Scandinavian American. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1945-1958, 1953-05-01
Norway independence Day
Celebration Great Success

cept according to law, or be pun
ished except according to verdict.
Painful examinations must no t
take place.
mo law must be given retroac-
tive effective" That is, no citizen
can be punished according to a
law passed after the act was car
ried out.
The Seventeenth of May Con-
stitution was gift to the genera
lions following in the Halter part
of the 10Th century and to us
in the goth century. 1t came to
be the foundation stone of de-
mocracy that during these 139
years has been our pride and
dearest possession. The sublime
ideals which may be found
throughout the Norwegian Consti-
tuition formed the basis of the
achievements of Henrik Verge
land, one of the pioneers in the
practical development of Norwe-
gian democracy, the poet who
fought for social reforms and who
followed with the keenest interest
and the most deep-felt sympathy
those who were suffering where
ever they lived.
The same ideals inspired Bern
stjerne Bjsrnson to write his pa
thetic national poems when the
nation needed to be strengthened
to maintain her equal position in
the union with Sweden.
1t was the constitution which
in 1905 when this union was dis
solved, caused the young prince
Carl of Denmark to make his ac-
ceptance of the Norwegian throne
contingent upon a general cleo
ton being held to let the Nor
wegian people decide what gov
eminent they wanted to have, And
never has the spirit of the Nor
wegian Fundamental Law been
stronger than in April, 1910 when
King HAkon gave his historical
No to the German invaders. From
that moment on it became evil
dent to the majority of the Nor
wegian people what treasures lay
hidden in the old document from
the 18th of May, 1914. And the
people came to realize that in
extricably attached to the Nor
wegian Constitution is the King
who now for nearly so years
through his personal qualities and
his whole-hearted devotion to the
welfare of his people has grown
into this very Constitution n d
become an inestimable part of it.
This is a fact that is necessary
to emphasize because many people
have a tendency to make mon
archy and dictatorship identical.
The Norwegian monarchy is a
constitutional monarchy with the
King standing as the natural CEN
trail point above the political party
strifes which after all are the
essence of any living democracy.
When the 80 years old monarch
last August on his birthday drove
in his open car through the
streets of Oslo with the rain pour
ing down upon him, whole ma
ton paid homage to him bots as
a personality and as q symbol Of
our democratic constitution. And
those who knew their Norwegian
history could not help thinking
back to 1928, for instance, when
King Hakon surprised all tn e
political leaders of the nation by
appointing socialist government
in spite of the fact that the Nor
wegian Labor Party then was
strongly opposed to the m o n :
archy. He did so because the La
Dor Party was the strongest party
in the Storting and therefore &C
cording to the constitutional prac-
tice had a right to form the gov
eminent. But this single deed of
a non-party king strongly in :
fluenced the change which since
then has made the Norwegian
Labor Party a real constitutional
party together with the other
democratic parties.
Every historical achievement
has to be evaluated according to