The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-07-27
NORWAY AND SWEDEN.
Count Douglas Submits to an Interes,
 ing Interview.

Count D0aglas Submits to an Interest-
 ing Interview.
 Stockholm, Sweden, July 1S.-(Corre- spondence of the Associated Press. )- Count T. Douglas. former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden and Norway Governor General of the province of Os- tergoetland, and leader of the stor- svenska,' or patriotic party, whose name has been mentioned as the next Premier of Sweden, received the cor respondent of the Associated Press to- day while awaiting the publication oi the report of the special committee by the Riksdag to deal between the crisis of Sweden and Norway. Count Douglas said: Tn Norway they say and have spread broadcast over the world that the 'Storsvenska party Is a party of the nobility, the object of which Is to give tho nobility of Sweden the power of government This talk Is as all sane persons know mere nonsense and childishness. They den some kind of sovereignty ovel Norway. Such was never our object As you know, Norway has, in respect of self government. been one of the freest nations of the world. But the fact Is that long before the other par ties we perceived the duplicity some Nordegians who were working with Ln6 ODJeCt lu ticW OI causing u ScpdI ton. To obtain their object they were necessarily searching for seeds of dis sensions and have been found plant ing them. They worked hard an6 heartily for dissolution of the union. ant we worked as hard to counteract theii efforts.
 'In the first excitement after the Nor. wesian revolution and after the swed' ish people had recovered from the stun ming insult to 1t and It's king, many | persons came to the conclusion that Il Is as well as 1t is, if they-ths Nor we >ians-are unwilling to live in peac, | with us and share the apparent bless ing of this union of more than ninety
 years duration. let them go their owI
 way and we will go ours. but the! i could have chosen a more honorabl,
 way to break off this union. That a least we might have good reasons t' expect. Now when the first excite. ment has passed, Sweden ought to ex. ert herself to the utmost not to give up the union, because in reality tho differences a.e so insignificant, tha they easily could be overcome. A new union must be offered by us to the Nor. wegians founded on full liberty, equal ity and interior dependence of botl countries. but in which the presen lprinciples-the Scandinavian peninsuis as against the worlds one whicl must be consequently carried through
 Thus we must besides a common king have common departments O. foreign affairs. of commerce and navi gation, of war and of the navy. Ant the peninsula must be joined in commercial union so far as the com mercial union policy Is concerned. Al
 the places in these four department from the highest to the lowest shoult be open to either -fSwedes or Norweg
 ians. A union pi}rliament meeting al ternately in Stoziholm and Christian; should have control over the common interests and to this parliament tn, lcabinet members of t;N common de ipartment shuold be responsible.
 ITO delay the decision in this gray tquestion until after the Swedish cleo I ton is evident In the meantime Swe lden will ask the powers not to ac knowledge Norway as an independen state until the new riksdag has an op lportunity to express the will of tn, Swedish people.
 Tn conclusion let me express tn, hope that the United States will b, able to see the things at home 1T a clear way which distance sometimes enables us to do. In their unbiased opinion. I think they will see tha such a settlement of the crisis at out
 lined in this interview is not only feasible. but the most practicable anS honorable for both parties."