Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1914-11-11
OF INTEREST. TO
SCAND|NAV|ANS
News Gathered in the Father:
land and Elsewhere.

~ ~ u" "~
| land and Elsewhere.
PRESS URGES ITS REPEAL
Law Prohibiting Manufacture and Sale
of Alcoholic Beverages in Norway
Said to Be Proving Unsatisfactory.
Tobacco Monopoly Created In Swe'
den by Recent Act Of Riksdag-Den'
mark Maintains Neutrality Only by
Utmost Care and Constant Watch.
Ing on the Part Of Her Diplomats.
i. + 4 i. X !. !. j. !. + !. + !. + j. !. +
!. NORWAY. \
J. j. !. + j. ! \ + i. + + !. + + i I.
A dispatch from Christiana says:
The Norwegian press is making an al
most unanimous appeal to the gov
| eminent to rescind the prohibition or
| dinance which was passed in the first
excitement of the war to stop the sale
of alcoholic beverages. Nominally 80
per cent Of the Norwegian people is
represented in the membership OF
"teetotall societies. and next to Fin
land Norway ordinarily has the small
est per capita consumption Of alco-
hol in the world. It is the working
classes who are most largely repre-.
scented in the "teetotal" membership.
The appeal for resembling the prohi-
bition act is based primarily on asser.
lions that after more than two months
| of prohibition the plan has not work.
ed Persons who could afford it have
INDUCED extensively in the importa-
ton of strong liquors from Denmark
and Scotland. individuals have COM
bined to form "private stock compa-
MES" and have brought in thousands
taking key or two for private use.
Among the poorer classes complaint is
made that the prohibition law has Gre
ated worse conditions, prompting the
connection Of such wierd drinks as
self-murder'-the name given to de-
naturalized alcohol favored with oil Of
peppermint 49, and the cheapest kinds
of so-called sweet wines, made from
chemical products, which never saw
grapes. The government has already
rescinded the special law forbidding
distillation of alcohol from potatoes,
This is ordinarily an extensive indus
try in Norway, but at the outbreak of
the European war it was thought nee
essary to stop it in order to conserve
the food supply. AS matter of fact.
it was found that the potatoes used
for this distilling process could not be
kept long, there not being enough,
frost-proof cellars for their storage,
forbidden to malt their barley. have
recommended operations.
!. J. !.
That Norway, as we'll as other small
| nations, was approached by England
before the outbreak of the war with
a view to having her maintain her
neutrality against German pressure, is
brought out in the Gray Book" re.
Gently published by the Belgian gov
eminent. According to this book the
Belgian minister in London telegraph
| ed to his government on Aug. 4: "The
British minister of foreign affairs, Sir
Edward Grey, has informed the Eng
lish ministers in Norway, Holland and
| Belgium that if those three Kingdoms
| will resist the pressure from Germany
and guard their neutrality they will
| be supported in their resistance by
| England, which in that case is ready
to cooperate with France and Russia,
! If such Is the desire OF these three
Kingdoms, while offering an alliance
to the aforesaid governments in or
der to repel the use of force against
them by Germany, and in a guarantee
for future maintenance of the indie
pendence and integrity of the three
kingdoms. I made the remark that
Belgium is neutral in perpetuity. The
minister of foreign affairs replied:
This is in the case of your neutrality
being violated No mention of this
offer by Sir Edward Grey to the Bel.
gian, Dutch and Norwegian govern.
ments appeared in the British Blue
Book Later, message on the same
day from the Belgian minister in Lon
don to his government states that this
British proposition is annulled for the
moment"
j. !. j.
Some Of the great construction com.
panies in Norway financed with Eng.
fish capital have had to stop work, as
payments from England have been cut
off. Several Of these companies have
been Harvesting Norwegian water falls
for electric power. The Nitrogen
Products and Carbide company, lin.
tied, for instance, has been erecting
machinery to develop 100000 horse
power, but after having spent a few
million crowns has entirely ceased op-
| erations throwing ohout . thoucopd