The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1907-02-21
Recent Occurrences of Interest
in Sweden, Norway and
Denmark.
CLAIMS ERICSSON INVENTION
Wan Named Timby Says He Evolved
the Revolving Turret Idea of
the Monitor.
SWEDEN.
Stockholm.


The following editorial in the Min
neapolis Journal bearing date Of Feb.
IL, will not fail to interest every
patriotic Swedish-American in the Uni
Ted States: "a man with the classic
name Of Timby now comes forward
to claim the credit and usufruct for
the Invention of the revolving-turret
Idea, which enabled Captain John
Ericsson's Monitor to put the dreaded
Merrimac out Of business in the
memorable battle of March 9, 1862.
incidentally, he wants the government
to pay him 100000 The court of
claims will pass on Timby's suit, but
it seems quite unlikely that the laurel
wreath which crowns the fame Of the
great and unselfish Swedish inventor
will be disturbed. Fortunately, there
are men still alive who know Of the
priority of Captain Ericsson's inven-
ton, which he gave so freely to the
government of the United States at the
very moment when it was most
needed. When he died, in 1889, hon
ors were showered on his memory and
his great deeds by both the land Of
his nativity and the land of his adop-
ton. His statue now stands in New
York, and great mausoleum was
reared to him in Sweden, whittier the
remains were taken in an American
battleship. The claim of Timby for
ty years and more afterward seems
absurd. 1t is recalled that Ericsson
presented his novel ideas to Napoleon
III in 1854, several years before the
war Of the rebellion broke out. Despite
the priority Of his invention, he made
no effort to get patent when he was
commissioned to build the Monitor.
His achievement in turning the for
tune Of war at the critical moment
toward the union cause will never be
forgotten by a grateful nation.''
News from Sven Hedin, the Swedish
traveller, who last year started from
Chinese Turkestan on a journey of ex-
ploration to Tibet, reached Calcutta
Feb. 5. Hedin, who then sent off his
courier had already explored $40 miles
Of unknown country, said he hoped to
reach the monastic city of Shigaste,
40 miles from Lhassa, at the end Of
this month. The geographical and
geodetic results Of the expedition are
exceptionally rich. Hedin has discov-
cred many unknown mountain ranges,
rivers and gold fields and Travelled
eighty-four days in the solitude of an
arctic winter. not seeing single
Tibetan. Hedin's report concludes:
'"The journey is the most wonderful
I have made in Asia in my twenty
two years of travels"
Direct steamship communication be-
tween Stockholm and the United States
will soon be effected through the re-
cent organization of the COSMOPOLITAN
Steamship company, representing pow
erful American railway corporations
and the firm of Heckscher & Son of
Copenhagen. The first connecting
points will be Stockholm and Philadel-
phia, and other eastern American har-
bors are to be reached later. From
Stockholm will be shipped Swedish
iron and lumber to American ports
and Stockholm will thus become dis
trlbution point for American goods in
the Scandinavian peninsula. 1t will
be a gigantic undertaking and the
Stockholm agents for the company
will be Messrs. Lindegren and
Waern.
The kings birthday was observed
this year in the customary manner.
His majesty's health seems steadily
improving. In consequence, the daily
bulletins regarding his condition have
been discontinued. The king and
queen gave a family dinner on his ma
jesty's birthday and the latter was
well enough to participate and enjoyed
it. A persistent rumor claims that
King Oscar will abdicate the throne in
favor of his son, Crownprince Gustaf,
on the kings and queens golden we'd
ding anniversary, which will be cele-
brated June 6, this year.
"The Happy Widow" is play which
has taken the Swedish capital by
storm. The initiatory performance,
which was given on the evening of
Jan. %, was attended by the crown
prince, the duke and duchess of Skane
and Prince Eugen. The play is given
to crowded houses every evening and
seats have been sold for weeks in ad-
vance.
\ war museum will be erected on
kastellholmen in the near future,
where all Swedish war relics and
trophies will be kept. This would
mean that all the historic war flags.
relics and the royal sarcophogi of the
Riddarholm's church would be trans
ferred to the new museum.
Another new bank will soon he
started in Stockholm out in the Oster-
MAIN district with a capital of $780,
600 crowns. The business section in
this end of the city is rapidly ex-
randing and there is a splendid field
for new bank.
salchow, the Swedish skating king
beat the worlds record at Vienna the
other day and easily beat the Russian
skater Bohatch. Salchow will next
appear in Berlin, where he is sched-