Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1919-11-27

Canal in G
"NHE Vikings, .scudding about in |
their little sailing ships to
plumber, pretty well controlled
commerce a dozen centuries
ago. In the course of their scuddings
they founded on the north coast of the
island of SHETLAND, where nature had
provided 4 protected harbor, town
which they called Kobenhavn, or "mer-
chants haven" and which is now
known to the world as Copenhagen,
capital Of Denmark.
The merchandising done at this has
ven consisted largely in those days
of receiving stolen treasures from the
big blond raiders and providing the
sea rovers in return with mead for
their drinking horns. The traders
fiourlshed and eventually began to find
some outlet beyond their own country
for their increasing stocks, and thus
Copenhagen grew to commercial i'm
portance. so much so, in fact, that it
became one of the influential members
of the Hanseatic league and rival
of Hamburg, Bremen, Lubbock and the
German North sea and Baltic ports.
In the Thirty Years war Germany
was torn and plundered and Copenhag-
en- took squirt ahead of its German
rivals. King Christian Nv, recognizing
Denmark's opportunity, promoted
trade. In 1920 he built on one of the
waterways which cut into the city a
house. and that striking, many gabled
structure still is used as stock ex-
chai. o.. 1t is of red tapestry brick and
is surlnounted by spire formed by
the twisting together, ropelike of the
bodies of four great copper dragons
This spire, green with the verdigris Of
centuries, may be seen on clear days
fai' out over the Oresund, that sep
arates Denmark from Sweden.
Germans Got the Trade.
But in later days the Danish trad
ers lost some Of the aggressiveness of
Eric the Red and old Christian, while
the north Germans became more and
more the merchants of the Baltic and
the North sea. Then came the theft
by Prussia of Schleswig- Holstein and
later the digging Of the Kiel canal.
Copenhagen became an easy-going city
Of glorious past, while the ships from
the seven seas anchored at Hamburg
or Bremen.
The world war, however, gave Co
penhagen another opportunity, and
now the old merchants Haven" hopes
again to take mercantile sea honors
from the castle banner of Hamburg.
Regarding Copenhagen's aspirations
Albert q. Haase, writing in the New
York Times, says:
The war made Copenhagen clear.
ing house for Europe. AS the capital
of one of the most important neutral
European countries it became politi
cal center of great significance. Chang
ed conditions brought prosperity anG
new class of business men assumed
control. The financier supplanted the
producer.
DenmarlS's financial system was
DDS for modifying her credits had Ions
been accepted by the financial world
Old banks expanded and new bank!
came into existence. 1t is reported
that deposits grew to almost four time!
their pre-war~ amount. Insurance rec
ords of old Denmark were shattered
in manner that never had beel
thought possible; for Copenhagen be
came the place in which American ant
European insurance companies PLACED
their reinsurance, a business whicl
had once gone to the central powers
On the heels of this increased finan
cial power came positive assertion
of initiative on the part of the Danisl
business man. Worldwide trading OF
CARNATIONS came into being and Co
penhagen became the home of tfles
organizations, the branches of whicl
were chiefly in countries at war wit
Germany. Among these organization
is the Transatlantic company, whic
was started in 1916, to compile infol
nation regarding foreign trade and t
invest capital in firms engaged in fol
eign trade. This organization has, 8
far, succeeded in associating itself wit
seventeen importing and exportin
companies. Another important organ
ization is the General Commercis
Company, Ltd, started in 1917, whic
differs from the Transatlantic compan
only in that it is concerned chiefly wit
Russia and South America.
Though increased financial powe
and strong commercial organization
free from German influence are source
of strong assurance to the Danish trat
er, yet the free port has been the -four
datiOn of the confidence upon whic
they have placed their hopes. The
confidence in Copenhagen's free POI
has not been lessened by the constar
warnings that Sweden and Norway wi
not stand with folded arms while De-
mark attempts to gain supremacy