January 3, 1949; FINNS FACE TERRIBLE ODDS:

THIS WAS REPORTED TODAY, JANUARY 3, 1940:

Major Issues Before Congress

Economy versus spending.
Proposals to curb power of National Labor Relations
board.

Continuation of reciprocal tariff program.

Broad reinforcement of the national defense.
Relief appropriations.
Amendments to wage-hour act.

Finns Disclose

How Reds
Fell Into Trap

Planes Bombed

Ice, Snaring
Trucks, Cannon

HELSINKI, Jan. 3 (Wednesday)UP}—The disclosure that Finnish planes dropped bombs to smash the ice at Lake Kianta and trap 8 whole red Russian division in what probably was the greatest battle of the war was made by reliable sources early Wednesday as the Finns mopped up in that sector and converted other soviet attacks into Finnish victories.

The battle, fought on December 29 and ,30 at the eastern edge of Finland's narrow "waistline," resulted in the virtual annihilation of the Russian 163rd division—at least 15,000 strong.

Reports Trickle In
First-hand reports of the battle began to trickle into the capital Wednesday, although the victory itself was announced in a New Year's eve communique. Wednesday's reports told how the Finns first surrounded some 4000 Russians on the ice of the lake several days ago, killed more than a thousand of them, and drew a tight ring around the lake.

The ring was opened, however, to permit soviet reinforcements to reach the lake. Then the Finns surrounded the reds again, and set up machine guns on the shores, in the dead of the night the Finns began their attack and when the Russians tried to retreat they found the way cut off.

Tanks Circled Lake

4 .Weanesaay Morning.

Finn Leaders

Fear New,
Terrible Odds

Expect Soviet

To Use All
Might in War

By Kirke L. Simpson

Associated Press Staff Writer
Despite startling successes scores by stout-hearted Finnish troops against Russia's red army at the year end, fear is uppermost in the minds of Finnish leaders that new and more terrible odds are to be thrown against them, perhaps within days.

That was all but stalled in the New Year's day appeal of Finland's president, Kyosti Kallio, who asked the world for "active assistance at the front." Behind that appeal must lie the expectation of the Finnish military high command that within weeks or days it will face a new attack in far greater forces.

Moscow has definitely abandoned the fiction, after a month of war, that it is engaged in a minor punitive operation in Finland. Its resortto close censorship of the press dispatches and mail advices coming out of soviet territory indicates that.

Major Conflict
The "little" undeclared war in Finland has become a major conflict in Russian eyes, fraught with grave consequences for soviet prestige everywhere. That was brought home sharply to Dictator Stalin and his counselors by the defiant speech of Premier George Tatarescu of 'Rumania, warning that his country, would fight "to the last man" against any Russian move to seize Bessarabia and Bucovina, Rumanian provinces bordering soviet Russia.