davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-14
,RSONNEL OF THE NEV

Christiania, Norway, Oot 21.-This
morning the Blehr ministry handed in
their designations to the king, and i'm
mediately afterward Mr.. Hagerup, the
recently elected speaker Of parliament,
was charged with the task Of forming
new cabinet. Within twenty-four hours
the list was completed.
In it's composition the new ministry Is
q coalition ministry, five Of its members
Messrs. Ibsen, Kildal, Nicholson. Strug-
stad and acknowledgements the So
ceding liberals. The small group of mod
crates had not claimed any representation
in the new cabinet which simplifed mat
tiers considerably and enabled Mr.. Hag-
erup to present his list with the greatest
dispatch. Mr.. Hagerup promptly re-
deemed the promise made before election
that a conservative victory would mean
a fair representation of the old liberals,
who might vote against the Blehr faction.
The members of the new ministry are
all men Of high character and command
ing ability. The premier, Mr.. Hagerup
(born 1859, professor Of law in the univer-
sity since 1885, has great experience as a
practical statesman, as he served in the
second Stang cabinet from 189395, was
premier 1S95-9S, representative for. Chris
tiania in parliament 100000, when he was
reelected. Mr.. Hagerup is recognized in
ell quarters, even by his bitterest oppo-
nents, as a political capacity Of the first
rank; at the same time all admire his
noble. straightforward character. In his
own professional field, as well as in eco
nomic and social questions. he has shown
markedly progressive and liberal spirit,
and his political sagacity received a strik-
Ing illustration by the adroitness and de-
cision with which he induced the con-
servative party to place the consular SER
vice plank in it's platform. He is an emf
nently safe man. and, all In all, probably
the nearest approach to real statesman
time. 81
MIR. Ibsen has for years made our con-
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-14

is now at Stockholm in a. rather crit
ical condition after having been oper-
ated on, and the Anal result can as
yet not be told, altho the last reports
are encouraging. e
Carl IumhOltz and His Explorations.
The name Of Lunholtz. the Mexi-
can explorer, is as well known In
America as In his native land, Nor
way. He Is an unassuming gentle
man, who. lives for. his explorations
and studies exclusively. He has de-
livered two interesting lectures here
about the odd things that he has dis
covered among the cliff-dwellers Of
Mexico, whom he knows, perhaps,
better than any other man living. He
is going back to Mexico shortly, where
there is SO much Interesting work
studies OF the original inhabitants OF
that land.
Mr.. Fjelde's Statue of Ole Bull.
Dr.. Fjelde. brother Of the late ,sculp-
tor, Jacob Fjelde, who made the Ole
Bull statue, now at Minneapolis, has
been here and presented copy OF
the Minneapolis statue to the town Of
Aalesund, where it was solemnly re-
ceived.
The Nobel Prizes. .
Every fall the European papers, and
the Scandinavian ones particularly,
get busy guessing who will receive the
Nobel prize of the year. The history
of Alfred Nobel, the inventor Of dy-
Mantle, and his odd will, are SO well
known that shall not here repeat the
story.
According to newspaper guesses the
winners this year are likely to be:
The prize for physical researches,
MarcOnf. 49, 80 -
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-14

away dissatisfied with the financial
side Of his visit to Norway. =
Then we had Aino Ackte, the French
grand opera singer. She was born in
Finland and speaks Norwegian very
Well. She gave several concerts here,
among the audience. She certainly
mas winning ways and she conquered
the Christians people completely.
:The students serenaded her outside Of
her hotel one evening, while thousands
thronged the surrounding streets to
get glimpse Of her. She herself ad-
mits that when she stood on the bal
cony listening to the students singing
"Vart Land, Vart Land, the favorite
song Of Finland, she was moved be-
yond expression.
King Oscar showed her special
favor by asking her to the palace, and
he has since bestowed on her the
Is a native Of Finland certainly ac-
counts for some of the enthusiasm
with which she met In this city, altho
her merits as a grand opera star are
OF themselves enough to make her a
favorite. No doubt America will hear
her some day.
Last we had Mrs. Maeterlinck, with
a French company, playing in her
husbands Norma Wanna All this
was too much for Christians, and her
company, on one evening performance
and a matinee, lost 5000 kroner here.
From an artistic point Of view ma
dame was great But it takes money
to travel.
Gina Oselio Seriously Ill.
|; Norway has but one royal opera
|singer, and that is Gina Oselio, other
wise Mrs. Bjorn Bjornson, wife Of the
director for the National theater. She
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-14
Opening Of the Storthing Presence Of Several
ROYALTIES Change in the Ministry r or
eign Artists in the Capital.

p. G. H. X. Nicholson and Paul b. vogt,
members OF the cabinet division at Stock
holm.
Christian P. Mathiesen. chief of the de-
partment Of agriculture.
Hans N. Hauge. chief of the ecclesias-
teal and public instruction department.
Sigurd Ibsen is the only member
taken into the new administration
from the Biehr ministry. The new
cabinet Is composed of an equal num-
Der Of liberals and conservatives, and
by thus combining both parties the
best results are expected.
sigurd Ibsen is the only child OF
Henrik Ibsen, and he is married to a
daughter of Bjornstjerne Biornson.
The stand he has taken In the consular
service, negotiations between Sweden
and Norway secured him entrance into
the Hagerup cabinet.
The new premier has once before
held this office, and he also was a
member Of the Stang cabinet. Kildal
has also been a cabinet officer before.
Next week royalty will be gone and
ChriSt1ania will once more have a
palace without q king.
Apropos, the queens health is not
satisfactory, and with the exception
Of the first two days of her stay here,
she has not been able to be outdoors.
She suffers from sleeplessness and her
strength is failing. AS yet she has
been able to be up part Of each day.
French Artists Here.
Since my last letter we have had
many foreign artists here. Coquelin,
with a company Of sixty-three people,
played "Cyrano de Bergerac" two
nights, and for some reason or another
he did not have a full house at either
performance, and 1t is said he went
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-14
Correspondence Of The journal.

correspondence Oh 2Qo JouIuaAs
Christiania, Norway. Oct. 21.-The
complexion of our parliament has
been changed considerably by the re-
cent election. In the last parliament
the parties show:
Liberals 70, conservatives 81. mod
crates z, workingmen's party 8.
In the new parliament the parties
showed:
Straight conservatives "A, new nber-
ais s. moderates IA, straight liberals
80, socialists d.
The total number of representatives
has been increased from liza to III
and as in the election the issue was
between the adherents Of the Blehr-
Stang policy and the conservative ele-
ment, the new parliament will stand
on party issues, sc conservatives
against Sd liberals. A number of the
most extreme radicals have been re1e-
gated to private life and a number of
new men have been sent to- the legis-
lature. After a long period of expen-
sive experiments and hazardous
schemes, 1t is now confidently believed
that we possess a representation
which will give us a safe, economic
and rational course Of legislation. The
change in the sentiment of the people
as manifested in the recent election
will be seen from the following ap-
proXimate statement:
Total number of votes cast. .214, 00O
Conservatives, New Liberals and Moder
Liberals ................... SI,OOo
SOCIALISTS ....}....'...... .,............. %o,oVo
Since the last election the conser-
vative side has gained 5000 votes
the socialists have gained no less than
$4,000 votes Gan increase Of 100 per
cent) and the liberals here lost 10000
votes. In the election of 1900 some
235,000 votes were cast, SO that evil
IDENTIFY a large number of liberals, dis
satisfied with the Blehr regime, re-
Trained from voting this time. This
political upheaval, of course, in the
first place, is due to the folly and in.
capacity of the Blehr cabinet, but
proper credit should also be given tc
the men who with great courage and
to arouse the nation to decisive action
notably to men like Bjornstjerne
Bjornson and Mr.. Thommessen of the
"Verdens Gang" of the liberal party
and Professor Hagerup, Genera
Bratlie, Secretary Vogt and others o,
the conservative party. The recen
campaign was one of the most spirited
aver fought in Norway and the dis
Itussion of party issues was conducted
with great deal of ability and spiri
on both sides. I was present at the
final conservative meeting Of the cam
paign in Christiania. The audience
numbered some 5000. The orator!
and the enthusiasm reminded me O.
the most spirited political meetings
have witnessed in America. The fierce
political struggle Of the last quarter O
d century has certainly educated hos
Of able political debaters and the In
tel1igent interest taken in politica
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-14

ing several lengthy paragraphs, tell
ing everybody that should be there,
where to place himself, how to get
there. and last but not least, how he
should be dressed for the event.
The heads Of all military and civil
institutions We're there, with ladies.
To more ordinary people a few tickets
were given to the gallery. All the for
eign consuls were there. dressed in
their gorgeous uniforms. An excep-
ton must be made, Of course, for the
American consul general AS Is we'll
known, there is no uniform used In
the United States diplomatic or con-
sular service, unless the holder of
the office has been military OFFICER,
in which case he Is allowed to wear
his usual uniform on such occasions.
The attending ladies, that Is, the
cabinet ministers wives etc, were all
in court dress. The men were all in
gala attire.
The kings message was very short
and contained nothing of special in
terest. He stated that the finances OF
the country were such that the most
stringent economy had been followed
in making UP the budget. OF new
laws to be made in the present sea-
son, he mentioned law about serv-
ants, liquor law and a law regard
ing the protection Of the whale.
And after invoking the divine bless
ing the ffty-third regular session OF
the Norwegian storthing was declared
opened.
Tuesday night the court ball was
held at the palace. Two thousand in
vitations were out, and many a Chris
tiania damsel dreamed Of the honor
Of having dance with royal part
ner.
The New Norwegian Cabinet.
The Blehr ministry resigned or
Wednesday. The king called in the
leader of the conservative party, Pro-
fessor Hagerup, and asked him to
form the new cabinet This has beer
done to-day, and it is composed of the
following members:
Prime minister Of state, Professor
George Francis Hagerup, chief Of depart
ment Of justice and police.
Sigurd Ibsen, minister Of state at Stock
holm.
Burger Kildal. chief Of the custom an6
finance department
Jacob Marius Schoning. chief of the de.
partment Of commerce and industry.
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-14

endangering it's very existence as an
independent kingdom. Our national
debt now involves an annual outlay Of
11,750:000 crowns for interest and
amortization and the: debt will have to
be further increased within the near
future to carry out enterprises already
inaugurated and to meet obligations
already incurred. New duties will
have to be imposed and in anticipa-
ton of such increase Of duties staple
have of late been imported in largely
increased quantities. "A duty on rye
may possibly serve as a measure of
protection to our farmers and
stimulate agriculture.
One Of the blessings that our
strained relations with Sweden have
brought about is the duty on Swedish
cattle which has caused a large. in
crease in the price of meat. and milk.
A good Swedish COW a few years ago
cost 100 to $50 crowns, while it now
costs 200 to ESQ crowns. The removal
Of this duty would be "a great blessing.
The direct income tax to the: state,
gin with was to be paid by nearly all
taxpayers, was soon restricted to meet
popular clam or to those taxpayers 1lay-
ing an annual income of ], 900 crowns
and upwards, at the same time that
the ratio was considerably Increased,
|
| ers already overburden ed with mus
| nicipal taxes. The fact that goodly
amount OF this tax has gone towards
building useless or worse than r1se-
less fortiflcations on the Swedish bor-
/ der has not improved matterss M ost
taxpayers would probably prefer. in
lieu OF this tax to pay increased duties
on coffee, sugar, kerosene and corn for
a, few years TIL the finances shall be
lre-estaDl1shed on g. sound basis. S.5
.:a. Big Taxes in Cities. !.
In Norway there is no legal limit
to municipal taxation. The munich
pality simply imposes whatever taxes
are found necessary to meet expenses
thus putting q premium on extrawa-
gance. In one at least Of our towns,
the rate of taxation has reached ia
per cent of a mans income. Togeth-
er with the direct tax on property and
income this would in many cases
amount to a total tax of Is to 80 per
cent of a man IS mcconnell! That this
state of affairs cannot continue for
any length of time is self-evident. The
reform most urgently needed is the
1 flxlng OF a maximum rate of taxation.
In Copenhagen, for instance, the max
lmum rate of taxation is 3 per cent OF
i mans income. no matter how de-
rived. Such a low rate would be out
of the question in this country, but
9 to 3 per cent would seem to be fair
and would be a tremendous improve
ment on existing conditions. with. al.
most unlimited municipal Suffrage il
becomes urgently necessary to protect
the individual citizen against arbitra-
Try taxation.
Increase in Socialist Vote.
Z! One Of the features of the last cleo
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-14

but afterwards became one of the larg-
est ship owners in the country. He was
a member of parliament, 1s91-94, but de-
clined renomitlation as his large bust
ness required all his time. Mr.. Nicholson
was one of the most strenuous opponents
of the Blehr government an the recent
campaign and contributed largely 10 the
! nservative victory in Bergen. MI. Mich
Felsen is looked upon as one of the very
brightest and most aggressive business
men of the country and IN addition pos
,sesses abundant experience in public af-
fairs. .ss va rs Is
3. Vogt tborn 1852. studied law and
then became a journalist; 1S9S-1900 he
was political editor of the Morgenbladet
and in 1900 he took UP the practice Of
law. He has shown great ability as a
political organizer and is an excellent
campaign speaker He is a. man Of solid
attainments and of broad views. 8 IS
& It will be seen that the new 3Hagerup
cabinet Is. scoinparatively speaking. a cab
met OF young men, the oldest member be-
ing SO, the youngest SO. and the average
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-14
Correspondence Of Tho Journal.

HRISTIANIA, Norway, Oct.
90, 19OS.-Altho the open
III ing of the Norwegian stor-
thing is an every year at
fair there was something
unusual about the opening
which took place last Mon
day. This can be attributed partly
to the fact that there are more mem
bers of the royal family here at pres
ent than usual. and partly to the
change in the political control or the
national assembly.
There are at present in this city,
the king, the queen, the crown prince
and the crown princess. 1t is very
seldom that SO many members of the
ruling family are here at the same
time. The crown princess, for instance,
is a very rare visitor. In the four
years of my stay at Christiania, / do
not remember that she has been here
but once before. Owing to poor
health her royal highness spends
mosS)of her time in southern Europe;
SD for that matter, neither Sweden nor
Norway can boast Of housing the
prospective queen many months of
the year. Her husband, the crown
prince, is by far the most frequent Wis
itor of the family. He has a great
fondness for outdoor sport, and he
can beat anybody and everybody In
this country at lawn tennis. and to his
enthusiasm for the game is to great
extent due the interest 1t has met
with for the last few seasons in this
country. He also enjoys hunting, and
a couple of days ago, with attending
gentlemen. he went rabbit hunting.
Also here he proved himself superior
to his companions and many long
cared little fellow had to roll over
when the royal hunter pulled the
trigger.
The storthing was solemnly opened
at 2 p. M. Oct. 10, by King Oscar: the
crown prince and crown princess were
also present. The street from the
palace to the congress building was
black with people, who patiently
waited for hours to get chance to
see the royal equ1pages drive by.
Everything connected with the open
ing ceremonies this year was more
than ordinarily formal. A sort 81
an announcement was issued, contain
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-14

party bitterness and turning politics
into a more fruitful channel. It is
to be hoped that this drift may grow
stronger as time advances, altho it
must be &c, that there are signs
already that the old party spirit will
die hard. In the election Of speakers
Of the new parliament Mr.. Hagerup
received but 90 votes for speaker,
while the liberal Berner received 3112
votes for deputy speaker. The liberals
did not recfprocate the courtesy Of the
conservatives in making the choice as
nearly unanimous as the socialist vote
would permit.
Norway's Relations to Sweden.
The consideration Of Norway's re-
lations to Sweden and particularly OF
the question of q separate Norwegian
consular service, will not come up till
late in the session.. BY keeping the
discussion within the bounds laid
down in the report of the joint com
its own merits, apart from the question
of q separate foreign office. is hoped
that an agreen1e will be reached,
honorable and satisfactory to both ma
tons, thus removing for long time
to come the principal cause Of mutual
irritation and Ndepriving the profess
sional agitators of their most danger
Gus weapon.
= ls interesting. 70 note IN this con-
necl1on .tnat certain IN, swedish papers
now ne take the stand that dissolution
OF tne, union o would be preferable to
- 3, OF the consul question
W v.sIa would leave. the foreign office s.
q q OF !, , g. ZOE future arrangement
IN - oueu De a.sIrange turn. OF analrs
working for. the b. dissolution Of the
irro II n -
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-14
Prof O. Breda formerly Of the University Of Minnesota
comments it from conservative viewpoint Folly Of
terrifying against Sweden Real danger is from Russia

This railway, in connection with the
discovery of large and possibly very
valuable mineral deposits in northern
Norway have, Of course, largely in
creased the desirabillty Of the possess
sion Of these regions In Russian eyes
and have thus further increased the
danger.
These developments have attracted
attention outside Of Norway, notably
so in England, and the measures taken
by England to establish a strong naval
station on the Firth of Forth shows
that she is alive to the danger to her
self from the changed situation in the
north. Several years ago Sir Charles
Dixie, the noted English politician
and diplomatist, said:
Russia wants to get possession Of
| the keys to her gates. She wants to
| become paramount at Picking as she
| is at Constantinop1e and Teheran, and
| it is possible that in time to come she
may desire similar position at
|. Stockholm"
And he added: "I am a radical
I certainly should be an enthusiastic
friend Of the union"
Norway Has Been Blind.
While Sweden for years has been
alive to the danger and has bent her
energies on reorganizing her army and
on erecting formidable defenses at
Boden, the leading politicians of Nor
way have been utterly blind to 1t and
recently millions have been squan-
dered on erecting Notifications against
Sweden. Further than this political
fanaticism could scarcely go. OF
course, we ma.l take some comfort in
on the northern part Of Norway, Eng
land would be almost as much inter-
ested in preserving the integrity Of our
territory as the Norwegians, but at the
same time European politics is a very
uncertain base to build on. The
Franco-Russia alliance for instance,
opens up possibilities which might
leave us but poorly supported in case
Of war. In order to expect outside
sympathy and assistance the duty de-
wolves on ourselves to be ready to meet
the emergency with all the means at
our command. And here above all we
must seek our strength in the union
and exert ourselves to the utmost to
prepare a well-planned defense of the
districts primarily concerned.
The above presentation of the new
situation in the north is a very much
condensed resume of a series of anon
ymous articles by one of our leading
military men, which has just appeared
in 1.-THE Aftenposten,'' and which has
caused a marked sensation both in
Norway and in Sweden. The author
then proceeds to outline plan for
the reorganization of our army, OF our
land and coast defenses so as to fur
nish an active and efficient co-opera-
ton with the Swedish forces in case
of an attack on our frontiers. This
part, however, leave out as being of
less interest to my American readers.
! 20. J. Breda.
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-14

age less than " years. It is cabinet
representing the best elements OF both the
great political factions who meet on the
common ground Of patriotism, resolved to
free the country from the mad career of
political and financial recklessness which
has prevailed during the Blehr-Quam re-
gime. They have difficult task before
them. It will take years before the coun-
try can recover from the effects of the
misrule Of late years. New burdens will
have to be imposed before the obligations
already incurred are met and discharged,
and the papers of the opposition may be
relied on to raise a hue and cry against
them on, every possible occasion. But 1t
is to be hoped that sound sense may ulti-
n1ately prevail. Dear bought experience
should have taught the Norwegian people
by this time that /. is not safe to ertrust
the government to theorists or vision
aries. The era Of high sounding praises
must now be succeeded by an era of So
Der planning and economical living, both
In public and private life.