In the first place, many foreigners who had not previously become American citizens began to apply for citizenship in the fear that they would be called into the armies of the country of their origin, or because the question of loyalty might mean their being put into a difficult situation or even lead to expulsion. This was at a time when the Finns in America already fell into three categories: Finns living in the U.S., Finns who had become American citizens, and those born in this country of Finnish parents. Those who belonged to the first group were reminded that they were guests of a country and owed a certain measure of respect to their host; it was not proper to interfere too noisily in domestic affairs lest a host cease to care for his guests; above all, the country's laws and institutions were to be honored.

However, alongside the Finns who were patriotic Americans there existed a faction which adopted its own policy toward the coming conflict. The Finnish labor organizations did not approve of war, and they opposed it strongly from the very beginning, trying to keep their new homeland out of involvement in the war. As long as the United States did remain neutral their activity was allowed to continue without interference. But the moment war was declared in 1917, their position became a difficult one, due both to the actions of the authorities and the position taken by other Finnish groups.

It was natural that after the outbreak of war the numerous foreign nationality groups in the United States were kept under strict surveillance, and it was even more natural that the vociferous Finns were almost all to meet the same fate. This danger was the real motivation in those groups which considered it

the socialists and to hasten to swear their loyalty to their new homeland. On the 11th of November 1917 a citizenship meeting was held in Duluth, a meeting in which the concept of loyalty was discussed by lawyers Victor Gran and O. J. Larson, by Pastor Heikki Sarvela, and by businessmen J. H. Jasberg, J. Mattinen, Conrad Mattson, J. E. Porthan, P. Raattama and Carl Salminen. A resolution was passed at this meeting, and it was sent to all Finnish-language newspapers and was published by many of them within the next few days : "We condemn the unpatriotic attitude, the rebellion and disloyalty which is apparent in the IWW movement and among our fellow nationals in the socialist movement. We regret that Finnish agitators sow inflammatory and anti-government propaganda. We sincerely state our hope that those Finns who have joined undemocratic organizations will realize that such

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