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The motion carried, the telegram was dispatched. The 24 hours elapsed, and not only did Delegate Suritz say nothing, but Foreign Commissar Molotov, in a short and pointed message, refused to discuss the matter. The Soviet Union's position, as outlined three weeks ago, was that the Kremlin was really at peace with the "Finnish Democratic Republic," a puppet government organized and recognized only by Russia. And at this point there came a brave ring of courage from this rump League of Nations, now composed of only 42 nations as against the 60-odd that once belonged. Bold speeches were made against Soviet aggression, especially from those far removed from the Russian border. Action came, too, when the League Assembly passed a resolution which; 1) "solemnly condemns the action taken by the U. S. S. R. against the State of Finland"; 2) "urgently appeals to every member of the League to provide Finland, with such material and humanitarian assistance as may be within its power"; 3) "recommends that the [League] Council pronounce upon the question."

Expulsion. The Council took up the matter and immediately found that "by its act the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has placed itself outside the League of Nations. It follows that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is no longer a member of the League." And so for the first time in its history the League had expelled one of its members.

To obtain the necessary "unanimous" vote condemning Soviet Russia in the Assembly, although unanimous notes are not necessarily there, President Carl J. Hambro, also Speaker of Norway's Storting (Parliament), tried an old parliamentary trick. He simply acked all those in favor of the resolution to remain seated. No delegate was brave enough to rise and declare he was for the Soviet Union. In the Council, the League executive organ, where one negative vote means defeat of a measure, those voting for Russia's ouster were France, Great Britain, Bolivia, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, the Union of South Africa and Egypt. Significantly, those abstaining were Greece and Yugoslavia, who felt they were a bit too near the Soviet Union for comfort; Finland, which decided not to be both plaintiff and judge, and China, which depends on Soviet Russian supplies for its war against Japan.

For Finland, the League thus did more than was ever done for Greece (in the Corfu dispute), China, Ethiopia, Spain, Austria, Czecho-Slovakia or Poland. The League's Secretariat was set to work to coordinate and classify Finland's more pressing needs, and the prospects seemed good that at least some nations would send supplies. France let it be known that she could send some old artillery. Britain thought she could spare a few more planes.

British Delegate Butler and French