File No. 860d.00/103
The Minister in Sweden ( Morris ) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 20, 3.35 a.m.]
1914. In reference to the reported capture of Kem on Murman Railway by Finnish bands, I am instructed that Sario, acting Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs, has stated that Finland had no desire to invade Russian territory but that if the Karelians asked to be joined to Finland he did not see how the Finnish government could well refuse.
After such a statement, it would seem almost certain that the armed bands operating in Karelia are being paid by Germany, and that their purpose is to give an opportunity for Germany, under the cloak of Finland, to seize the Kola Railway and the peninsula as far as the White Sea, thus cutting off all our communication with Russia.