The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1907-12-20
IN THE SCANDINAVIAN NORTH
CLeanines Of Important Nelps Of Norway, Slpeden
and Denmark, uith Occasional Comments.
".
BY MARTIN ". oD1AND.
SWEDEN.

The financial crisis about which
briefly whote before is a more serious
matter than was at first anticipated.
The flush times that have lately pre-
vailed in Sweden have had the same
effect there as in the United States
the people have become reckless spec
ulators, pursuing the phantom Of
wealth altogether too fast. AS a con-
sequence, when the shrinkage came,
they were unable to extricate them
selves and went to the wall. Hugo
Vallentin, Swedish correspondent of
Stockholm, speaks as follows of the
stringency:
Some time ago stockbrolling firm,
Arthur Mattson, failed for large
amount, having extended it's dealings
in land too far to be able to extricate
itself when the scarcity of money be-
gan to be felt. 1t cannot be said, so
tar as l know, that this firm had done
eny gambling business, but without
doubt it had gone beyond what the
capital at it's disposal warranted. 1t
is possible that the difficulties of this
firm might have been tided over under
more fortunate circumstances, but the
working of the money screw beginning
in Wall street was already felt here.
1t is possible that the losses in this
concern will not be great, but losses
there will be.
But when the cyclone from America
came sweeping over Europe, many tot
tering houses here began to shake on
their foundations and some fell with a
crash. Among the most sensational
failures here in the last days is the one
of Karl A. Malmberg, limited, an i'm
porting house which deals in colonial
goods and American bacon on an ex-
tensive scale and which had branches
in several provincial towns. 1t is
business of comparatively recent birth,
+, but has had enormous dealings in
these articles and declared good divi-
dends to it's shareholders. Now, how
ever, it seems that these dividends
had no foundation in any real profit
and that the whole concern was big
gamble and last night the managing
director and founder of the firm, Mr..
Malmberg, was arrested.
1T is scarcely to be believed that he
had been able to persuade one of our
leading private banks to give his firm
credit Of nearly 100000. This
shows the size of the business and the
credulity of human nature. Luckily
for the depositors of the bank in ques-
ton, the bank itself is very sound
concern, with very large reserve funds,
SO that the result will only be that the
shareholders will have to satisfy them
selves with the diminished dividend
for some years to come. The bank is
Henosands Enskilda bank and has
funds pr over $7,000,OOO. Moreover,
the shareholders have unlimited liza
bility, so that the depositors can sleep
without bad dreams.
Our banking situation is generally,
[ may say, altogether very sound, and
even much worse crisis will not have
a disastrous effect on it. For long
time we have seen the storm coming
and prepared for it, so one may surely
predict that if more failures are to
come they would have come sooner or
later in any circumstances, but may
have been fastened by the present
circumstances. In the wake of the
Malmberg firm will follow perhaps
thirty other firms, mostly in the prov
inces, but there is no reason to sup
pose that any sound and solid concerns
will be touched; OF course, stocks
have fallen a good deal in the last two
days and even very good securities
have gone down a good deal, but in
my opinion not below their real
worth, as values have been inflated all
round. Now it is only necessary to
remain calm and collected and we
shall get over the worst with as little
damage as possible"
Three hundred delegates. represent
ing the Liberals of Sweden, some Of
them being former ministers, recently
met in Stockholm to consider the
question of accepting or rejecting the
Lindman proposal, establishing a sys-
tenn of proportional representation in
Sweden, which passed the last riks-
lag, but which must be again ratified
by the legislative body to become
law. After heated debate it was de-
cided by large majority to bow to
the inevitable and accept the Lindman
proposal, with the understanding, how
ever, that an effort is to be made to
incorporate woman's suffrage in the
measure before 1t becomes law.
have already told Of the earnest de-
sire of large percentage of the peo-
pie, of both sexes, to bring about
equal suffrage, and this action on the
part of the Liberal convention Is a
further evidence Of this fact.
AS will be remembered, have al.
ready stated in these columns that
Sweden was guaranteed her integrity