Morris tribune., 1907-11-16

western Norway together by rail has
become reality. On the 9th Of this
month the last rail in the line was put
Lin and r.Teted at sUsteoset. Thus the
track is now laid, but it will still re-
sq'ire two months work before the
Sho-e lllle over and through the noun
tains will be opened for general traf-
fic. Perhaps it will take the better
part OF TIE winter to find out how to
avoid the snowdrifts on the high
mountains. In fact, the passenger
tra4fic Oh the new road will not amount
to much before next spring. What
ever minor difficulties there will have
to be overcome on the road in the fu-
ture. the main work has been done.
and it is an engineering feat that any
country could be proud of. Where
before hardly any human being had
gone and where the Wild bear and
wolf had their haunts, trains will now
move easily, connecting the two larg
est cities in Norway. There are
% tunnels, of which the largest
"Gravehalstunnelen,' has length of
b.311 meters. and by train it requires
about nine minutes to go through it.
Aside from the commercial value OF
tie road to Norway, it will certainly
become one Of the greatest tourists
routes in the country, because if it be
grand scenery the traveller is looking
for, he will on this road get all kinds
and plenty of it,. snowdecked noun
tains, glaciers, waterfalls, smiling
lakes, they are all to- be found along
this highway. 1t must be understood
however, that the eastern terminus i
Gulsvik,i at the north end of Lake
Kroedern. and that by rail from
Christiania you can go only to the
south end of that lake, and further by
steamer, or by vehicle. to Gulsvik
Through trains between Christiania anu
Bergen will not be possibly for two
years. But as it is, the time OF
travelling between Christiania and Ber
gen has been reduced from fifty-four
to twenty-one hours. When the entire
road is completed, the journey will
take only about fifteen hours. The dis
NY Ian OfCl InC ltCN 1OdO DC-
tween Christiania and Bergen is 492
kilometers.
M. Nicholson, the premier, resigned
Oct. % ON account of ill health, which
led to the resignation of the ministers
Of public worship and justice. King
Haakon later made the following ap-
pointments: J. G. Loevland, premier
and minister of foreign affairs; M.
Bredal, minister of justice; Captain
Dawes, minister of defense; Magnus
Halvorsen, minister of finance; NJ
Berg, minister of public worship. The
reconstruction Of the ministry has no
political significance. 1t is entirely
due to the doctors ordering M. Michel
sen to, take prolonged rest, as he is
suffering from a dangerous form of
heart disease. Press comments con
celning the recent government changes
arc generally unfavorable and the op
position papers of Christiania predict
a fall Of the ministry when the
storthing assemblies in January. The
conservative press Is noncommital
while the provincial papers generally
express discomfort -
The poor crops this year are to Il
great extent the cause of the high
prices Of food products. The reports
from some districts are rather discour-
aging. From the district of Elverum
the report Is that they will get hard
~ any oats and about third or one
fourth Of the usual yield Of potatoes.
This failure of the oat crop will have
an influence on the lumber output. be
cause large quantities of oats are used
as feed for the horses while working
in the woods during the winter. but
the price of oats is now % ore a kilo.
and this fact will make lumber haul
ing Improbable work this winter,
which again Is bound to lessen the
output of forestry products. or else
make them more expensive.
There was popular demonstration
in Christiania Nov. in honor Of the
retiring prime minister. P c. Michel
sen. Fully $4,000 persons marched
through the main streets of the city
and gathered about the residence of
M. Nicholson. who was given a great
ovation.