Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1898-02-08
SCANDINAVIAN" NEWS
Interesting Notes From Across
y the Ocean. RI
HAPPENINGS IN THE FATHERLAND.

Principal Events that Have Occurred In
tho Old Countries About the
North Sea Within y Week
or So just Past.
The so-called union committee" ap-
pointed to draw up proposals for per-
manent settlement of the difficulties
existing between Sweden and Norway.
held its last session Jan. go, at Stock
holm. AS was intimated before Christ
mas, no agreement could be reached,
and in dismissing the committee, King
Oscar said: ''Those who incur the
blame for the failure to arrive at an
understanding have taken a grave re-
sponsibility before history. May the
Almighty stretch hiss hands over the
future of my beloved peoples, and give
security to the brother kingdoms and
happiness to their inhabitants. Ad-
vices from London state that the ten
sion between Sweden and Norway is
fast approaching the swapping point,
and that on the frontier the arming of
both parties is rapidly progressing.
both parties preparing for war. Pri-
vate letters from the frontiers of Nor
way substantiate the last assertion to
the extent of stating that the people
are seriously expecting trouble, and
that the young men particularly are
drilling themselves in the use of fire.
arms.
SWEDEN.
A very conservative laborers' PEN
sion bill will be presented to the riks-
dag of 1898 by the government. The
main provisions of the bill are easily
understood. No one is to receive a
pension until he is past so years. and
the regular pension age is to be IS
years. All laborers of certain classes
will be compelled to make provisions
for q pension, and the wives of those
men who comply with the law are in
sured without extra charges. The in
sured are divided into three classes.
The first class comprises those who re.
ceive S2.7O or more a week in wages;
the second class all men who receive
lower wages; and the third class.
women. The weekly contributions to
the national pension fund from each
person thus insured will be 30, Is aud
10 ore (about SIX, and 2& cents) for
each class. respectively. In Germany
the employer contributes his share to
the pension fund, and former bill in
troduced in the Swedish riksdag re-
tanned that feature. But that bill was
defeated, and the new one does not put
the employer under any obligation in
regard to the pension fund. The new
bill, on the contrary, provides that the
government shall contribute one.half
of the pension actually paid. Anyone
can provide for government life pen.
sion besides the above mentioned la
borers' compulsory life pension, but
the annual premium for such volun.
tary pension must not exceed 10
kronor (S3.24). The amount of the an
nual pension is not to be a fixed sum,
but it is to be equal to per cent of
all the premiums paid by the insured
up to the time at which he begins to
draw a pension. Those, however, who
begin to draw a pension at the age of
of IS years will receive S54, $40. so and
S29.70 for the first. second and third
class respectively. Pensioners who be-
gin to draw a pension before they are
IS years of age are likely to receive
less than the above amounts.
The king has instructed the chief OF
the geological survey to make maps OF
the country around Ystad an Borringe.
kloster.
1t seems likely that the sugar manu-
facturers will be compelled to pay a
higher price for sugar beets in 1898
than they did last year, or else the
farmers are apt to reduce the produc-
ton to such an extent that the fac.
tories can be kept in operation only a
part of the season.
Goteborgsposten claims to have in
formation from a reliable source to the
effect that the union committee will
report its opinion to the Swedish riks-
dag and the Norwegian o>arthing.
The wife of Rev. Emil Strom, of
Womb and Veberod, Skane, must be a
new woman" When the organist
took sick couple of months ago she
stepped into his place. and is now
serving as organist, bell-ringer and
janitor in the churches where her hus.
band breaches.
A Stockholm court has fined Ger
man firm $500 for failing to make a
bronze statue of King Karl x. as COM
plete as stated in the contract. The
statue was erected in Malmo some time
ago.
About $4,000 will be devoted to the
fight against the May-bug plague in
the southernmost part of Sweden.
There were 80 systematic labor
strikes in Sweden in 1897. The total
number of strikers was $3.50. and the
number of days of idleness resulting
from the strikes was 80, 100.
The color of the military tents will
be changed from white to green.
The largest items of the budget sub
mitted to the riksdag are for the army
and navy, aggregating over $11, 600. 600.
The s0th birthday of Zacharias Tope-
Inns was celebrated very extensively
throughout Finland. and a number of