Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1898-08-24
SCANDINAVIA u: IN NEWS E v
Interesting Notes From Across
the Ocean.
HAPPENINGS IN THE FATHERLAND.
Principal Events that Have Occurred In
tho Old Countries About the
North Sea Within Week
or So just Past.

tho Old Countries About the
North Sea Within Week
or So just Past.
The national. petition for the extern
sion of the right to vote is at present
circulated for signatures among all
classes of people, tens of thousands of
copies of it having been sent out from
Stockholm by the central committee of
the suffrage union. The document
reads as follows: ITO the King-The
present rules governing the right to
vote at national and local elections do
not comply with the plainest demands
OF justice. A few persons who by
their standing in other respects are al
ready sufficiently favored, at present
possess a controlling power in national
and local affairs, while the great ma
jority of the people stand practically
without any influence in the commun-
ity which is sustained by their work.
which collects revenues from their ne
cessaries, and which demands their
life and blood for it's protection. Such
a distri button of power involves an in
justice against people which is usu-
ally called the most enlightened in Eu-
rope. and which your majesty recently
gave the testimony that a better, more
honest. more advanced and more faith
full people has not existed and does not
exist on earth If this injustice re-
mains unremedied it will gradually
dull and deaden the sense of citizen
ship and create a discomfort which
may be fatal. One people after an
other-our brother nation being among
them-has of late had its rights of citi-
zenship extended and granted, while
our own is kept in state of tutelage
which is degrading in itself, and which
must be felt to be still more humiliat-
ing by comparison with the ample
privileges which have been granted
to other nations, which, perhaps, were
less ripe for it than ours. Time and
again, voices have been heard in favor
of suffrage reforms; hundreds of thou
sands of people have demanded such
reforms; from year to year one cham
Der of the riksdag has passed resolu-
tons in favor of a change; and on one
memorable occasion the necessity of
change was urged before the throne
by the speaker of said chamber. Re-
ferring to these important expressions,
we, as Swedish citizens of age, venture
to make an urgent appeal to your
majesty to observe public sentiment
which demands only justice. and to
comply with this in the true interest
of our country by presenting to the
next riksdag thoroughly revised rules
and regulations in regard to the right
to vote at local and national cleo
TONS"
The sugar beet crop is so poor that
the sugar production of the country is
expected to be at least IS per cent be-
low the average.
The shed from which the balloon of
Andree assembled in Spitzbergen is
found to have blown down last winter.
It has been proposed to arrange
Swedish exposition in London imme-
diately after the Paris worlds fair, and
c. J. Ekman has placed plans and
specifications to that effect before the
king.
The southernmost dwelling house in
Sweden, small structure built of flint
stone, at Smyge Hulk, has been torn
down. Its last inmate recently died in
it at the age of 80 years.
The year 1897 gave the national
treasury a surplus of SIS, $50, 600.
The Waterman at the naval station
in Karlskrona, Samuel Nilsson. has
during the past IS years handled on an
average about one million dollars
year for the government. In 1891 he
was awarded medal for faithful and
efficient service. and now, at the age
of ~ years. he will be retired with
pension for life.
There is general strike at the coal
docks in Malmo. and the employers
are figuring on substituting coal-heav-
ing machines for the men.
The hay crop is from 25 to so per
cent above the average in Skane, but
the quality is poor on account of rain
during haying.
The Landskrona. Kjeflinge and
Sjobo railway company has been Or
ganized with capital stock of $780,
600.
A heavy rain storm destroyed most
of the crops around Smedj ebocken,
and the railroad track was rendered
impossible.
The parish of upper Lulea has seven
railway stations within its limits.
A quasi liberal daily makes the fol-
lowing comment on the influence of
Bismarck: ut is not only the reaction
ary policy of Germany that has reaped
benefit and joy from the activity of
Bismarck. Far and wide his views
have been endorsed-Estrup in Den
mark, Crispi in Italy, not to mention
other instances. Even here in Sweden
we have not been able to escape the
influence of the Bismarckian reaction.
The whole system which was built up
during the riksdag of 1883, is only an
adaptation of Prussian grangerism and