Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1916-10-19
important Events In Sweden,
Norway and Denmark.
BRIEFS FROM OLD COUNTRY
interesting Items From the Three
Great Kingdoms OF the North, Sc
lscted for Seandinavians and
Their Descendants.
BY MARTIN w. oDLAND.
Norway.

richest city in Norway. notwithstand.
Ing the fact that Christiania has Il
much larger population. The biggest
part Of the prosperity, says CORE
spondent, Is due to the commercial
fleet of Norway. Bergen Is Norway's
principal port, headquarters for the
distribution of ships stores, an i'm
portant railroad center and the ter
minus of half dozen lines to England,
Denmark, and Holland. 1t is the head
quarters of Norway's biggest steam
ship line, the Bergenske Dampskibs
Selskab,. which operates between Ber-
gen and Newcastle, England, and car
ries much of the English trade with
Russia. So fortunate has been the
Bergen Newcastle line that its luck
has given rise to comment. Local
humorists like to tell the story of an
American who once asked solicitously
what was the best route to England.
Il want to go there where there will
be the least danger from torpedoes," he
said. Take the Newcastle line" re-
| marked a German who overheard him.
IT'S perfectly safe. All our agents
travel by that line." Norwegian in
vestors are slowly receiving back stock
in home enterprises which had been
placed in foreign countries. 1t Is an
| open secret that some of the biggest
| water-power projects In Norway were
| developed with the aid of French and
English capital and before the war
German money also was active. Nor
| way was never O land of capitalists
| and its men of ideas had to seek cap
ital on other shores. The war, which
Is bringing prosperity to the native In
weston, also Is pinching the foreigner,
who is glad to let go of his holdings
at the current market price, which is
far above what he had hoped to re-
| ceive for his stock when he made his
are drifting back from Germany. Since
| the beginning of the war Germany has
| sent no less than 20O0O,000 crowns
| ($5,2OO,OOo) of state and municipal
bonds back to Norway. The shipping
prosperity has not been without it's
serious side. Norway has developed a
! group of ''nouveaux riches who aim at
| luxurious living Their extravaganza
does not yet measure up to that seen
| in the gay capitals of the world before
| the war, but 1t is sufficient to make
some of the conservative element pom
der. Norwegians frequently declare
that Norway has lost more ships
through the war than all the other
neutral nations combined, and the
| chief blame Is put on Germany. Mines
from both sides, however, have been
disastrous for Norwegian ships. Re
sentiment caused by such losses Is
great deal less than 1t might be, for
the reason that the loss of fully in
sured seamer. which has paid for itself
ten times over. is not so keenly felt
In these prosperous times as ii would
In more evenly balanced years. Lay
Ing of mines In the North sea by Ger
many and Britain has not been with
out profit to Norway. Mines frequent
ly break away during storms and drift
up the fjords. The mine that Is Sc
curely anchored to resist storms ap-
pears still to be an invention of the
future. Fishing smacks keep watch
for mines, which can be seen floating
like large barrels on the surface of
the ocean, and corral them and tow
them u. The government or the
municipality invariably pays a bounty.
Mines are worth about $500 apiece,
mo- IAu
LOCO Of them suitable for use the ma
ton has added not little to It's coast
defenses."
A dispatch from Christianfa says
that blowing with traction engines is
new step forward in Norwegian agri-
culture. The first traction outfit was
imported from America, and has been
used I'm demonstration for farmers I'm |
East Aker, in Norway's best agricul- |
taral section. Sweden and Denmark |
preceded Norway I'm the importation |
of traction plows. Those countries had |
sold SO many of their horses during |
the war that substitute farm power |
mad to be found to replace them. Men |
who have seen the new machines tried |
out believe that i'm a couple Of years
they Will be commonly
The fire department of Christiania
has just Installed the first automobile
In Its service, and the newspapers re-
fer to this to show how progressive the
people Of the Norwegian metropolis
are.
The private banks of Norway are
enjoying greater prosperity than ever
before and during the fiscal year just
closed have increased their deposit
by over half million crowns. The
year before the increase was I3T, 600
crowns.
Five new "stone-slab INSCRIPTIONS
have been discovered at MEDIUM. They
are said to date from the Stone Age.
ALI of them are supposed to repre-
sent a moose. 1t is said that so many
lave never been found so close to
sether before.