The Hawaiian gazette., 1916-08-04
SWEDISH PACIFICISTS WIN
- aS y y -
KEEP NATION OUT OF WAR

isCd her present allies, Great Britain
and France, out of consideration for
Sweden. not to fortify the Aland Is
lands Tn" swedish people are unit
in regarding as a threat and a mPnac"
any permanent military works on thu
archipelago. But they now have I'M"
assurance of both France and Great
Britain as we'll as Russia that the
works nearing completion are not OF
that character and will all be taken
away when the present war is ended
Prof. StcffPns, author of the AIands
Interpolation, has declared such promr
SEES as worthless, that the present war
has shown that diplomatic notes am
promises nrr indeed but scraps Of
paper not to be regarded when com
fhcting with the interests Of II hrlh
grrcnt
Entente Pledges Satisfy
But the renewed assurances from thu
Entente Powers appear to hav" com
plrtclv satisfied the government an"
the leaders Of the three great parties
And 80 came The agreement, drnmati
cally staged in the Parliament on May
II, when the Foreign Minister, Nr
Wallcuhcrg, speaking for the king an'
government, said he was in position
10 rcaffirm the solemn declarations Of
neutrality previously proclaimed. H.
said the government regarded the Ques
tion Of the fortification of the Alamo
Islands M one of vital importance t.
Sweden, but he assured the Riksdag
and the people of Sweden that the gov
eminent would neglect nothing to pre-
serve the rights and interests of Swr
den sweden, he added, would AWAY
maintain her right of self-determinati"n
but in the face of a very difficult sit
uation she already had shown her stead
fast desire to fulfil the demands of
strict and impartial neutrality az vel
us an eager desire not to be drawn int
any warlike entanglements.
The proceedings in the Riksdag, o
Swedish Parliament, had all been ar
ranged in advance, and Mr.. Wallrnhrr.
had scarcely taken his seat in the sec
Ond chamber when the leaders of tn
three parties in turn arose and indorse,
all that he had said. This same pla
then was carried out in the FIRST cham
Der and there was rejoicing through al
Of Sweden that q serious crisis ha'
Dcen ShIely passed.
The Activists, however, chose an ef
frctive weapon when they took up tn
Alands question. They had attempted
from time to time to arrest the PeoPl
against England because of the block
AIDE, but the response to this appeal wa
meagrc. Ever since the loss of Finlan"
however. Russia has been a traditiona
enemy Of Sweden in the minds of man
Of the Swedish people and it has h""
comparatively easy to arouse their
fears.
Urge Preparedness
The wholesome fear on the part o;
Liberals and Socialists that the Aetiv
list campaign might force a condition
which would lead to war, was baseC
partly upon the significant events il
sweden which Immediately preceded thu
outbreak Of the European war. During
the winter Of l9I3-l4 the agitatio'
against Russia and in favor of military
preparedness in sweden had been car
ried on 10 such an extent that on Feb
ruary 6, 1914, 10000 Swedish farmers
organized in what was called "Bon
detag' or "yeomans march, came t.
Stockholm, marched to the Royal Palace
and addressing the king assured hin
Of their willingness to bear any addet
taxation required for the national de-
Tense.
The agitation of this time was par
ticipated in by the Conservative party
The government, however, was Liberia
and had taken an intermediate position
between the Conservatives, who urged
hf To az III.
army and navy. and the Socialists VII,
claimed it was foolish for u small cOun
try like Sweden to attempt to keel
pace with the ornaments Of the large.
powers of Europe.
The address of the yPOmen, coming a.
n climax TO the propaganda Of patriot
ism wagcd throughout the country. stir
red King GustnNc to reply which
Immediately brought about ministe
rial and political crisis.
King Pledges Increases
"NO king of those VINO before mt
have worn the crown of Swpden,' h,
said, has in III" same manner as | beer
allowed the privilege Of standing on
this spot. face to face, with the com
moners Of Sweden and listening to thei
NDlttS. nt hI'N hNbf VI your
able confidence" in Your king invests my
royal duty with doubled responsibility
but at the same time makes it easier of
fulfllmrnt, and | promise that | will
not fail you. You may be assured thai
! will never compromise With my cOnVic
tiOn in the question Of what | regard
right and necessary in order to guarC
the indcpr ndcncr Of our fatheTland
The standards for readiness Of service
and preparation for war formulated by
experts within my, ARMY | will not re
ccde from. You all know that thii
means an extended time of military ser
vice for citizens, especially with regard
to winter training. In order to perform
the great tasks before it my navy must
be not only maintained but very con.
siderably increased
Thus the King spoke without pre-,
vious consultation with the Liberal gov,
eminent, headed by Karl Staaf, as
prime minister. II was held by many
of the Liberals that the king had flag
rantly violated his constitutional limi.
tatiOns, and thrrrupOn the ministry re.
signed. The king called upon HialmaI
Hammarsk jUld, who formed pFOVi.
sional government, not representing any
POLITICAL party but known as 1.-THE
Kings Cabinet. General elections