Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-06-16
H, HElST1lAD or
new YORK TALKS
OF WORLD WAR
Gives Impressions Of Recent
Trip to Norway and
Other Counties.

- : AaasSAaSoAA xAaNAy NSSPo
up-Fighting Family Tradi-
ton, Delighting Father.
Henrik Heistaa. a 3eweler in Maiden
Lane. New York, visited friends in
Grand Forks today and leaves this
will spend the rest Of the month prior
to going to Los Angeles, Cal.
Mr.. Heistad arrived in New York
last month from one Of his frequent
business trips to Norway and other
European countries. and when seen
today spoke Of the hardships which
the .Norwegians at present are forced
to endure. Asked il he thousht there
was any possibility of Scandinavia
entering the. war. Nj. Heistad said
that although he could not pretend to
have knowledge Of diplomatic affairs
in other than a general Way, he was
in a position to give his impressions
of the ideas prevalent In the Scandi-
navfan countries which he had visit
ed during the last few months.
: I'm Norway this people do not be-
lieve they will be drawn into the war"
Mr.. Heistad said. while they feel
that they have ample easo for en-
tering the arena Of war, they still
vicissitudes caused by. especially, the
German submarine campaign. More
than four hundred Norwegian ships
have been tent to the bottom by Ger
man %torpedoes since the outbreak of
the war, and a couple of hundred
Morse seamen have lost their lives.
So you see, there is plenty Of provo
cation. Yet, the government hopes 1t
will be possible to avert an extreme
that the people supports the govern
ment in this view. It is being realized
everywhere that war would be far
more of a danger to Norway than it
is to, for instance, The United States.
because of the proximity of the enc
my, and BECAUSE. it would be COM
paratively easy for the Germans to
send troops into Norway before any
troops or fleets from the allies could
Be relied on7for active support against
the invader"
Mr.: Heistad thought it possible that
Germany, out of sheer desperation,
might make war on Norway, but
that" he said. would necessarily in
volye Denmark also as it is to be sup
posed beforehand. that German armies
would cross the Danish border cap
ture Copenhagen and then march in
to Sweden as we'll as into Norway. In
other words, il Germany declares war
on Norway, the whole of Scandinavia
would be involved"
Asked for his views on the conse1
quences Of such a step. Mr.. Heistad
declared that the combined Scandi-
navian armies would muster 500, 900
or possibly 900, 900 men. and he was
unwilling to assume that Germany at
the present turn of events can spare
enough >men to meet these troops.
Besides" he said. " the capitals of
thre three northern countries are
Of curse. do not amount to much.
The warships are excellent for the
coast defence, and before the intro
duction of long range guns it was
thought that the smaller vessels
might be. relied upon to practically
protect the Scandinavian coast lines.
Now, however, it is more than prob
able that a few shots fired from some
German battleships Of the first order
will be able to destroy the naval pow
er of all three countries"
8 you a see for yourself" Mr.
Heistad summed up, that Norway,
and. in fact. all the Scandinavian
countries would be in a pretty bad
fix If they entered the war. It Is not
that the viking descendants are afraid
of fighting. but they do fear the i'm
and they always think wildly Of the
fate OF Belgium. Roumania and Ser
bia. This thought IL quite sufficient to
encourage caution"
Mr.. Heistad also was interviewed
regarding the proposal to shut off all
American exports to the Scandinavian
countries. He said that he vas not ia
miliar with the exact situation, but he
remembered having seen some figures
between Scandinavia and America
and thought there was a serious dis
crepancy in the statistics given by the
respective governments and those
quoted in certain newspapers in the
allied countries. While he would not
60 into details. Mr.. Heistad admitted
that an export embargo on American
goods to northern Europe would be
worse than war itself because >Scandi-
country since the war has stopped
completely the trade relations with
the continental nations.
Mr.. Heistad said that one Of his
proudest moments I'm life came short
~ before he left New York last week
when his Oldest son. Olaf. who had
q responsible position with the New
4OIA S0AluAA Aluoos UuQOonly nA0 en-
listed in the army ready to 70 to war
at any moment. and" Mr.. Heistad
added, were I younger than I am,
would certainly not hesitate one mo
ment before entering the ranks Of the
United States. I am . Norwegian by
birth.ra cosmopolitan n far as culture
Is concerned. But my. heart and sou
are with the United States Of Ameri-
ca. and l am happy that my family
will be represented on the b%attlenelds
where the Stars and Stripes beckone
to victory, There have been other
Heistads who have fought in other
wars for democracy and freedom, and
It fills me with genuine delight to see
that the tradition is being maintain.
cd"
TO GIVE RED CROSS !,
TALK AT PORTLAND
Dean Vernon p. sduires Of the Uni
versity Of North Dakota left today for
nA-AN--A n ~ ~ a..