Willmar tribune., 1899-12-20
SCANDINAVIAN NEWS {

SCANDINAVIAN NEWS|
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.
A Copenhagen paper says in regard
to the concerts given in Stockholm by
Edward Grieg: again Grieg has
been honored in Stockholm, honored
with vengeance. Every seat was
sold at his concerts, and, with the
king in the lead, the Swedes cheered
the little genial Norwegian whose
strains have charmed the whole world
for the past few years. To the Swedes,
Grieg is not a Norwegian, he is sim
ply nothing but Grieg. In his music,
national though it be, there is no poll
tics. 1t is international in all it's ma
tionality. But first and last it is the
expression of peculiar personality, a
personality of which each century has
none too many. Therefore the Nor
wegians sing his patriotic songs with
rapture; therefore the Germans play
his chamber music with predilection;
therefore English young ladies ham,
mer his lyrical trifes with energy,
and therefore the Americans are eag-
| erly offering him princely fortunes if
he consents to cross the Atlantic. In
our times it is individuality that pays
and that is in demand. The Stock
holmites have been proud of entertain
ing Grleg, they have appreciated the
presence of great master; they have
bent their knees before an ingenious
composer?
The Storthing has been petitioned
to abolish the laws favoring the Nor
Wegian dialects in the public schools.
The petition is signed by about one
hundred persons, the most of whom
are professors, public school teachers,
| editors and ministers. It is an impos-
ing array of names, and it means a
battle royal in the storthing.
There was such scramble for Gar
| borg's latest work, the Lost Father,
that the first edition was exhausted in
few days, and the second one will
not last long either.
The Kristiania Brewing Company
has resolved to set aside So, 700 on the
25th anniversary of it's organization as
an interest bearing fund for the COM
batting of tuberculous diseases.
The city of Stavanger has bought
the water falls at Oltesvig and Oltedal
for $4,000. Electric power stations
will be built at those places, and the
falls are supposed to have a capacity
of 1,7O0 horse power.
La Coremus, "Let us Work." will be
the title of Bjornson's next book. Ac-
cording to the poets own statement,
his aim in this book is to urge his
countrymen, especially the rising gen.
Grafton of them, to work hard and pa
tiently, work being the chief means of
happiness among men.
Many laborers are compelled to
leave Kristiania for lack of work, and
the movement of this population from
the city is expected to be beneficial to
the farming interests of the country
by way of furnishing needed help.
The gold reserve of the state bank
of Norway increased from $1,000, 900
to $12,000,000 in one week.
About $50 people gave banquet to
Bjornstjerne in the evening of Nov.
%, at Grand Hotel, Kristiania. Some
of the speeches made were too f1atter-
ing to please the poet. The conserva-
tive element in the capital of Norway
is taking more kindly to Bjornson
since he commenced his campaign
against the attempt to push aside the
Danish-Norwegian language and put
pure Norwegian in it's place.
A farmer in the neighborhOod of
Frondhjein proposes way of getting
rid of a hoard of merchants who in
turn handle the farm products on
their way from the farmer to the con-
sumer. The farmers ought to organ
ize themselves sufficiently to be able
to have a large store in each of the
cities of Kristiania, Bergen and
Frondhjein. 1.-THE managers of these
stores," he says, ''should receive either
a fixed salary or a certain per cent of
the money passing through their
hands. 10 these stores every farmer
could send his goods without running
the risk of being cheated. On the
other hand the consumers could buy
at these stores directly, and through
them the farmers might obtain their
necessary merchandise
Ibsen's new book will appear one of
these days.
The stret railways of Gothenburg
have been sold by their former own
ers, an English syndicate, to the city
of Gothenburg for $275,0OO. Electric
ity will be used as motive power in
future.
The Scandinavian colony in Rome
celebrated Martinmas day my an en-
tertainment in the evening. About
so people were in attendance. The
traditional goose at the table had
been replaced by "the more colossal
turkey,'' as DR.. Rarlsson, the presi-
dent of the Scandinavian society, re-
marked in his address of welcome to
the guests. Among the speakers was
Berndt Lie, who was in hopes that the
determination of the Scandinavians
in Rome would react favorably upon
| the relation between their native