Show scandinavian NEWS SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT happenings IN FAR OFF NORTHWEST ITEMS FROM THE OLD HOME returns resume of the tha mot most important events eventa in sweden norway and denmark of interest to the scandinavians scandinavian in america DENMARK Den marks new constitution granting equal a go to men and women w which goes into effect on juno june 5 has ended a long and bitter controversy for this happy re result suit the danes can thank the war although at one time it looked as 1 if constitutional reform would disrupt tho the country the tha great conflict to which it is a near neighbor brought about a spirit of 0 compromise as well as a feeling of broader patriotism the demand for or reform was too widespread for or conservatives to resist but concessions were made to insure a gradual change electors must attain their thirty fifth year to vote for candidates to the or upper house and their twenty nath to the fol or lower former elective rights in the case of tho the lower house were granted at the thirtieth year but as a concession to the conservatives the limit will be reduced only a year at each election w which aich will insure a period of 16 years for the reduction to take place in III it was in n 1849 that denmark passed from a despotism to a iree free constitution hut but the reactionaries gained the upper hand during the do depression that followed the disastrous war with Cl germany ermany and austria in 1864 and passed a constitution that virtually delivered nil all the political power into the hands of the landowners by moans means of certain electoral privileges regarding the or upper house leaving the popular body little to say in inthe the running of the government ern ment this constitution has been marked by a halt half century of lighting fighting between the two houses the conservatives serva tives held the upper house which did as it pleased nut but as powerless in legislation as was the I 1 house behind it stood the p po pep o tea id dilce 1901 it has been cimpl liberals moderates and radicals with almost no conservatives A demand from the fol folkening was consequently a demand from the mass masa of the danish people and not to be ignored the movement for constitutional constitute 11 al ref reform 0 rin be began gan modestly enough as only ono one amendment affecting a few qualifications was asked for prom this beginning the movement grew to fo wider and wider changes relating to the the upper as well as the file lower house the conservatives serva tives opposed any reform nut but minister bernstene Bern proposal for the abolition of electoral privileges held by the upper class and for universal suffrage for men and women ava taken up vigorously by tho the entire democracy including moderates radicals and socialists and notwithstanding the inequalities of the ilie franchise the file radicals even replaced the moderates in tho the cabinet last july it was seen that universal suffrage was insured the outbreak of the eiro E iro war caused dome domestic Fitle aup questions to bo be lost sight of for a while hut but early in the present year the conservative 8 serva erva tive leaders approached the radical prime minister mr air bahle and 0 offered to negotiate on oil the basis proposed by the radicals in III april the com compromise promise was arranged and king christian will vill amx affix ills his signature to tho the new and free constitution of the danish people on the eth of next month newspapers received from reykjavik the capital 0 of iceland report that the new british consul who has r recently arrived ahert has begun work on oil a translation of the icelandic constitution and all bills and documents in reference to tho the relations bo tween denmark and iceland and has baa engaged a number of translators to do this work tho the danish steamer oscar 11 II from now new york for copenhagen put in at kirkwall Kir kwall scotland sho she will be detained at this port pending an examination anit nation of her cargo 41 the danish steamer ste niner martha was torpedoed and sunk stink oft off aberdeen her crew of 18 were saved the Alart martha hn hailed from copenhagen and was of nf tons NORWAY some telephone statistics for tho the year 1013 1913 have just juat been published in that year there were telephone apparatuses in use there miles of telephone wires and the number 0 calls in the year was acl many id people are sorry because the present generation has discarded tho the wooden shoes used in all lorts of the be country go 50 years vigo ago they were cheap and warm and the old people even claim that they produced a sort of musical sound found on an the sidewalks says a newspaper which evidently sympathizes with the old talks folks wooden shoes are no longer fine enough in norway they maj do in such poor countries countr lea ab france let nany and denmark bit in our coun ry by no means |