St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-05-19
EARERAULT.
address of p. w. WiIdt at the Nor.
Wegian Celebration.

Away yonder, on the other side of the great
Atlantic, our Norwegian countrymen are
gathered as we are here to-day. From hill
and from dale sound glad tidings. The peo-
pie are rejoicing, for to-day is the 18th of May.
We, in the far West, have also gathered for
the purpose of rejoicing and send out greet
lngs to our old home. We have gathered here
to-day to celebrate the seventy-second ami
versary of the independence and of the con-
stitution of n orway, and renew its memory
not TO the d1Sparagement of any other great
day or any other great event in the history
OF the world, but because it is our birthright
to do so and no new allegiance can deprive us
of its blessings. Prompted not by motives of
treason to the country in which we live and
which so many of our countrymen have helped
to defend, but by a f1llial love and q
conscientious pride that we have something
to celebrate, something that shines as bril-
liant upon the history of our native land as
the ever-to-be-rescmbereGI Independence day
upon the history OF our adopted country, the
great republic of the United States. Certainly
few countries can show greater progress both
politically or financially than Norway, with
Hbarty of press and liberty of conscience She
guarantees to every one the legal pursuit of
happiness, and with an educational system
unsurpassed by any, unless it is that of this
country, she gives the fullest scope to the de-
velopment of genius. In proportion to popu-
lation she is the greatest maritime nation in
the world. She has her own representative IN
every seaport and her flag floats in commercial
triumph on every sea. Though perha DIS
scorned by the fastidious,
MoCKED BY BIGoTs,
her people have reputation, the worth of
which cannot be denied. Though perhaps I'M
couth in manners and unprepossessing in ap-
pearance what man has that brain that will
deride honesty and industry in homespun and
applaud vanity in tinsels, and where is that
son that will deny his nativity. How
ever humble and mean your birth place. dis
pise it not, for know you the purity of child
hood cannot permeate the character of your
mature years if you deride and spurn those
fond recollections which linger around the
scenes of childish innocence. Shall
we discard that which we have inherited from
our forfathers? Shall we deny our birth and
point to that form outworn with care
for our welfare and say: ''She is not our
mother? or what determent to us that we do
speak our native language and worship our
maker according to the teachings of our child
hood. Is our race SO mean or our achieve
ments so lowly that we should be ashamed
to own it2 No never! Never! So long as the
constitution of great and free people will
guarrentee to US the rights and privileges we
now enjoy. We owe no allegiance to the con-
stitution, the birth of which we celebrate to-
day, but we do owe it our reverence and
grateful remembrance, nor is it necessary
that we should deny our reverence. =
We celebrate the anniversary of an eyentful
date in the history OF Norway. In name it
is the union with Sweden which is marked for
celebration, but in fact it is the birth of the
NEW NORWEGIAN INDEPENDENCE
and the beginning of the growth of Norway
in all that makes a free and progressive land.
self governed, proud of it's liberties and in
tensely conservative. No title or race calls
up more vivid pictures OIL more poetic visions
than that of Norseman. The Scandinavia an
people have history extending back to the
dim ages of myth when Odin was the progen-
itor of the royal line. They have literature
whose bold and rugged beauties have never
been surpassed. They live in the imagina-
ton as the race whose sea kings were the ter
rors of our earlier time, and who first
dared to penetrate the mysteries of
the terror haunted Atlantic, and whose rule
in England Independent of common
origin connects them by close tie to every
one of English name. From the time of
Harold Haarfager with whom authentic his
tory begins, down to about six centuries ago,
the records of Norway, though a glorious one
for the strong annals of those times, is one of
almost constant battle, with alternating con-
quests and submission. Then came decadence
and from the early part Of the fourteenth
century, the kingdom lost its nationality.
Now a province of Denmark and now of
Sweden, manner, independence and even Ian
guage were made to conform to the caprice of
the conqueror. Not until about a century
ago did Norway catch the first glimpse of the
SECURITY AND HONOR
which she now enjoys. The wars of Napo-
leon had dragged the Scandinavian kingdoms
into that conflict which had Europe as its
theater, and laid the foundation for Norwe-
gian independence. The emperor
assigned to Russia the Swedish province of
Finland, to which he had no right, and Rus
STA made her peace with Sweden by making
her present of Norway, of which Frederick
the With of Denmark was then king. This
aroused the Indignation of the Norwegian
people. They did not want to be transferred
from one country to another without their
consent. The situation indeed seemed be-
yond all hope, the people being without
money, weapons, or even a leader, and war
with Sweden seemed inevitable. Men of
Norway, who loved liberty and freedom,
now declared it was time for Norway
only be done by a national convention through
whom the people could delegate the power of
framing and adopting constitution. Such a
call was made and delegates from all parts of
the country to the number of liz met at
Eldsvald, in the southern part of NorwesA
april III, 1874, and entered upon the work o.
framing constitution. = In
little more than a month they had performed
their work. and on the 18th day of May they
adopted and signed the constitution making
the government a limited monarchy and
elected the Danish Prince Christian as the
king. After completing their labors the dele