Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1914-04-02
SCANDINAVIAN NEWS
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT HAP.
PENINGS IN FAR OFF
NORTHWEST.
ITEMS FROM THE OLD HOME
Resume of the Most important Events
In Sweden, Norway and Denmark
OF Interest to the scandinavIans
In America.

1 Russia do not seem to be in want of
| arguments just now. In the first place
Russian spies have actually been
| swarming along the frontiers of Aus
! tria, Germany and Sweden, being most
numerous in the Polish provinces of
| Austria-Hungary. Russia is gradually
massing her soldiers along the west
| ern frontier. Without making any
| fuss about 1t she has added hundreds
OF thousands to her army. And as to
! Sweden, perhaps the most threatening
omen is, that Russia, which already
has one railway line to the Swedish
| boundary, has planned two more lines
toward Sweden and Norway through a
| territory so sparsely settled that the
| traffic in sight is hardly worth men
tioning. Russia has felt called upon
to protest that she has no sinister de-
signs upon her western neighbors But
the facts just mentioned cannot be
! denied, and when they were brought
out clearly in German paper short
while ago the Russian securities ex-
perienced a slump on the Paris ex-
change, and the demoralizing effect of
it was also felt at st. Petersburg.
whose financial circles are supposed
to be better posted on the matter.
The Arctic islands of Spitzbergen,
unclaimed and almost uninhabited, the
resort of whalers and walrus hunters,
and the only place within the Arctic
circle visited by tourists. are this
summer to engage the attention of
the powers, including the United
States, in an effort officially to declare
them neutral and provide for their
policing during the summer months,
when lawlessness ON the part of the
crews of visiting whalers and seal
hunters has been increasing. No pow
ers ever has made a serious claim to
Spitzerbergen, the mountainous is
lands north of Norway and northeast
of Greenland having been regarded as
almost valgeless. But the discovery
of coal, which is being worked prin-
cipally by American capital, has COM
pletely changed the outlook, and in
cidentally brought the United States
into the group of power whose voices
are to be heard concerning the future
of the islands. Two international con
ferences will be held before July.
Early in June representatives of Rus
STA, Sweden and Norway will meet at
Christiania to draw up proposals to
be submitted to the general confer
ence to be held two weeks later. Great
Britain, France. Holland, Germany,
Denmark, and the United States will
be represented in the general confer
ence, the United States having been
invited because of the coal interests of
American citizens there. These mines
are located on Advent bay and have
been worked in summer since 1905.
Some of the miners occasionally spend
the winter In their quarters, and are
completely shut off from the outer
world for about eight months British
participation is justified in coaling op-
erations also, while Germans are in
terested as owners of an important
meteorological station there. II the
memorandum submitted by the Nor
wegian government is confirmed by
the conferences. Spitzbergen will be
declared neutral territory open to all
nations, but under the control OF three
northern powers. The administration
would be in the hands of commission
of three MEMBERS Russian, Swede |
and Norwegian-the expenses of gov
eminent being met by land taxes and
other arrangements for revenue, sub
feet to the assent of all the signatory
powers. 1t is proposed that this inter
national convention shall be renew
able every eighteen years.
Wher King Gustaf dissolved the |
rigsdag and called for new elections
he made the following explanation: 81
shall improve this opportunity by say
ing that every desire and endeavor to- |
wards personal monarchy has been |
and shall ever be far from me. So |
far have performed my duties in con.
formity with the letter and the spirit |
Of the constitution, and have been
faithful to my motto. And l shall new
er sverve from my determination to |
proceed in the same manner in the |
future" This explanation is apt to |
make the constitutional question a
subordinate issue at the next election, |
and bring the question of strengthen
ing the defenses to the front, accord |
ing to the wishes OF the king and the |
Conservatives
The state government is now paying
bounties for killing seals
Many Of the physicians in the rural |
communities report that the excessive
use OF coffee is doing much damage,
especially among the children Some |
OF the most radical doctors would |
prohibit the parents from giving cof- |
fee to children below the age of If |
teen.
The national committee on text |
books has been at work for eight |
years. But now It will soon be ready |
to report" The expenses of the COM |
mittee have been almost exactly $780,
900.
The car ferry line between Treble
borg, Sweden, and Sassnitz, Germany,
carried over $1,000 passengers in 1913,
as against 95,742 in 1912. During the
same period the freight increased from
111,Oo0 to 10000 tons The whole
number Of trips made by the ferries
in 1913 was 2.232, or A fewer than |
in 1912.
The value of the railroads owned |
by the government of Sweden is put |
at s170,000.000. The gross receipts |
for the year 1913 were about $4,000