There is sweetness in the Scandinavian nature, but you reach it deep down past flint. The late Governor Johnson of Minnesota drew people because he had imagination and tenderness—traits none too common among his people. They are undemonstrative in the family, and it is not surprising that their youth on the farms are restless from heart-hunger. Besides, there is dearth of recreation. The Norwegian has his violin, but the Swedish folk-dances we hear so much about were not brought in by the immigrants. They lack the German Männerchor, Turnverein, and Schuetzenfest. It is unusual to find them organizing athletic sports. Their social gatherings center in the church, which of course acts as a damper on the spirits of the young. They love fun, to be sure, but have not the knack of making it. Shut up within themselves, hard to reach, slow to kindle, and dominated by an austere hell-fire theology, they are too often the prey of somber moods and victims of suicide and insanity.
An experienced social worker finds selfishness the besetting sin of the Scandinavians he deals with. If a settlement class get a room or a camp, they object to any others using it. In any undertaking they have in common with other nationalities they try to get the best for themselves. They withhold aid from the distressed of another nationality, while the Irish will respond generously to the same appeal. A labor leader notices that the Scandinavian working-men are "hard givers." A kindergartener who sent out Christmas gifts to twenty poor Scandinavian families received thanks from only one. A society gave relief to 260 such families during the winter, and the number who expressed gratitude could be counted on the fingers of one hand. One clergyman declared that his people are not generous in supporting their own charities.
On the other hand, an observer remarks: "For a suffering person, circulate your subscription paper among the Irish; for a good cause, circulate it among the Scandinavians." In other words, the goodness of these people is from the head rather than from the heart. "If I can get him to see it as his duty," testifies a charity worker, "the Scandinavian will go almost any length." Credit men rank them with the Germans as the surest pay. Insurance agents say no other people are so faithful in paying their premiums "on the nail." If there is a suspicious fire in a store, the owner's name never ends in "son." In Minnesota there are more coöperative stores, creameries, and elevators in the Scandinavian communities than in the American.
The Norwegians have been virile politically, and their politics has reflected moral ideas. They look upon public office as a trust, not a means of livelihood. In the days of Populism they were more open-minded than the Americans. In Wisconsin they have furnished a stanch support for the constructive policies which have drawn upon that State national attention. In the critical roll-calls in the Minnesota legislature all but one or two of the Scandinavian members are found on the "right side." The "interests" have the Germans,—brewing being an "interest,"—the Irish, and many Americans.
The truth is, their slow reaction gives these people the right psychology for self-government. In politics they are "good losers." They are not to be stampeded by fiery rhetoric or mass hysteria. They have the self-control to right abuses by orderly constitutional methods. In the Chicago anarchist trials the defense was careful to keep Scandinavians out of the jury-box. Among the Scandinavian peoples riots, barricades, and street turbulence have played no part in the redress of political grievances. Ideas of right lie at the base of their social order, while habit and sentiment count for less than they do among South Europeans. So, while our Scandinavian strain may lack the qualities for political leadership, it provides an excellent, cool-blooded, self-controlled citizenship for the support of representative government.
Immigration from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, 1841-1910