr
a ntNr Vinf uni nci?- -
Rock EM -- '-
A man without thougfct ts
future must eoon h-iv- e
orrow — Confucius
and know tiiat this is the traÄ
' - „ tn tJ W
no ev vaii iiayt"- - —
ieither in life or tn death -
'