Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-22

road completed. the country being a
desolate waste. city of from 10000 TO 90
900 souls will spring up. The town built
| up by the mines of Gellivare numbers
| about 6,000 people.
! It is from the mines OF GeIivare and
| kirunavaara that the ores for making
| much of the steel of Emperor Williams
| warships and the great Krupp guns that
| form their armament is manufactured
! These mines too, contribute largely To
| the steel of which Germany's modern
ocean liners are built. Possibly some fine
| day these ships and guns built from Swed-
| ish iron viii be used to transform tho
| Scandinavian peninsula into n German de-
! tendency, the modern German steam
| ships are helping to make 1t an Industrial
! dependency even now.
The railroad which transports the ores or
| these remarkable mines to the Gulf or
| Bothnia In the summer and to the Atlantic
| in the winter was built by Sweden and
| Norway Jointly, three-fourths of the ex-
pense being borne by Sweden and one
| fourth by Norway. 1t is operated by
| company, exactly the same as the munich
pally built subway in New York IL owned
| by the city. but operated by a corporation
The extension OF the line through Nor
| way TO the Atlantic makes II possible to
| export the ores the year round whereas be-
! fore they could be moved only in the warm
| weather. The Gulf of BOthnia. much
| colder than the Atlantic, freezes up In the
| fall. not to become free of ice again until
| spring, but the ocean waters that wash the
|
| of the tropic-born gulf stream, never
| freeze at all. II is the gulf stream that
| makes all Norway somewhat warmer than
| Sweden.
The contrasts in temperature on the
eastern and western sides of the dividing
! ridge which separates the two countries are
sometimes startling, and comparable TO
nothing except similar contrasts to be
| found along the eastern and western sides
of the great mountain ranges which run
parallel to our eastern and western coasts
| and northward through British Columbia
| into Alaska.
| 1t follows naturally that the Swedes are
| perhaps more expert in all wipter craft,
| their winters being longer than the Nor
| wegian. Yet most Norwegians as well as
| Swedes are expert runners on skis, or
| snowshoes, and are trained In their use
| from childhood up. The great winter snow
| shoe races are natural festivals on both
| sides Of the dividing line, and there IL win
| ter enough TO suit the most eXacting III
| both countries.
Trs gel in the Peninsula.
The railroads of Sweden and Norway are
| much like most European lines though few
| fast trains are run over them. In those
| parts of the peninsula not penetrated by
| the iron horse, travelling is done much as 1t
| is in a large part of Russia and Finland.
| by means of post horses and sleighs in
| winter, wheeled vehicles being used in sum-
| mer.
| Few foreign tourists penetrate the PENN
| sula in winter. but year after year the
| number OF Americans, English people and
| Germans who travel in Sweden and Norway
| in the warm season is increasing. Inc
| posts" or stations established by the gov
| eminent, are always supplied with horses
| and conveyances, the food is abundant and
! wholesome in most cases, and travellers
| who have covered many miles in the two
| countries declare that they have yet to
| find post house that is not kept scrupu-
| lousy clean.
| CHI fe
| very meager; the baroness of the big pub
! lie room, sometimes earth-foored, being
| relieved almost always by great collections
| Of potted window plants, which are kept
| in gorgeous bloom. Rates for meals, beds.
| horses and other needs of the traveller are
| fixed by the government, and heavy penal
| ties for overcharging are prescribed, but
rarely imposed, for neither Swedes nor
Norwegians seem to have the slightest ten
| deucy to oVercharge.
| The most noted of all the Norwegian sta
| lions is Toeftemoen of Gudbrandadal. 1t
| is a great rambling farm house and sta
| ton combined. one of the most ancient
| homes in all Norway, and renowned in the
| sagas or national epic poems. It's Keeper
| is n great landed proprietor, and a de-
| scendant of the first king of Norway, Har-
| old Haarfager, unless, indeed, the place
| has changed hands within the !ast rev
years. The station at Vett farm Is the
! very antithesls of Toeftemoen, and so bad
| as TO be termed a veritable cave of gloom
| by travellers who know 1t Well
| Why They Do Not Federate.
| The Norwegians as well as the Swedes
have always respected King Oscar. espe-
| cially ever since he bestowed great honors
| upon Bjornstjorne Bjornson, despite his
| sarcastic writings concerning the monarch,
| because of his great literary abilities.
Among the reasons why the Scandinavian
nations are little likely ever to federate,
unless driven TO do by a train of cir
cumstances not easy to imagine is the re-
gard the people of each hold for the people
of each other two. Thus the NOrweglans
consider the Swedes too aristocratic, the
Swedes have a tendency to look down upon
the NorweglanS as a race OF fishermen who
are without distinction, while the Danes.
despite their own virtually dependent ma
tional position. regard both Swedes and
Norwegians with amused liberation.
The Danes are the most cultivated OF the
three nations. They proud of their art,
their history, their general cultivation and
the high places held in foreign lands by
the children of their sovereign, the beloved
King Christian. The Danes know a good
deal more about the art and the history or
other lands than the people of other lands
know about theirs, and wonder sometimes.
fncredulousy when they discover the al
most worldwide ignorance concerning their
little peninsular country.
In many ways they ahead OF their
more northern counsins, especially in their
newspapers popularity in their method
Of newsgatherlng les in the fact that each
member of the staff on each of the journals
of Copenhagen must belong TO of the
many clubs with which the country
abounds, and pay II regular visits. In order
to get the gist of enlightened public oprl-
ion upon all current political and other
events. These clubs are the regular resort
Of everybody who IS anybody a all In tho
Scandinavian capital.
BY marriage Denmark is equally allied TO
Russia the most autocratlc, but just now
the most unfortunate of European govern
ments. and England, freest and really most
republican in spirit The people of Den
mark enjoy almost as much political free
dom as those of England, and England
might become Denmarks protector in tn.
event of general European troubles.