Willmar tribune., 1914-05-06
0|NTERES1 TO
SCANDINAvI vIANS.
News Gathered In the Father.
land and Elsewhere.
ARv|D AKERuND STRICKEN

Director OF the Union OF swedish
Singers Dead At Upsaia, Sweden.
Program, Of Centennial Festivities at
Eidsvold, Norway, Practically Com
pleted-Inerease In Number OF
Teachers In Denmark.
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+ SWEDEN. +
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Arvid Akerlind, director of the
Union of Swedish Singers, and who
was to direct the great Swedish fes-
tival chorus in Minneapolis, June to
II, is dead at Upsala, Sweden, accord
ing to recent cablegrams received by
the American executive committee of
the songfest. Hjalmar Nilsson, presi-
dent of the union, has been appointed
director Of the festival chorus In
place of Mr.. Akerlind. Akerlind
studied for many years at the Univer-
sity of Upsala and had taken his mas
ter of arts degree when he became d.
rector of the Sodermanland fraternity
chorus and later assistant director of
the famous Upsala student chorus and
helpmate and friend of Ivar Heden-
blad, the director-in-chief. Akerlind
was called to America by the Swed-
ish singing clubs of New York and
Brooklyn in 1903 and remained as
leader of many choruses until 1912,
when he returned to Sweden to mend
his broken health. Akerlind was for
several years director-in-chief of the
American Union Of Swedish Singers.
He received the medal of "Literis ct
artibus" from King Oscar II. and was
knlghted by King Gustav v.
j. + i.
The results of the recent election in
Sweden are now known and they
show the complete defeat of the Lib
erals, whose membership in the new
Swedish parliament is reduced from
101 to seventy-four members. It is
estimated that the Conservatives
have elected eighty-one members, as
compared with sixty five in the pre-
vious parliament, and the Socialists
seventy-six, as compared with sixty
four. The dominant issue of the cam
paign was stronger national de-
Tense, aroused by fears of Russian ag-
gression, and the new parliament is
certain to vote for a considerable
strengthening of the army and
navy. The demand for this will be
stimulated by the evidence given at
the recent trial of one Malmborg.
charged with espionage in behalf of
Russia, which showed that Russia had
been studying Swedish defenses, aided
by several high Russian officers dis
guised as Swedish workmen.
i. !. +
Says the Western American: "The
well known polar explorers DR.. Nor
denskiold, Admiral Palander and Gun
mar Anderson, are planning an ex-
pedition to the Antarctic, which will
cover about the same ground as the
British Stackhouse party in 1914. It
is probable the expedition will land
an observation party of six men on
the east coast of Graham's Land. This
party will remain there for five years.
J. Foster Stackhouse, leader of the
British 1914 party, says that one of
the objects of the Swedish expedition
will be the study of whales, whose
habits are still unknown, notwith-
standing that these animals have been
hunted for years. DR.. Nordenskiold's
last expedition to the polar regions in
1903 came to grief when his ship, the
Antarctic, was crushed in the ice of
Graham's Land and the crew had to
make its way north, being ultimately
picked up by an Argentine vessel.
j. + +
The defense proposals upon which
the king and his cabinet will ask the
support of the new riksdag are as fol-
lows: For army drills there will be
250 days and three training periods,
each thirty days. Students and simi.
lar persons are to serve longer time,
but not more than 500 days. The navy
is to consist of two divisions, each
composed of four armored ships, four
divisions of destroyers, each of four
ships, and two divisions of subma-
rines. An aeronautic fleet is to be
organized. The expenses will be
paid by progressive defense tax on
big fortunes and incomes, which is to
be- set aside solely for military pur-
pOses."
An exchange relates that owing to
the fact that a large percentage Of the
children of the Firms living In North
ern Sweden have q tendency to forget
the Swedish language soon after leav.
ing the Swedish schools the national
board of education has asked for an
appropriation Of 5000 crowns to en-
able the Finnish children to spend at
least three months each year in q
Swedish speaking community.
+ i. ~
From 1901 to 1913 sixty Nobel prizes
have been awarded. II we class the
prizes by countries, comparing the
populations, we see that the most
favored countries are the three Scan
dinavian countries-Sweden, Norway
and Denmark-which il significant in
view Of the nationality Of the jury.