The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1902-07-11
On Far N'ortl1land
RED'FLAG IN SWEDEN.
The Emblem Used In the Recent So.
cfaltst Denomination.

The Emblem Used In the Recent So.
cialist Demonstration.
The ''red hag'-the dreaded emblem
of socialism and anarchy-has been
seen In the streets Of Stockholm, the
beautiful capital of Sweden. which,
next to Its nefghbor, Russia, is the
most feudar and oligaric country in.
Europe!' says the New York Times.
And, more astonishing yet, the same
red f1ag-the terror Of autocrats and
nobles-was used in a peaceful demon
startion; headed the imposing process
sion or 10000 mechanics, laborers and
professional men-the flower of the So
cialists of Sweden, whose Just demand
for universal suffrage occasioned that
novel political strike which boycotted
the government into unconditional sur
render.
The big strike of the combined trades
unions of all Sweden is remarkable for
many more things than one. In the
first place, It affords a striking example
Of the vast power Of labor, If used un-
der proper guidance; and, secondly. it
so effectively cowed the proud oligar-
chy which has ruled over Sweden for So
many centuries that the government"
that IS, ,he agrarians, hastily acqui-
esced. ana promised universal suffrage
for 1904
In the very extensive comment and
attention which this strike has attract
ed in the States, some curiously erro-
neeus impressions as to the causes and
conditions which led up to this remark
able boycott have found their way into
the American and English press Tn
70 ~ ~aSl <An< thxN
whole affair was propagated by the So
cia1ists entirely. This is not SO; how
ever. The three days strike was
merely the climax Of the struggle Of
the workingmen and masses of the
kingdom for universal suffrage which
has been waged for the last year or so
by the Socialists, Radicals and Moder-
ates in unison.
And right here 1t may be said that IN
Scandinavia the Socialists are more re-
spected than feared, because their pro-
gram contains no allusion to ~trre crime
Of holding property" and also because
they entertain no ambition to overturn
the monarchical form of government.
Indeed, their chief aim is to improve
the condition, morally, mentally and
socially, of the mechanic and peasant;
" cOuCdIS IICNA OP " SIoAuaAO "AAASAA
will make 1t impossible for the So
called upper classes to bulldoze them.
Books and lectures. therefore, play an
important role in the Socialists cam
paign. They have reading clubs and
societies, where famous men lecture to
them on all conceivable sorts of sub
jects; they have societies, in which the
sick and idle are taken care of; and.
finally. they produce plays, in which
the contrast between poverty and
wealth, between the rich and the poor,
the classes and the masses, are wildly
set forth. But the primary object Of
the Socialists is, naturally, to acquire
central of the lawmaking machinery,
and the government. To achieve this
result they must secure control Of the
parliamentary bodies, and to secure
control of the parliamentary bodies,
| again they must have votes.
In Denmark, where more liberal
election laws are in use than in Swe-
| den, the Socialists have succeeded in
| gaining considerable political power;
| but in Sweden, owing to the above re-
| ferred to restrictions, their influence is
practically nil. Hence, their notable
struggle for electoral reform, which
has terminated in a complete victory,
In the winning of which they were act
lively assisted by the Radicals under
| Hedin. -.