Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1914-12-23

:DNEsDAY, DECEMBER q, 1914
Norway has been the large number OF
lepers, but this awful disease is beinl,
rapidly eradicated, and it is believed
that In few years there will be
about as few lepers In proportion to
the population as in any country.
During the first half of the Nineteenth
century leprosy increased at an alarm
Ing rate, SO that in 1856 there was no
less than 1888 cases. Then the gov
eminent stepped in and began enforc.
Ing the most rigid rules to prevent
the spread of the disease, and as q
consequence the number of cases
grew less and less until now it is es.
timated that there are only 2S3 cases.
The following statistics show the
gradual decline since 1865: In 1870.
1926; 1880, 1904; 1890, 1901; 1900,
ST.; 1910, 1913; 1918 (estimated), 2S3.
Norwegian medical men have taken
leading part in the fight against
leprosy. The leprosy bacillus was
first isolated by a Norwegian physt.
clan, DR.. Armauer Hansen, who was
elected honorary president Of the in.
international conference on leprosy
held at Berlin In 1897, and president
Of the second international confer.
ence in Bergen in 1909. Last spring
the storthing passed a resolution or.
dering the Re1tgjerde leper asylum
closed in the near future, and it Is ex.
pected that within few years there
will be only one such institution in
the country.
!. 4 +
The lifesaving stations on the coast
OF Norway were first established in
1893. In that year three were estab'
lished and manned. Now there are
twenty-five along the coasts, employ
ing 100 men, or four to each station.
During the last year nearly 100000
crowns were spent on this work. The
cities where the stations are establish
ed have contributed over $4,000
crowns, while the rest has been made
up from free will offerings by those
who have either been benefited or
who are interested in the work. Dur
ing the first two months of the Eu-
ropean war the income for these sta
tions has fallen off 10000 crowns.
4 !. J.
Haakon of Norway and King Gustaf
of Sweden met at Malmo Friday of
last week for conference, during
which difficulties growing out of the
European war were discussed. The
foreign ministers of the respective
countries also participated in the con-
ference. The chief subjects which
came up for discussion included meas.
ures to be adopted for the mainte-
nance of neutrality and economic diff.
ficulties, due particularly to Ger
many's conflscation of neutral ship.
ping and the laying of mines.
j. j. j.
The Norway Bible society has been
very active during the last year. No
less than 103,822 parts of the Holy
Scriptures have been distributed. OF
these 44,708 have been complete
Bibles. Since the organization of the
society 1,938,395 Bibles or parts of
b. 80 have been distributed.
i. + !.
Observation-Disclosures have been
much gratifed by the appointment OF
Consul Herman Gade as commission
er of the Norwegian exhibit at the
Panama-Pacific exposition.
+ 4 i. T. i. !. 4 \ !. !. !. !. !. \ !. !.
4 SWEDEN. j.
!. !. !. !. :. !. \ !. !. !. !. !. !; !. j. +
The Christmas publication, Ju]stam-
| ming, is a fine example of the art OF
| making sumptuous books, which
stands so high in Sweden, says The
ndinavian-American Review. Every
page, to the smallest decoration, is
the work Of an artist and is feast
to the eye. The editors last year
chose to represent outdoor Sweden in
| colored photographs and in paintings
of Lijefors; this year they have made
the work of Carl LARSON, the painter
of the home, the leading feature. An
article on him by Albert Engstrom is
illustrated with twelve full page repro
auctions in color of his oil paintings
and ten photographers. The famous
painting, Among the White Stemmed
Birches," which was shown at the Bal
tic exhibition, is rendered in three
full page panels. Among the literary
contributions is Christmas story by
Selma Lagerlof on an original theme
and characteristic Swedish tale by
Ellen Holzhausen Idstrom.
| j. i. j.
The continued popularity of Teg'
ners "Fritjof Saga" is again demon.
strated by the publication of an edi.
ton with English notes and glossary,
edited by Professor A. A. Stomberg of
the University of Minnesota. The vol.
ume is part of the college and high
school series of Swedish authors put
out by the Augustana Book Concern.
| !. !. j.
DR.. Amandus Johnson of the Univer.
sity of Pennsylvania, whose article
on 'LongfellOW and Scandinavian
Literature" has commanded much at
tention in Eastern literary circles, we 9
appointed by the Swedish governme,
as the representative of Sweden
the Americanist congress recently