Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-25
ICELAND MA "
BE REPUBLIC
PEOPLE TIRED OF CENTURIES OF
BROKEN PLEDGES
ISLAND ONCE FORGOTTEN AND
ALWAYS NEGLECTED
Denmark Kept Northern Country Be-
cause No Other Power Thought
of Taking Possession of
Snowbound Land


Though Iceland lies out of the beaten
track of the American tourist and is sell
dom heard of in the daily press and peril
odical literature of the United States,
yet 1t is an island that possesses many
interesting associations with this coun-
try, says the Chicago Tribune. 1t Is
from Iceland that came the first Euro
pean discoveries Of America, who thou
sand years ago had their prosperous
settlements all along the New England
coast as far south as Long Island. 1t
was to Iceland that Columbus came for
information about the new world before
starting off on the first of his epoch maxi
ing voyages across the Atlantic. He is
known to have spent several months in
the great Thingore monastery, delving
among the old manuscript sagas for data
concerning the tenth century 1celandic
colony of Vinland on the Massachusetts
coast, and it was the knowledge thus OBJ
tanned that emboldened him to sail later
on for the western hemisphere. Iceland
has furnished both to the United States
and to Canada some of their most indus
trious and useful immigrants, and 1t now
appeals to the sympathy Of republican
America in its aspirations toward the
restoration of that republican government
under which it fiourished during the days
of its greatest prosperity, prior to the
unpopular domination of Denmark.
Icelands grievance against Denmark,
like that of Ireland against England. Is
of an economic rather than political
origin. AS long as the Icelanders were
free to trade with whom they listed their
island flourished. They carried on an ex-
tensive trade with Great Britain and
Germany, and 1t was in a large measure
owing to its prosperity and to its UNI
restricted intercourse with foreign nations
that in prereformation times 1t was CEN
ter Of much culture and learning, as is
shown by its beautiful medieval litera-
ture, which exists to this day and which
Is of such priceless value to students.
Denmark Breaks Pledges
When Denmark established her hold
upon Iceland she pledged herself to main
tain unimpaired the advantages of au-
tonomic rule and of unhampered foreign
trade until then enjoyed by the island.
But, as has been so often the case with
other countries, she failed to fulfill her
promises and gradually filched every ves-
tige of that commercial independence
which had been guaranteed to the island
by the treaty of the union. She put
stop to all Iceland's thriving trade with
the Hanse cities, and especially with
Great Britain, converting 1t into Dan
ish monopoly, run for the benefit of Dan
ish and not for Icelandic purses, and,
not content with this, subjected the peo-
pie to onerous taxation without comforting
upon them any corresponding benefits.
Under the circumstances 1t Is not astonish-
ing that industry and commerce should
have been reduced to such an extent that
the people lost most of their interest in
life. Famine, sheep and cattle disease,
and epidemics of various kinds devas-
tated the island throughout the eighteenth
| century, the inhabitants becoming so dis
couraged that they made little or no eff
fort to defend themselves from the raw
ages of these visitations, and to such q
condition of restitution and of misery
was the island reduced by the beginning
of the nineteenth century that 1t was
seriously proposed to remove the surviv
ing remnant of the population to the
mainland In order to preserve it from
extinction through starvation.
Unfortunately the geographical knowl-
edge Of the statesmen intrusted with the
direction of the destinies of the world
hundred years ago was of a much more
limited nature than 1t is today and the
plenipotentiaries of the European powers
assembled in congress at Vienna in 1914
for the purpose of reshaping the map of
the world after the downfall of Napoleon
had apparently never heard of Iceland,
or had perhaps forgotten its existence
Denmark had incurred their wrath by her
espousal of the cause of the great en-
peror, and accordingly they deprived her
of Norway, which they added to the do
minions of King Charles of Sweden. the
ex-French Marshal Bernadotte, who had
assisted them to defeat Bonaparte. They
..new of Norway, But although Iceland
is twice the size of Scotland and three
times as large as Denmark. 1t received no
attention. 1t was clean and clear forgot
ten, and was left to enmark merely be-
cause no one happened to think about it.
In fact, no mention Of 1t is to be found
in the records or discussions of the con-
gress.
Working Out Salvation
Iceland's salvation, such as 1t Is, has
come not from without, but from within.
She is indebted for the turn in her for
tunes not to any congress of the powers
but to her own sons. Early in the nine
teenth century Magnus Stephenson. pa
triotic lawyer inaugurated nationalist
movement by means of the foundation of
a Useful knowledge society, with view
of bringing within the reach of the people.
the practical knowledge of the day. New
life having been thus infused into the Ice
landers, they were prepared In the next
generation for the home rule and free
trade struggle in which Ion Sigurdsson
played so prominent part, and at length,
in 1874 his efforts were crowned with sue
cess, and Denmark, confronted with the
danger of a secession of Iceland, restored
to 1t not only free trade, but also modi-
fed form of home rule. While this con-
cession was bitterly opposed in the legis-
lature at Copenhagen, 1t was made with
the utmost grace and kindness by the
late King Christian. who visited the island
in person-the first occasion of king set
ting foot in Iceland In a thousand years.
and on the historic plain of Thingvlleir,
where the Althing or parliament was wont
to assemble in the days of the old lee
landic republic he read aloud to the PEG
pie the decree which granted to them
those rights of trade and of home rule for
which they had been struggling. 1t is
described as having been a most pictur-