The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-09-25

William Jennings Bryan.
| the remainder Of the route being be
| tween islands that fill the Baltic and
| the gulf Of Finland as the stars t
the sky. Just out of st. Petersburg
is Russia's most important naval sta
ton. where We saw q number Of war
! ships. and were informed that the
crew Of one Of them had recently re-
fused to comply with d sailing order,
answering that il was waiting to see
what the puma would do.
Until about a hundred years ago
Finland was q part Of the Baltic en-
pire. of which sweden was the head,
and Of the 100000 inhabitants Of
Finland something like 20 per cent.
are of Swedish dosccnt. As might be
expected. the Swedish clement was
not only the official element, enjoying
to a large extent the titles of nobility.
but it is still the WeaIthier and more
influential portion. The Firms proper
are not LaDlandcTS, as their northern
position would suggest. neither are
they in ace closely akin to the Slavic
or scandinavian population. As men
toned in the article on Hungary, they
anne from western Asia and are quite
distinct in race characteristics from
their present n~cighbors. They ac-
Quired from the Swedish cOnquerOrs
o fondness for the public school, and
the percentage Of ilIiteracy is much
less in Finland than in other parts Of
Russia. under whose dominion they
u~nWillingly came in 1903.
our boat stopped at H~elsingfOre for
a few hours, and We had an ~opportun-
ity to visit the principal points of in
terest in the capital Of Finland. 1t is
a substantial and prosperous looking
city, with large school houses, attrac-
I've public buildings and c~ommOdiouS
churches. We passed several small
parks. whore children were playing
and where numerous. comfortable
seats beckoned the weary to rest be
meath the shade.
I confess to a partfaIfty for the
small city park; it is much better to
have these breathing spaces, so scat
tered about through denseIy populated
sections that the children. as we'll as
the adults. can find in them a daily
refuge. than to have the entire park
fund iav.shed upon suburban parks
which can only be visited occasional
Iy. 1t is a pity that space is not more
often reserved for these parks in the
laying out of towns, for the ground
not only becomes more valuable in
proportion as these small parks are
the more needed, but the opening of
them in the heart Of d city brings d
large u~nearncd increment to those
h own land adjacent to them.
We could not help noticing the con-
traSt between the market of Hclsing-
fors and those which we visited in
Asia. At the former, neatly dressed
peasants, men and M exposed
for sale from the end Of their carts Q
bountifuI supply of vegetables, meats,
butter, eggs and cheese. The eggs
were stamped with the name Of the
owner and the date Of laying, the but
ter was packed in wooden buckets Of
various sizes. and the cheeses were Of
many varieties. Some of the carts
were filled with stacks Of black bread
baked in large flat cakes. The rad
lShcS presented II temptation that |
was not able to Withstand: the fond
ness for them. restrained during the
months Of travel through the orient,
oVercame me. and at the risk of being
thought c~XtraVdgant ! purchased five
dozen at a gross outlay Of about five
cents and lived high until they We're
all gone.
The Films are rejoicing over the
autonomy recently secured. and they
have signaIized their partial independ-
ence by creating q single parliament
tarE body whose representatives are
elected by the entire population, male
and female. above the age Of "a. No
one can understand the persistency
with which the Firms have struggled
for constitutional government with
obI ICtdIllllS mat DIS a part OF SNc-
den their COUNTRY long enjoyed the
right TO representation in the nations
councils. The people have always re
scented Russian methods. and only a
few years aGO the encouragement
sent from st. Petersburg was ~assassi-
mated by Il young Finn who. having
thus given expression to his nations
hatred OF despotism, Immediately took
his own life. The death Of the govern
or was followed by the suspension of
such few privileges as the PEOPLE
had been enjoying, but when last
year the Whole of Russia seemed
about to rise in rebellion. h car
announced his Willingness to grant all
that was asked, and now one can
travel through Finland without being
harassed by soldiers or bothered
about passports.
If ConstantinopIe IAN claim to be
the natural capital of the eastern
hemisphere, Stockholm can with equal
justice claim ~ be its natural sum
mer resort. It is situated at a point
where q chain of lakes pours its food
INTO the Baltic, so that the itizens Of
SWeden'S capital have their choice
betWeen the fresh water and the salt.
As the lakes and the sea are filed
with innumerable islands each family
can have one for itself. Summer
homes are probably more numerous
near stockholm. in proportion to the
population. than anywhere else, be-
cause during the winter months the
people live in flats. One is immediately
struck with the c~ompactness of the
city and with the absence of single
dwellings, surrounded by yards. owing
TO the severe cold and the long. dark
days of winter. the people huddle
together in great blocks and thus econ
omize fuel. and they are at the same
time closer TO their work. AS soon As
spring opens there is a general move