We spent a day at this exposition for the purpose of gathering information in regard to industrial Sweden. While the agricultural display was not ready, the exhibit of the products of the factory was exceedingly interesting. The articles shown included metal work of all kinds and varieties, from heavy machinery to parlor ornaments. In one section canned fruit was displayed, in another great rolls of linoleum and oilcloth, and in still another textile fabrics. The cloth was especially worthy of notice, being of superior quality and of every color. There was also a complete assortment of dairy implements and farm tools. So skillful is the Swedish artisan that the International Harvester Company has recently established a branch factory at Norrkoping, and with the aid of American foremen is preparing to manufacture reapers and mowers there, not only for Sweden but for northern Europe.
In addition to the machine-made exhibits, there were specimens of the handwork of peasants and students. These included many varieties of needlework, wood carving, and decoration on leather and bark. Peasant girls in native costume presided over these displays and gave the visitor a glimpse of the picturesque garb now fast disappearing before the prosaic dress of the cities. At Skansen, in the suburbs of Stockholm, and at a few of the enterprising stores, this quaint costume may still be seen, but it is not generally worn now even in the country.
There is a gallery at Norrkoping exposition where one may see a collection of Swedish and Danish art, the pictures not only portraying the familiar features and flaxen hair of the north, but recalling the long nights and the winter scenes of that latitude.
Sweden was a pioneer in the matter of universal education and has at Upsala a state university founded in 1477—fifteen years before Columbus sailed for America. She has also had a college of medicine for more than a hundred years, and her sons have taken high rank in all the departments of science. Her grammar schools run back to the time of Gustavus Adolphus, and her common school system is almost as old. She has given to the world among other things the Sloyd system of teaching, which combines manual training with mental instruction. Sweden has shown by her prominence in literature, science, art and music that the higher altitudes do not chill the imagination or repress genius, and yet, the country is even more noted for the high average of intelligence among the people than for the extraordinary accomplishments of a few.
The Swedish language contains so many words that resemble the English that the Swedish newspaper looks much more familiar than the Greek or the Russian, but it is not always safe to rely upon the similarity in spelling. For instance, "rum" means room, and when it appears in a window or on a door, it is only an innocent announcement that travelers can find accommodation within. The word "bad" means bath, and "bad rum," therefore, is a familiar sign in hotels.
Sweden has her political problems like all the other nations, and just now her people are absorbed in the question of extending the suffrage. The upper house is an aristocratic body composed of representatives of the wealthier classes. In electing members to this body a rich man's vote counts for more than a poor man's vote, it being possible for the richest person to have about ten times as many votes as the poorest. As might be expected, the upper house is conservative and stands in the way of some of the reforms proposed by the more popular branch. The last ministry was a liberal one, but resigned when the upper house defeated the measure for the extension of the suffrage. The new ministry has at its head Mr. Lindmann, a business man who represents the commercial and conservative elements, and his party is willing to accept an extension of the franchise, provided it is coupled with minority representation, the aim being to increase the conservative strength in the lower house in order to protect the upper house from attack. The conservatives fear—and not without reason—that an overwhelming liberal majority in the popular branch would soon endanger the aristocratic character, if not the very existence of the upper house. The situation is interesting in that it indicates the growth of radicalism in the country. The conservatives recognize this and are prepared to make concessions; they hope to retard the progress of the movement but realize that they cannot defeat it entirely.
Industrial questions are receiving consideration in Sweden; laws concerning child labor have been enacted, accident insurance has been provided, and an old age pension is being discussed. Attention is also being given to the housing problem in the cities, to farm allotments and to the establishment of labor bureaus and boards of arbitration. The Gothenburg license system is in operation in Sweden, under which the sale of liquor, where the sale is not entirely prohibited, is in the hands of semi-official corporations. Whether this system is responsible for it or not may be open to question, but statistics show that there has been a large decrease in the sale of beverages containing a high percentage of alcohol.
By the courtesy of the American minister, Colonel Graves, I had an opportunity to pay my respects to King Oscar II. I was glad to do so for two reasons: First, because so many of his former subjects have become American citizens; and, second, because of the honorable part which he played in the recent crisis which resulted in the separation of Sweden and Norway. He is of powerful frame, and though seventy-seven years old, would pass for a much younger man. He has a kindly face and rides about the city without a guard. A more ambitious monarch would have met Norway's demand with armed resistance, but he, recognizing that the holding of Norway against the will of the people would involve his country in perpetual strife, advocated a peaceful separation, provided the people of Norway asked for it in unmistakable terms.
For thirty years he had been the sovereign of both, and in his old age he could not bear to see the two countries engaged in a bloody conflict. He is just now criticised by some who did not become sanguinary until all prospect of war was past, but he has the consolation of knowing that his critics are not only alive but have no dead relatives to mourn. Had he plunged his country into war, his critics could remind him of vacant chairs at the fireside.
King Oscar has, in a most practical way, proved himself to be a promoter of peace and as such deserves the prize provided by that great Swedish chemist, Alfred Nobel. By giving conspicuous approval to his course, the trustees of the Nobel fund may be able to encourage other sovereigns to imitate him.