Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1930-10-02
DANISH POLITICS
DISCUSSED HERE
Speaker Gives Views and DiscuSse!
Governments at ASkOv Assembly
Hall Sunday Night.

Professor Holger Egekvist, instruc-
tor in high school near Copenhagen,
Denmark, who is visiting his brothers,
the bakers, in Minneapolis and who
came to Askov Sunday for short
visit with his former schoolmate,
Postmaster Svend Petersen, gave an
interesting lecture on government in
Denmark before the Young Peoples
society in the Assembly hall Sunday
evening.
Politics is not Trivial.
Mr. Egekvist started out by saying
that il is too bad so many folks dis
regard politics or give it as little at
tention as they do, often casting it
aside with the remark, 'oh that's only
politics." Politics, said Mr.. Egekvist,
! is government, il should be the con-
Germ Of every good citizen. If folks
are not concerned in politics they will
get just the type of government they
are entitled to.
In Denmark, the king was formerly
all powerful, said the speaker, but
in 1849 a democratic rule of the peo-
pie came about-a new bill of rights
which was during the reign of Fred
erick VII. In America freedom or
democracy came quite suddenly in
1776 when this country broke loose
from its mother country, England, but
in the European countries, the rule
of the people came a little slower,
as for instance in Denmark it was not
brought about by any war. 1t came
only through education of the masses.
When Denmark acquired its new con-
stitution in 1S49 men were permitted
to vote when they had attained the
age of 80, but women could not vote
at all. Woman suffrage came about
in 1915 in Denmark.
Explains Politics in Denmark.
The war with Germany in 1864 in
which the Danes were defeated caused
some dissatisfaction with the demo-
cratic form of government, and a man
by the name Of Estrup fought hard
for the return of power to the king
which, however, was not attained. For
nine years, from 1885 to 1894, Estrup
controlled the government much to
his own liking and that Of the king.
The Right party, the old party of the
king was in power. The Let's repre-
sent the people.
Denmark has five political parties
at present-the Right and Left as
above mentioned, and then there is
a Radical Left, the Social Democrats,
and the newest party-which would
correspond to the single takers of
America, the followers of Henry
Georges ideas and ideals. The Social
Democrats, who are now in power,
commenced in a small way back in |
1884. 1t is the laborers party Thor |
valid Staining is the prime minister |
'Landstinget" which corresponds to |
the American senate has 76 members |
and ''Folketinget" which corresponds |
to the American house of representa-
tives has 149 members.
One very democratic thing about |
the Danish government is that a
minority party also gets representa-
ton in the lawmaking body even
though they may not have a majority |
vote in any district corresponding to |
congressional district here. For in !,
stance in the lower house which has |
149 members at present, 11S are |
elected directly by the people This |
leaves 81 members to be chosen on |
the basis of party voters. If, for in
stance, there was an average of 10000 |
votes to each representative, then if
minority party had a total of $4,000 |
votes in the entire country and yet |
had not elected any congressman in |
any single district, it would get five |
in the lower house on the |
basis of its scattered votes here and |
there
Mr.. Egekvist explained that with |