Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1901-08-15
THE LAND OF THE MORSE


VIM. E. Curtis, the well known CORE
spondent, found some interesting on
ditions illustrating the. character and
home life on the sturdy Norseman. In
Norway there is a continuous struggle
with nature, and Mr.. Curtis asserts
that it has been his observation that
the value of things increases with the
labor that is necessary to attain them.
We all place too low an estimate upon
what is given away. "In Norway no
luxuriant farms are found like those
upon the western prairies of the United
States; no broad acres of wheat and
corn. 1t is only here and there, be-
tween the rocky peaks and the pine
forests, that IN can find a spot big
enough to furnish subsistence for a
family, and that is wrenched by hard
labor from a reluctant soil. It is from
his cows and sheep, his pigs and goats,
from his fishing and his labor in the
lumber camps that the Norwegian
farmer gets his profit, rather than
from the soil. 1t is nc wonder, there
fore, that the young men of his fam
lily reach out eagerly to the American
prairies, although they love no less
these narrow valleys, walled in by
preeipices and hidden by forests. The
largest migration always takes place
in the spring, and Good Friday is the
favorite sailing day" ~f>
notwithstanding the large emigra-
tion of young people, for whom the
home farms are too small, it is appar-
emit that the Development of Norway is
continually progressing along the
highest lines, and that the tendency OF
it's people is upward, socially and in
G~ustrially, in culture and in wealth.
The population of the kingdom not
only holds its own, but shows a slight
increase, which seems remarkable be-
cause of the continual drain of young,
able-bodied men and women who have
removed to our western states. In all
public movements, in all social, intel
lectual and commercial activities, in
art, science and literature, in wealth
and prosperity, Norway stands abreast
of the most advanced nations of Eu-
rope; but its progress is not won with
out greater effort than any other peo-
pie put forth and the application of
thrift and industry elsewhere I'M
known, but which is required in a
climate SO bleak and inhospitable and
by a soil 20 wild and rocky. None
but a race like the Norsemen could
have kept a foothold here, but, as I
have suggested, this constant struggle
against nature has been the strongest
factor in framing the character of the
Norwegian. The freezing seas that
beat upon his r%ock-bound coast, the
heavy SHOWS that fill the valleys be-
tween the mountain ranges of the in
terror, and the long, cold winters that
leave him but a few months of light
and sunshine, are the elements that
have developed the men and women
that have made this country great and
have contributed SO much to the great
ness and the prosperity OF our. own. .
Recent statistics show that the av-
erage expense Of living in Norway, in
GLIDING the entire population, men,
women and children. is 100 kroner per
capita, Or about s33a a year--9 cents a
day. This is probably lower than
that Of any other country except those
Of Asia. Nevertheless there are no
poorhouses outside the large cities, and
conrparatively few people are depend
silf upon charity III every munich
paIity and parish board ef guardians,
composed Of the priest, the chief Of po-
lice and some member OF the council,
affords relief from the public funds to
those who need its but It is compare
tiyaly small. Sixty per cent 81 the
applications for charity are due To IN
= = 10 per cent to old age, 10 per
cent to- accidents, 2 per cent To drink