The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-28
Nation Has Grown Richest Out of the War-Infla-
 tiOn Dangerous
ENTIRE COUNTRY
 IS TRANSFORMED
Once Sober Christiana in Orgy of Speculation and Riot of Luxury. Providence's Reward for
 Keeping Out of War

Christiania, May 2O Special. .)-Idyllic Norway, praised by Bjornson as "Eu- ropes last haven of simplicity and peace" has fallen from it's high estate. Norway is neck deep in whirlpool of imitation. speculation. luxury and cor ruption such as Europe has never seen since the South Sea bubble, or at least since the Vienna exhibition imitation craze half a century back. War is turning hundreds of millions into beg gars, but it is turning Norway's mod est 100000 citizens into millicnaries. Fortunes are made without fortunes be- ing lost; Fl Dorado visions craze peas ant heads; car drivers dream of pal aces; and decent, tedious middle class citizens develop the tastes of Iucullus and Sardanapalus The boom shows no sign of abating. But sour minded mor- alists proclaim that a crash is inn minent; and those who preferred the old, vanished, idyllic, innocent. hard by Norway pray that the crash may come
 The history of idyllic Norway's rapid enrichment and moral downfall is deep and sad. The boom started in general war prosperity. Of all the neutrals that walled they were being beggared by the war Norway had least reason to vail Other neutrals gained in some branches of business; Norway gained in nearly all. Farmers flourished because food prices rushed up; and butter that once was sold to England at 20 cents a pound could be sold to Germany at 50 cents The iron, aluminium, soda and saltpetre industries flLirished. But fro Counting population, Norway is the worlds greatest shipping country. Her tonnage per head is thrice the ton mage of England. A third of her c1tl- zen lived on or from ships. Norwe- gian shipping is a speciality. Hardy Norsemen bought up 9O-year-old Eng fish steamers and decayed barques and barquentines. Such craft unbusiness- like England could not run at T profit, but Norway managed to run them prof itably for another 30 years. When the war hoomed ships, it boomed Norway's most prof1tably of all. Norway's eX- isting ships rushed up in value. Ancient tubs bought 15 years ago at $20 ton, and worth about $10, suddenly became earning dividends on such capitaliza- tion. Thereupon started the boom. Since then, Norway has been starting shipping corporations, building ships, buying up ships, and even rescu1nS from shipbreakers rusty and cranky craft doomed to dissolution, and add ing them to the all profitable commer- cial fleet.
 NORWAY REAPS BENEFIT
 England's measures against Ger many's trade all play into Norway's hands. In order to punish the obdu- rate Swedes, and to prevent the leakage @I,f frC vrio Sxxyn6 O port, Gothenburg. England this winter diverted nearly all Anglo Russian trade from Swedish to Norwegian ports Nor wegian shipping firms profit. Bergen and Trondjelm boom. Smart Norwe gians foresaw the boom, and bought up all available ships. Capital was plentiful Some came from England; the rest came from the booming agri- cultural, iron, aluminium, and saltpe- tre industries. By the middle of last year, Norway's boom was fully on Nine-tenths of Norway's citizens promptly lost their heads and began to invest, speculate and gamble.
 Millionaire Michelsen was one invol- untary cause of the boom. Michelsen lives among the Bergen hills; he has been Norway's prime minister, and he owned more steamers than any other Norseman. Early in the war, Million aire Michelsen got frightened. He did not forsee the boom. He reasoned that the trade stoppage, the mines, the sub marines, and the Anglo German contra band regulations would kill the ship ping industry. And he sold off his steamers. Sharper sighted men bought them up; the boom began; and three months later, newspapers reported that Michelses's steamers had been resold at prices three times greater than Michelsen had got By not waitin g Michelsen lost s3.O0O.00O. Three million dollars is a vast sum in idyllic Nor way; and the news that somebody else had reaped the difference set Morse heads aflame Everyone said the news papers, is raking in cash. The, standard of life is going up. Banker Hansen has just built magnificent villa at Dahlberg, and Stockbroker Patterson
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