Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-03-26
NORTHWEST ENJOYS TO NOR
WAY
Minnesota, North Dakota and Wiscon-
sin Representatives Will Try to
Boom Their States.

North Dakota's ambassador to Nor
way sailed for Christ;ania this week.
Wisconsin's ambassador and Minneso-
ta's ambassador will follow a little
later. Collectively they represent a
new departure in diplomacy, trade re-
iations and the immigrat ton problem.
individually they hope they can keep
from Dragging. THE very utmost we
shall do" said Alfred Gabrieisen of
Fargo who is North Dakota'g COM
missioner, lis to state the truth as
modestly as possiblpe.'
Norway is to celebrate this summer
the 10th anniversary of the adoption
of her constitution. No doubt racial
feeling prompted the three states nam
ed to send commissioners to it, for
they hold more Norwegians than all
the rest of the country put together.
But keen appetite for more Nor
wegian was the chief incentive. Nor
wegians have been an immense, spec
tacular, solid success in the Northwest.
They have been so prosperous that you
wouldn't believe 1t if the facts were
not coldly set forth in government re-
ports.
No doubt the railroad and steamship
and land and waterhouse companies,
and the banks and merchants, and
others who would profit by SUCH sturdy
settlers would gladly have sent agents
on this immigrant-gett mission
but they were not permitted. Norway
doesn't want to lose her sturdy citi-
zens. Corporations and private per-
sons who try to do recruiting Of that
sort are gently and hastily chased out.
But as the three great Norwegian
states of the United Staes-North Da-
kota. Minnesota and Wisconsin were
welcomed as exhibitors at the centen-
NAL exposition. Their commissioners
will do the rest.
'All we will do said Mr.. Gabriel
sen, trying to suppress look of pride,
lis just to show what Norwegians have
been able to do since they began to
come to the Northwest. That's ALL
Norway wouldn't permit Gabrielsen TO
make an exhibition of the fruits OF
the North Dakota earth, for perfectly
obvious reasons. But Norway didn't
object to his decorating the North Da-
kota booth with wheat and apples and
potatoes and the like. He will confer
upon every public library in Norway
and the kingdom is full of libraries-a
neatly printed book telling all about
the North Dakota and the Norwegians
He goes with a moving picture ma
chine to show harvesting scenes in the
West. and with HOO other views of
farm operation. He hopes that by next
winter every farmer in Norway will
have a map of North Dakota before
him. The two other states will follow
about the same plan.
Meanwhile he's full of facts that
ought to be interesting, whether facts
ever are or not. NorwegianS own al
most 100000 acres in North Dakota
alone. for example. This landis valued
for taxation at $275,e00000, and the
100000 owners have AZ of the 1870 men,
bers of the Legislature, and one of the
two United States senators and one
of the three Representatives in Con-
gress, not to speak of three elective
state officials. Incidentally, perhaps,
the state is the most prosperous per
capita in the Union. The average
wealth per citizen is $4,000. The United
States census figures may account for
this in part by the revelation that 40
per cent of all Norwegians of the first
generation of Norwegian male bread
winners are farmers, and SO per cent
of the males of the second generation.
AS a second line of attack upon Nor
way, Gov. L. b. Hanna will sail from
New York on June IL with Is MEM
bers Of his staff, all in their prettiest
gold leaf. On the Fourth of July a
statue of Lincoln, done by Sculptor
Fjelde, a pupil of dorado Taft OF Chi
cago, and presented by North Dakota
to Norway, will be unveiled Wisconsin
Norwegians will march in the parade,
carrying the battle flag of the old
Wisconsin 18th. Every man in 1t was
a Norwegian, a Dane, or a Swede
The orders were spoken or written in
Norwegian. Seven Norwegians died
under that flag on the field at Chicka
manga alone.
Talk about telling 1t to the king Of