President Lauri Relander of Finland left Helsingfors last week, sailed across the Baltic, sped by rail down through Sweden, crossed over to Copenhagen, famed “Paris of the North.”
King Christian X made President Relander welcome, ordered a gala night in his honor at the Royal Opera. As the audience assembled Dr. Relander was to be seen in the royal box, between His Majesty and Queen Alexandrine.
The lights dimmed. Suddenly Queen Alexandrine screamed as a heavy bundle of papers hurtled from the balcony into her lap. Other leaflets fluttered like autumn leaves through the house. From the gallery a voice boomed: “Long live Finland! Down with Relander, the bloodhound of Helsingfors!”
When the house lights flashed up six Finnish Communists were discovered to have staged this demonstration against President Relander. Soon they languished in a sanitary Danish jail.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- The Rise of a New Kind of Parenting Guru
- The 50 Best Romance Novels to Read Right Now
- Mark Kelly and the History of Astronauts Making the Jump to Politics
- The Young Women Challenging Iran’s Regime
- How to Be More Spontaneous As a Busy Adult
- Can Food Really Change Your Hormones?
- Column: Why Watching Simone Biles Makes Me Cry
- Get Our Paris Olympics Newsletter in Your Inbox
Contact us at letters@time.com