The Cook County news-herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Cook County, Minn.) 1909-current, 1917-09-12
SCANDINAVIAN news.
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT HAP.
PENlNGS IN FAR OFF
NOR1HLAND.
ITEMS FROM THE OLD HOME
Resume Of the Most Important Events
in Sweden, Norway and Denmark
OF Interest to the Scandinavian
In America.
NORWAY.

NORWAY.
Investigation of the conspiracy to
sink with German bombs several Nor
wegian ships has been completed and
action taken against seven Finlanders
and two Germans. They are accused
Of having transported many explosives
from Germany to Norway and were
said to be paid by German espionage
headquarters at Stockholm. The lead
er Of those arrested called himself
Baron Won Rautenfels. According to
the Tidens Tegn 1000 Kilograms Of
explosives were seized, including sew
eral Internal machines. These were
lnclosed in cases resembling Jumps Of
coal and were to have been put in the
coal bunkers Of Norwegian ships.
Norway took her place as a specta-
tor Of the war, honeycombed with Ger
| man cultural ideas and enmeshed in
German relations on every hand. The
university, the army, the schools, the
church, and to large extent her COM
| merce, were sources and centers of
German influence. To cap it all, trade
| with Germany was hugely profitable.
| And yet the sympathies Of the Norwe
gian people have been pro-ally from
| the time the first shot was fired by a
! German gun. The political instincts
and ideals of the people were stronger
than the cultural ties by which the
leading circles were bound to Ger
| many. AS the character Of the world
contest gradually became cleared the
current of national opinion absorbed
the German eddies and set with swell
| ing volume toward the powers fighting
| for democracy. In spite of all subtle
forces the faces Of the Norwegian peO-
pie are set firmly against Germany in
| this war. For they can see that vic
tory for the central powers would
mean the end Of an Independent and
| free Norway. They feel, almost with
passion, that the allied powers, and
especially the United States, are fight
| ing for what is the life breath Of Nor
Wdy.-1N. OIVtSLdu Ill luc INcW Luz Is
| Tribune.
The loss the Kristianiafjord has
been explained as follows: The Kris
all the way from Halifax to Portugal
Cove, N. F., where the ship struck.
| Captain Hjortdal had slept very little,
and this may have affected his judg-
ment It is said that he did not make
sufficiently careful calculation of the
current. The ship was making only
half speed, and the sea was sounded
| continually. But the fog was so dense
that the breaEWaters ahead could not
be seen until it was too late. The
rudder was turned violently and the
engines stopped, SO that the PROV did
not strike the rocks, but the broad
side Of the ship drifted against them
about 200 yards from the main land.
In the course Of the next few days
two other ships were grounded at the
same place, and third one came very
near running into the wreck of the
] III ID WuIS1l pAONSS lAIl
| Portugal Cove is very dangerous
place.
Twelve members of the crew of the
Norwegian steamship Benguela, cap
tured June Is by German submarine
and used for 16 days as "decoy YES.
SELL" reached an Atlantic port on a
Spanish vessel. According to the sail.
ors, they were held prisoner on board
their own ship since the capture. The
vessel was in charge of Germans
cruising about in waters usually fire.
quented by merchant ships. The U-boat
partly was submerged and lowered
about to attack anything that might
be tempted to come near the NorWe
gian The effort was fruitless, how.
ever, the men said, as during the en-
tire 16 days nothing was sighted. Al
the end Of that time the Benguela was
looted Of it's stores, the crew set adrift
IN their boats and the vessel destroyed
by bombs. The men were picked uI
and landed at a Spanish port. The
and 1ne Of the officers told the Nor
wegians that they had been out fol
FIVE months from their base.
The city of Stavanger is going tc
rent $4,000 horsepower of electric en-
ergy for period Of ten years from the
Flori company. One Of the interest
ing features of the plan is, that the
cable is to span the Hogsfjord, dis
lance Of 5000 feet. 1t is said that this
will be the longest span Of it's kin6
in the world.
The Norwegian steamer Christian
Bors, of 4,O76 tons, was damaged tc
the extent of $1,O0O,OO0 by fire August
20 while lying at her dock in South
Brooklyn. The steamer arrived re
Gently from Buenos Aires and haC
| about TIM ne q