Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1911-09-13


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asSare the Scandinav the North
ern Germans and English. high
authority says, 8 CONTROL Of the sea,
by maritime commerce and naval
supremacy, means predominant inAu-
ence in the world; because however
great the wealth product Of the land,
nothing facilitates the necessary ex-
changes us does the sea. The fun
damental truth concerning the sea
the water lis that it is natures great
medium Of communication. 1T is I'M
probable that one nation will ever
again control the seas. Like the con-
troll Of the land it must be competed
for, perhaps fought for" It is a
hopeful sign among Scandinavians,
as among Germans, that their cult
ure and language are becoming more
aggressive on the water. In our day,
as in the times Of the Vikings and the
Hansa, water dominion is more i'm
portant than that Of the land. Will
the. Scandinavian languages hold
their present place on the water?
Yes, but not without a strenuous eff
fort.
Neither of the three Scandinavian
Kingdoms has the colonial fever;
each passed that stage Of develop
ment long ago. Hence some hold
they are overcultured. They have no
need Of colonies. The 10000, 900,
Scandinavians, Firms, Lapps and Es-
kimos excel in having less people to
the square mile than any other Eu-
ropean nation, Norway having, ac-
cording to the 1910 census, 10 and
Sweden 80 people to the square mile,
Denmark $50, Belgium 657, Germany
81. Hence Scandinavia has room
for her returning children. True 80
million people are not many com
pared to the populations Of India
and China, yet they are in actual and
|practical possession Of zone of the
north which contains he>largest land
area. They have land enough. They
need no more territory, but people.
With unequalled seacoast and har-
bors, Scandinavia's influence may
lexpand on the water to all lands. The
Kaiser Of Germany said, "Our future
lis on the water" Scandinavia's flu
ture more so. Like it's past, it's flu
ture will be on the water. Just be-
cause of this prospective. develop
ment, Scandinavian languages should
be maintained even if at great sacri-
fee. .
They are the most travelled emf
grants, yet they keep in close touch
, with the fatherland in their Yuletide
and summer excursions. Their home
is largely on the water and thei,
fatherland is never far away. Tc
them the earth is a neighborhoo6
more than to any inland people. An.
.. cient and modern history proves
them to be the worlds greatest pion,
GERS as seamen, discoveries, and fish
ermen and Of late years as farmers
in our northwest and western Can.
ada.
Both by nature and by their tray.
ell training, the Scandinavians arr
, among the worlds best linguists
They are good interpreters and trans
lators, though rendering into theil
native tongues more than from them
: Like the Germans, they are coming
to aim at influencing other language:
rather than to pattern after them
The Scandinavian tongues, of TIN
same Teutonic elements with tn
: German and English languages, form
a link between the two. Being a Sc;
! people, Scandinavians have hereto
fore readily learned foreign langu
ages to the loss of their mothe
y tongue. But they are coming to re
alize their latent power as seafar
! ing people of a favored land and nat
urally we may look for g growing in
terest, on their part, in preserving
:, as we'll as propogating their mothe
tongues.
y They are more aggressive, fearless
and radical than the Germans, we
do not equal the Americans, at leas
in some Of these trait is. Their larg
y commercial fleet, excelled only b,