New-York tribune., 1918-01-18
Sweden and the Allies
New York, Jan. /, 1915
itor of The Tribune.

o the Edltor OF L he IrlDune.
Sir: The news columns OF your mornn
issue contain telegram saying that I'll
Mayor Of Stockholm has arrived at Petrogra
for the purpose of establishing contact be
tween the Bolshevil government and Ii
Swedish Socialists.
The mayor" of Stockholm, Carl Lii:
hagen, holds no executive or administrstu
Office. His proper title is "burgomas.g
and he is merely the presiding justice Of L
Municipal Court of Stockholm, his poslio
as such corresponding closely TO that held b
Judge Harry Olson in Chicago.
Mr.. Lindhagen, who was Of the chic
promoters of the Ford conference, is the bes
known and most highly respected member o
the seeding Socialist minority, which ag
been in close contact with Lenine. Grimm I'D
other representatives of the pacifst, synda-
lst extremists ever stree the holding ot.s
famous Zimmerwaldian conferences Tbs
group elected only twelve of its members ID
the elections Of last September, while, in qrs
of the splits within the party. the mejorIt,
led by Hjalmar Branting. was able to seai
eghty-siX OF its Representatives to the Rls.
dag. Mr.. Lindhagen himself, who is able an!
sincere, but hopeless utopan, failed Of r.
election. Wh~e | should not regard con.
munications or negotiations between 'h.
Swedish Socialist leaders and the governnsr'
de facto at Petrograd as IN any way rps.
hensible, ! doubt whether any such apprasta'
ment has as yet been attempted by Mr.. Bnn''
ing and the Socialist majority, who, through
the presence Of four members OF their group
in the new Swedish Cabinet. have btons
more or less responsible for the official POI
icy of the government. And Mr. Lindhsga
OF course, has nothing whatsoever to do VIE
the attitude or actions Of that majority
My sole reason for calling your attention 10
these facts is wish to point out that almos'
every piece of news received here from the
scandinavian countries is more or less l'.s
leading, because, as a rule, the lniormal'0A
to be conveyed is not presented in It's props'
light or with due reference to the VsE'ou'
circumstances that would make 1t lntellgO'
to our American public The responslpl.N
for this state OF affairs lies with the big news
associations, and not with the newspaper
but | think the time has come when the s'@
should see that men are sent to StocSnoA
who know enough of the language, as wei =
OF Swedish institutions and politics, to uaps
stand what is really happening over tnels
Thanks to the mistaken and irrespohs'''
foreign policies of two successive sweos'
governments, both now defunct. and thsa'
to the failure OF our news associations TO lNl
nlsh any convincingly corrective informant.
the government and people OF this cow"
have been misled into regarding the sh''
Swedish nation as more or less hostile 70 y
United States and its allies. This is UNIV.
unate, both because the mass Of the Swe's
people repeatedly have shown their ~
thence with the unneutral behavior OF s
but socially and politically powerful prev.
man element, and because the Ill VIII -
produced here tends to produce corresP''
ing reaction on the other side.
To grasp the full significance OF this Uss. ..,
situation, it is necessary 10 bear in mlna -
men thoroughly familiar with European 's'
dltions have become more and more ne.'.,
to regard the continued preservation o.,
neutrality of those small northern ns'.~
and the winning of their genuine gooc
as mos. important desiderata, not OIL! IL,
relation 10 the victorious prosecution o. =,
var, but still more with reference 10 plo'''
post bellum developments. .v
EDWIN BJoRKaAN
New York. Jan. II. 1918.