Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1908-05-14
NORWAY,

NORWAY. !
Lieutenant Colonel NJ. H. Magnus
OF the Norwegian army has been cred
tied with the mission of seeking to
attract Observation-Disclosures back to
their homes, where their means and
their American spirit would mean con-
siderable for, the economic welfare
OF the country. But after having
spent some time in this country he
has come to the conclusion that he
cannot accomplish much. America
Is magnificent country, and the more
l see OF 1t the more I am impressed
with its greatness" he said in dis
cussing the conditions of the Norwe-
gians in this country. Il have met
large numbers of my countrymen
since I landed here last September,
and everywhere I found them in easy
or prosperous circumstances. It would
be nice to have a large influx of that
kind OF people in Norway, but it is
out of the question. The problem be-
fore us is to keep the people we al
ready have, and this is the question
l am trying in part to solve'
A Bit Of History.-Mr Vraa, men,
Der of the storting, recently expressed
himself rather freely on the condition
of the Norwegian navy at the time of
the rupture of the union of Norway
and Sweden, in June, 1905. The re-
marks made by Mr.. Vraa brought out
a semi-oft1cial statement by Admiral
Sporre, whose position made him
familiar with the situation during the
union crisis. The admiral said in
part: The whole navy was ready
for war In 1905. It was ascertained
that the defects were very few. Ev-
erybody knew that we were inferior to
the Swedes as to the number of large
war-craft. But on the other hand
we had fully as many torpedo boats
as the Swedes, and believe that all
our big and small vessels were in
complete order. Considering that we
were facing a defensive war, I think
we were prepared to maintain our
position so that the enemy could not
have inflicted sufficient injury to
jeopardize our independence-that Is,
provided our command had been able
to take advantage of the situation
AS I have said, our navy was ready,
the outfit was complete in every par
ticular, the necessary supplies and
ammunition had been provided at a
pretty early date, the men were in
fine spirits,
Two noted gatherings of entirely
different kinds took place in the Nor
wegian capitol a few evenings ago
The inauguration of the Knudsen cab
met was accompanied by the great so.
cial event of the season, namely "the
palace ball. The other gathering
took place in "Folkets Hus' or what
is called labor temple in America
Both were joyous gatherings, and the
attendance was about 1900 at each
place. The occasion of the palace
BALI has already been mentioned, and
the ball represented whatever Nor
way has of wealth and Of social, 20
litical and military prestige. 1t was
an affair of silk and gold and glitter
ing diamonds, and of rivulets Of cham
payne. To explain the gathering al
"Falkets Hus'' Qiterally, the peoples
house') will require a little more
space. Last fall visionary named
Einar Ii was imprisoned because he
refused point blank to perform the
| military service which the laws o.
To r.
| prison just before he was to defend
his course in public lecture, ant
| this summary treatment was strong
! ly resented by a large part of the
| public. Einar Ii had just been Sc
free, and the gathering at "Falket:
Hus' was gotten up in order to give
him chance to give the lecture
which had been announced just be
fore he was put into Jail. His lecture
lasted for about an hour, and it wa!
of purely |'academical" nature. Blu
towards the close he INDUCED in mos
sensational personalities. He assert
ed that the commanding general, VIII
at that very moment was dancin;
with the king and the queen in tn
Illuminated palace hall, ought to hav,
been in the penitentiary on accoun
of circular which he had prepare'
contrary to the constitution, and TIL
speaker wound up this assault by
scathing denunciation of those VIII
are controlling the military affair
| of Norway. A careful student of Law
as he is, Einar Ii worded his charge
so carefully and based them so frml
on ascertainable facts that the mi
itary authorities are left in an er
viable position; if they prosecute tn
speaker they are too apt to be beaten
and if they leave him alone publ
opinion will stigmatize them as sell
confessed delinquents. Anothe
speaker, Mr. Vraa, a member of tn
storting, made the sarcastic remar
that Ejnar Lis liberation was &cele
brated at the palace at the same time
but the great burden Of his address
Il NJ j."