The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-06-05
RAISED A TEMPEST.
e. T. Holmes Denun.
citation of Swedish
Churches.
THE SINGERS ARE INDIGNANT.
Eastern Delegates Repu-
date His SEN
timents.
THE SINGERS ARE INDIGNANT.

of the eastern division of the Ameri-
can Union of Swedish Singers closed
in Worcester yesterday and before eve
ming the majority of the visitors had
started for their respective homes in
different parts of the country.
All the visitors spoke in high praise
of their treatment and reception by the
nous in declaring the Worcester festi-
val one Of the best in the history of the
Union of Swedish Singers.
The pleasure Of the delegates was
marred, however, by the utterances
of &c. T. Holmes of Haddam Neck
Conn, until yesterday the president
of the American Union.
Mr.. Holmes, in talking with Spy
man Saturday afternoon, said in refer
ence to the Worcester festival that it
and all similar festivals would be big
ger successes but for the Swedish
churches which tend to split up the
Swedish people. He said attendants
at different denominational churches
formed cliques and they could not be
Swedish people except what will direct
| ly benefit their own church or clique.
| He closed the conversation with the re-
mark: 1.-THE Swedish churches are
the damnation of Swedish societies."
and further said that he had no OBJ
| jections to being quoted as giving ut
| terance to the statement, but rather
would be proud of it.
When the delegates saw this state
| n GTX 1t 40 oil Of l1n
| days exercises, they were mad clear
| through. The delegates were at the
Bay State House discussing, in an in
| formal way, the successes of the festi-
| val, when their attention was drawn
| to the printed statement.
Hjalmar Nilsson Of Worcester, pres
| ident of the eastern division was one
of the maddest men in Worcester. He
said. Il see that Mr. Holmes had no
| objection to being quoted in his state
ments. Well, if 1 meet that man at the
| lake, where / am going in about 20
minutes, Ill throw him in, and l have
no objection to having that statement
| quoted" The delegates, most of whom
were with Mr.. Nilsson, called for some
action to be taken regarding the state
ments of Mr.. Holmes and Mr.. Nilsson
prepared the following signed state
ment for the newspapers
| Il, Hjalmar Nilsson, as president of
the eastern division of the American
Union of Swedish Singers, with the
| consent of all delegates to the Swedish
singing festival, denounce as outrage
Gus the remarks of e. It. Holmes, for
mer president of the American Union
| of Swedish Singers, quoted in the Sun
day Spy, in which he says the Swedish
churches are a damnatiOn to Swedish
| societies. This remark is entirely from
| Mr.. e. 7. Holmes and we assure the
Swedish pastors and public of Worces-
ter that it is not the sentiment of the
| singers.
(Signed). "Hjalmar Nilsson"
This incident was the only unpleas-
ant one in the record of the SWedes'
visit to the city. The exercises opened
Thursday and closed yesterday morn
ing. The closing exercises were conduct
ed in Horticultural hail, where the dele
gates assembled i'm convention at 10
O'Clock and decided upon the location
for the next festival and the officers for
the management Of the festival. Two
conventions were held, the first being
of the American Union, and the second.
| with practically the same delegates in
attendance, being the convention of the
| Eastern Division.
f. T. Holmes presided at the conven-
| ton Of the American Union and the
| following delegates We're reported pres
| ent by the committee on credentials:
| AXel W. BrOberg, Peter Smith and Axel
| Cook of the Swedish Glee club, Of Bos-
| ton; Herman Mossberg and Gustaf
| Beckman of the Swedish Amateur
| Klubben of Brooklyn; Charles Lundeen
Of the Amateur Singing club of Pontiac.
| r. l.. AXel Rome and Martin Maurd of
| the Brooklyn Glee club; Adolf Magnu-
son and A. Englund of Par Bricol of
Hartford; Hjalmar Franzen and George
1 .HgrTs..
| Worcester; c.. A. Okerlind and J. A.
| Alderman of the Swedish Glee club of
jamestown, N. Y; J. Hanson and F. z.
| Love Of Harmoni society. Boston; VIM
Dahlen. Chicago Glee club: Carl Brandt.
| Orpheus club New Haven; Alfred Fors-
| berg and A. T. Leon of Verdandi club.
| Providence; Charles K. Johanson and
| Victor Hedberg, Lyran Glee club New
| York; Ernest Wenn and John Berg
strom, Swedish Glee club, New Britain;
| S. E. Murberg. Svea Singing society,
| Bridgeport; Charles Csterberg, Solder
! man quintet, New Haven.
The Swedish Glee club of jamestown,
| n. Y. Swedish Glee club Of New Brit
ain and the SOderman quintet of New
| Haven were proposed for membership
and admitted to the union. The question
Of the next meeting place Of the Ameri-
| can Union was then discussed and
| claims were made for jamestown and
| Chicago. c. A. Okerlind assistant city
| treasurer of jamestown. and Charles X.
Johanson of New York spoke in favor
| of jamestown. Mr.. Okerlind said that
| Mayor Henry II. Cooper and President
of the Council J. Emil Johnson, a Swed-
| ish singer, were anxious to have the
! festival go to jamestown. The people of
the city. too, wanted the Swedish sing
| ers to visit them. William Dahlen of
| Chicago. Peter Smith of Boston and
| Hjalmar Nilsson of Worcester favored
| holding the festival in Chicago on ac-
| count of the success it would attain.
| The delegates were informed by the
| jamestown supporters that the Pan
| American exhibit in Buffalo would de-
vote a day to the Swedish people, and
as Buffalo is but a short distance from
| jamestown it would be an easy matter
| for the singers to go over to the expo
sition. When the question was put to
| a vote, jamestown won by 10 votes, the
vote standing 10 for jamestown and .
| for Chicago.
| The following festival officers were
| then elected: President John Winn-
berg: treasurer, Axel Lofgren; festival
Isecretary, Alfred Okerlind, all of James,
! town. The treasurer was placed under
! $1,000 bonds Ferdinand Love of Boston
was elected secretary of the union, vice
| Charles Nickels Of Brooklyn, who has
moved to Stockholm.
| The matter Of sending a chorus to
| Paris in 1900 for the Paris exposition
was brought up and negative decision
IRraudreth'S Pills