Reminiscences Part 18

America also exerts a great influence on the mental and moral development of the people of Sweden, although this may not be so apparent on the surface. The thousands and hundreds of thousands of letters written every year by Swedish-Americans to the people of the working cla.s.ses of Sweden arouse the latter's ambition, and develop liberal, political and religious ideas among them. No one can calculate the scope of this influence, to say nothing of the eloquent language spoken by the millions of crowns which are annually sent home to poor relatives and friends, and which either lighten the burden of poverty or enable the recipients to prepare a brighter future for themselves in this country, and how many a poor, down-trodden fellow, who could expect nothing better than the poor-house in his old age in Sweden has become an able and useful citizen in this country!

When the poor young laboring man or woman, who in Sweden has felt the oppression of poverty and looked forward to a life without hope, arrives in this country, the timid, bashful looks give way to hopefulness and self-reliance. It is true that this is often carried too far, especially in the line of expensive and extravagant dress, which sometimes makes the wearer appear ridiculous; but these are trifles, the main thing being that those people learn to know their own worth, and are able to create a brighter future for themselves.

The tact and manner acquired within a short time by common laborers who looked thoughtless and careless while at home, are simply astonishing.

A Swedish diplomat, who visited Minnesota twenty years ago, and, among others, met one of his father's former farm laborers, who was now in good circ.u.mstances, in an official report to the government of Sweden expressed his astonishment at the change which the Swedish people had undergone in that respect.

It cannot be denied that many among the higher cla.s.ses in Sweden feel very unfriendly toward the United States, and it was even not long ago a common saying among them, "America is the paradise of all rogues and rascals."

Many Americans suppose themselves to be better than all others, and believe their country and inst.i.tutions to be perfect. In this they are mistaken, for in several respects this country is as yet in its infancy, and has many defects which the countries in the north of Europe have long since outgrown. As one instance I would mention that the school system is altogether too dependent on local influences, so that while the common schools in the northern cities and towns are very fine,--in some instances perfect,--those in the country rate very low compared with the same cla.s.s in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Northern Germany.

Another case in point is the system of taxation which notably gives unprincipled men of wealth opportunities for escape, while the poorer cla.s.ses are taxed for the full amount of their property, the burden thus falling proportionately heaviest where it ought to be lightest, and _vice versa_. Again, the laws which make possible rings, monopolies, and trusts, to the great prejudice of the people, or permit gambling on the produce of the country as carried on in the great commercial marts of America, robbing the producer of the fair wages of his toil, and many other things which would not be tolerated among the nations of Europe.

Thus it lies within the power of one man, in this our great state of Minnesota and other states, to make or unmake cities, towns, and communities, by a single edict locating a railroad, fixing a time-table, and in many other ways exercising arbitrary power that no European ruler would think of a.s.suming. The execution of our laws, also, in many places has proven highly unsatisfactory, often making our much-boasted jury system, especially in criminal cases, a farce and a disgrace.

The trouble is that political demagogues and Fourth of July orators continually keep pointing out only the best sides of our inst.i.tutions, which undoubtedly are both many and great, while few have the courage to speak of the defects and short-comings.

As for the conduct of the native Americans toward the immigrants who settle among them, I venture to say that although they consider themselves very tolerant, and are so in a general way, they are in many respects very intolerant and prejudiced; but this is owing to a lack of knowledge concerning other nations. It is true that the immigrant, especially from the north of Europe, is bidden welcome, and is generally well received, but he is expected to be content with shoveling dirt, chopping wood, carrying water, plowing the fields, and doing other manual labor, no one disputing his right or his fitness for these occupations. But when he begins to compete with the native American for honor and emolument in the higher walks of life, he is often met with coldness, mingled, perhaps, with a little envy, and although the adopted citizen may, in many instances, start on an equal footing with the natives in culture, intelligence, and business ability, it is only exceptionally that he will be recognized as an equal socially; and there is scarcely an adopted citizen of the non-English-speaking nationalities who has not deeply realized the truth of this statement.

It may be safely said that it will on an average take two generations before the children of the non-English-speaking immigrants shall cease to suffer more or less from these prejudices. Certainly the children of immigrant parents, although born and brought up in this country, are often subjected to sneers and taunts by their more fortunate playfellows, even within the walls of the American public schools.

This antipathy is most noticeable in places where the number of foreigners is very great, but less where they are few, and may be explained and partly excused by the fact that, when a great number of foreigners live together they are more apt to maintain their customs, language and amus.e.m.e.nts, which differ from those of the native-born. But the chief reason is that when the immigrants, most of whom belong to the hard-working cla.s.ses, arrive directly from a long and exhausting journey, they are often poorly dressed, awkward and ignorant of the language and customs of the country, and look forlorn and crestfallen.

The first impression which the native American thus receives remains with him, while he does not stop to consider that the same cla.s.s of people coming from America to Europe would not appear to better advantage if they should go there as immigrants. Nor does he consider the injustice of judging whole nationalities by their less favored representatives under such circ.u.mstances. There are, of course, many n.o.ble exceptions among the native Americans; but as to genuine tolerance between different nationalities, I have seen far more of it in the great cosmopolitan cities of Europe, Asia and Africa, than in America.

But these shortcomings may be easily overlooked for the many n.o.ble traits of character which all admit him to possess. And most striking and beautiful of these is the honor and respect he shows to woman. There is no other country in the world where woman is treated with such consideration, and where she is as safe and honored as among Americans, and if we judge nations by the way their women are treated, as I think we should, the American nation has no peer in the world.

But if the Americans have a one-sided and wrong conception of foreigners, so have also many foreign people a wrong conception of America, and we ought not to blame the former more than the latter. The Swedish press, for instance,--with praise-worthy exceptions, of course,--has always shown great prejudice or ignorance in its treatment of America, and especially of the Swedish-Americans. Thus it has always been ready to dwell on the dark sides and keep silent about that which is praiseworthy in this country. If, for instance, a lawless deed has been perpetrated on the frontier it is pointed to as a sample of American civilization, without considering that such things take place only in the western cow-boy or mining life, the days of which will soon belong to the past. And if an immigrant, who, deservedly or undeservedly, has been unsuccessful writes a letter to his old home and slanders America, how eager the newspapers are to rush into print with it. Even if the man has been here only a few months, and seen only a small spot of the country, they are still ready to accept his story as reliable testimony, and judge the whole country accordingly. But this by no means applies to Sweden and the Swedish press alone; it may with equal truth be said of the Europeans and the press of Europe generally.

There is no gainsaying the fact, however, that new-comers as a rule must expect adversity and difficulty on account of being strangers, and because of their unfamiliarity with the English language. And such as are unaccustomed to manual labor and have not learned a trade stand a poor chance, especially in the beginning. Book learning is of little use at first, for there is no lack of educated people in America. Hence it is a great mistake for young men with nothing but an education to depend upon to come here with the expectation of making a fortune, for the only way to success will at first generally be by taking hold of the spade or the axe. Have they the courage to do this? Then let them come, for opportunities will open after a while to those who shall deserve them.

Certificates of character and recommendation are here of little value; t.i.tles and family connections of still less. One cares not much for what you have been; but only for what you are.

In the last civil war a young German officer came to President Lincoln and offered his services as a volunteer in the army. The man had high recommendations, and talked a great deal about his n.o.ble birth, and even intimated that royal blood was flowing through his veins. Having patiently listened to all this, Lincoln, putting his hand on the young man's shoulder, said, encouragingly: "Don't let this trouble you, my friend, for I a.s.sure you that if you only do your duty well and faithfully, these things will be no impediment to your success. We are not so unjust in America as to think less of a man on account of his European t.i.tles. No, I can a.s.sure you that you have precisely the same chance for advancement and success as if you had been a man of the people, provided you prove as competent and meritorious as one of them."

I have often heard Europeans wonder how it is that with such a democratic spirit so many American heiresses seem anxious to marry European n.o.blemen. But it should be remembered in the first place that there are not many, but comparatively only a few who manifest this desire, and also that those few by no means represent public opinion here. On the other hand, is it not quite natural that when European gentlemen of the highest cla.s.ses meet and get acquainted with American girls, their social and intellectual equals, that a mutual attachment may in most cases be the true motive for such alliances? For, as the grand Lincoln remarked, when the European n.o.bleman possesses all other requisite qualifications his t.i.tles are no barrier to his success, either in the army, in business affairs, or with the fair s.e.x. Old names and t.i.tles are usually a guaranty of good education, culture, and other praiseworthy acquisitions.

In my contact with the world and with men of different peoples and races, I have found that it is unjust to judge them by nations or cla.s.ses, as if one nation or one cla.s.s were necessarily better or worse than others, for there are both good and bad characters among all, and a good man is just as good, and a bad one just as bad, whether he be Hindoo, Mohammedan, or Christian, American or Swede, n.o.bleman or peasant. Much good may be hidden under a coa.r.s.e and common exterior, and we must not search for virtue only among the accomplished, the rich, and the fine-looking. Just as much, indeed, is found among the lowly and un.o.bserved; and in the quiet, humble daily walks of life are constantly enacted deeds of heroism and virtue which are never known or applauded by the world, though fully as deserving as many of those which are given an honored place in the annals of history; yes, often much more so.

CHAPTER x.x.x.

REVIEW.

A few weeks ago I made a short visit to Vasa, our first home in Minnesota. The occasion was the eighty-seventh birthday of my mother, who still lives near the old homestead.[7] With spirited horses I drove in company with a son and a grandson over the same road which was first marked out by our simple ox wagon thirty-eight years before.

[Footnote 7: Since dead.]

What a change! The former wilderness changed into smiling fields dressed in the purest green of early summer, and along the whole road are fine homes, nearly all of which belong to Swedish-Americans, who commenced their career as poor immigrants like myself, or to their children, most of whom are to the manor-born.

We stop twelve miles from Red Wing close to our old farm, at a little cottage surrounded by tall trees. There, by the window, sits greatgrandma, watching eagerly for someone whom she knows always spends that day with her.

Close to the quiet home stands the large Lutheran church, one of the finest country churches in America, and to the peaceful cemetery surrounding it we all soon make a pilgrimage to scatter flowers on the graves where my good father and sister, my wife's parents, sister, and many other near relatives have found a resting place. The little cemetery is clothed in a flowery carpet of nature's own garb, and studded with several hundred marble monuments with inscriptions that testify to the Swedish ancestry of those who rest under them.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SWEDISH CHURCH IN VASA.]

From this place, which is the most elevated point in Vasa, the surrounding country affords a picture of such rural peace and beauty, that even a stranger must involuntarily pause to wonder and admire; how much more, then, I, who was the first white man that trod this ground!

Below, toward the south, we see the wooded valley, watered by a little creek from Willard's spring, where we came near perishing that cold January night in 1854; at the head of the valley, the hill where we built the first log cabin; immediately beyond this hill the hospitable home of my wife's parents, from which I brought my young bride to our own happy little home, which stood on another hill near the same spring, and of which a part still remains; here, just below the church, is the field I first plowed; over there in the grove where we cut logs and fencing material, stands now the orphan home, established by Rev. E.

Norelius; and on the other side the road is his handsome residence and garden, but he himself sits inside, frail and suffering on account of the hardships of the first few years.

Close by are the post-office, two stores, a blacksmith shop, a school-house, two smaller churches, one Methodist and one Baptist, and several other public and private buildings, and a few miles farther north, near the Cannon river, are two railroads, running from the Mississippi westward, connecting with other roads which span the continent, and only terminate on the sh.o.r.es of the Pacific ocean.

All around, so far as the eye can see, are green fields, grazing herds of cattle, planted and natural groves, comfortable buildings, and great white-painted school-houses. Not a hill, not a valley or a grove but they call forth touching recollections, some mingled with sorrow and pain, but by far the most bright and cheerful; for here I spent the first hopeful years of my manhood; here we lived, the first Swedes in Minnesota, in a circle of innocent and faithful friends; here I won the wife who tenderly and faithfully has shared the vicissitudes of life with me, in sorrow and in joy ever the same; here those of my countrymen who followed me when I was yet but a youth, have acquired independence, happiness, and such esteem that the settlement of Vasa has a reputation among the communities of the state which reflects honor upon the memory of the great king whose name it bears.

But this picture of development, culture and progress is not confined to this settlement, for countless other Scandinavian settlements in the west and northwest have made as great progress within a comparatively short time.

On my arrival in 1852 the Mississippi river was the north-western boundary line of civilization with the exception of the state of Iowa, which then had only a small population. Since that time twelve new states further west have been peopled and admitted into the Union. There was no railroad west of Chicago; now the immense distance between the Mississippi and the Pacific ocean is spanned by four giant railroads, while more than a hundred trunk and branch lines intersect the country in all directions, and lakes and rivers are navigated by hundreds of steamers, which compete with the railroads in carrying the products of the West to the Atlantic, whence they are distributed over the whole civilized world.

Hundreds of cities that did not exist, even by name, have since sprung up as if by magic, and some of them have already become renowned throughout the world for their industry, commerce and culture. Among them are Minneapolis and St. Paul, already intertwining their arms around each other in an embrace that will soon unite them into one. The former did not exist when I first gazed on St. Anthony falls, which now furnishes motive power for its magnificent mills and factories, and the latter was a town of about two thousand inhabitants. Their combined population is now one-third of a million. St. Paul contains a large number of Scandinavians, but Minneapolis seems to be their favorite city, the Swedes alone numbering over forty thousand. They have many churches, private schools, academies and other inst.i.tutions of learning.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FLOUR MILLS IN MINNEAPOLIS.]

The three Scandinavian nationalities agree pretty well in our good state, and have united their efforts in several enterprises of some magnitude. In Minneapolis there are several banks and other monetary inst.i.tutions owned and controlled by them, not to mention hundreds of other important commercial and manufacturing establishments due to the enterprise of our countrymen. Having gradually learned the language and the ways of this country, a surprisingly large number of the Scandinavians who began their career as common laborers have engaged successfully in business on their own account, and many have devoted themselves to professions demanding a higher education, which is greatly facilitated by a number of excellent academies and colleges established and supported by them in several of the western states. A great number of county offices are filled by the Scandinavian-Americans; in our legislature there are generally from thirty to forty members of that nationality; many of them have occupied positions of the highest trust and honor as officers of the state and of the United States, and no one can deny the fact that they have universally proved themselves fully equal in ability and trust-worthiness to the native born.

But it is not only in Minneapolis or in Minnesota, but throughout the whole country that the Scandinavians have gained such a good name, that in all the recent agitation against foreign emigrants, not one voice has been heard against them. They learn the English language well and quickly, and a.s.similate readily with the native American element, which is natural enough considering that they are to a very large extent of the same blood and ancestry as the English people, and that the English language is borrowed to no small extent from the Scandinavian.

Americans often express astonishment at the ease and correctness with which the Scandinavian immigrants acquire the English language. A little study of philology will readily account for it. If we take, for instance, the names of household goods, domestic animals, and other things appertaining to the common incidents of plain every-day life, we find the English words almost identical with the Scandinavian terms, only varying in the form of spelling or perhaps p.r.o.nunciation, as those are apt to change with time and locality. For example: English--ox, cow, swine, cat, hound, rat, mouse, hen, goose, chicken; Swedish--oxe, ko, svin, katt, hund, rotta, mus, hona, gs, kyckling. Of implements: English--wagon, plow, harrow, spade, axe, knife, kettle, pot, pan, cup; Swedish--wagn, plog, harf, spada, yxa, knif, kittel, potta, panna, kopp.

Or the part of our own bodies, such as: English--hair, skin, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, lips, teeth, shoulders, arm, hand, finger, nail, foot, toe, etc.; Swedish--hr, skinn, ogon, nasa, oron, mun, lapp, tand, skuldra, arm, hand, finger, nagel, fot, and t. Or of the occupations of the common people, such as: English--spin, weave, cook, sow, sew; Swedish--spinna, vafva, koka, s, sy, etc. In this connection it may not be out of place to quote one of England's most eminent authors and scholars, Edward Bulwer Lytton, who says:

"A magnificent race of men were those war sons of the old North, whom our popular histories, so superficial in their accounts of this age, include in the common name of the 'Danes.'

"They replunged into barbarism the nations over which they swept; but from the barbarism they reproduced the n.o.blest element of civilization. Swede, Norwegian and Dane, differing in some minor points, when closely examined, had yet one common character viewed at a distance. They had the same prodigious energy, the same pa.s.sion for freedom, individual and civil, the same splendid errors in the thirst for fame and the point of honor, and above all, as a main cause of civilization, they were wonderfully pliant and malleable in their adventures with the people they overran.

"At that time, A.D. 1055, these Northmen, under the common name of Danes, were peaceably settled in no less than fifteen counties in England; their n.o.bles abounded in towns and cities beyond the boundaries of those counties, which bore the distinct appellation of Danelagh. They were numerous in London, in the precincts of which they had their own burial-place, to the chief munic.i.p.al court of which they gave their own appellation--the Husting."

It is, of course, impossible to ascertain the exact number of Scandinavians and their descendants in this country, but we can come very near it by studying the statistics of the United States treasury department, a recent report from which gives the number of emigrants during the last seventy years from Sweden and Norway as 943,330, and from Denmark as 146,237, or a total since the year 1820 of 1,089,567; while the same report gives the number during the same period from Germany as 4,551,719; Ireland, 3,501,683; England, 1,460,054; English Colonies, 1,029,083; Austria-Hungaria, 464,435; Italy, 414,513; France, 370,162; Russia, 356,353; Scotland, 329,192; Switzerland, 174,333.

When we take into consideration the numerous Swedish colonies that settled in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the seventeenth century, and their descendants, together with the descendants of Scandinavian emigrants of the last seventy years, I think it is safe to estimate the total population of Scandinavian descent at over four millions, or fully one-sixteenth of the entire population of the United States. The very fact that the nationality a.s.similates so readily with the native American element causes it to be lost sight of; and it should be so, for the only desirable immigrants to this country are those who cease to be foreigners, and merge right into the American nation. Such are certainly the Scandinavians. They do not bring over any grievances from the mother country to correct or avenge, and there are no Clan-na-Gael, no Mafia societies among them, nor are there any anarchists or revolutionists. They come here to build homes for themselves and their children; they are contented and grateful for the privileges of American citizenship, and make themselves worthy of it by pushing into the front rank in the onward march of education, philanthropy and religion, as well as in material progress.

One ill.u.s.tration, among many that might be given, is found in the report of a late conference of the Swedish Lutheran Church, from which it appears that they have now in Minnesota alone two hundred and forty-five parishes, with one hundred and seventy-nine churches, valued at over six hundred thousand dollars, and all paid for. The Norwegian Lutheran Church would undoubtedly show equal if not better results, though I cannot give the exact figures.

It is a great mistake which some make, to think that it is only for their brawn and muscle that the Northmen have become a valuable acquisition to the American population; on the contrary, they have done and are doing as much as any other nationality within the domain of mind and heart. Not to speak of the early discovery of America by the Scandinavians five hundred years before the time of Columbus, they can look back with proud satisfaction on the part they have taken in all respects to make this great republic what it is to-day.

The early Swedish colonists in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey worked as hard for liberty and independence as the English did in New England and in the South. There were no tories among them, and when the continental congress stood wavering equal in the balance for and against the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, it was a Swede, John Morton (Mortenson), of the old Delaware stock, who gave the casting vote of Pennsylvania in favor of the sacred doc.u.ment.

When nearly a century later the great rebellion burst upon the land, a gallant descendant of the Swedes, Gen. Robert Anderson, met its first shock at Fort Sumter, and, during the bitter struggle of four years which followed, the Scandinavian-Americans were as true and loyal to their adopted country as their native-born neighbors, giving their unanimous support to the cause of the Union and fighting valiantly for it; nor should it be forgotten that it was the Swede John Ericson, who, by his inventive genius, saved the navy and the great seaports of the United States, and that it was another Swede by descent, Admiral Dahlgren, who furnished the model for the finest guns of our artillery.

Surely love of freedom, valor, genius, patriotism and religious fervor was not planted in America by the seeds brought over in the Mayflower alone.

Yes, it is verily true that the Scandinavian immigrants, from the early colonists of 1638 to the present time, have furnished strong hands, clear heads and loyal hearts to the republic. They have caused the wilderness to blossom like the rose; they have planted schools and churches on the hills and in the valleys; they have honestly and ably administered the public affairs of town, county and state; they have helped to make wise laws for their respective commonwealths and in the halls of congress; they have, with honor and ability, represented their adopted country abroad; they have sanctified the American soil by their blood, shed in freedom's cause on the battle-fields of the revolution and the civil war; and though proud of their Scandinavian ancestry, they love America and American inst.i.tutions as deeply and as truly as do the descendants of the Pilgrims, the starry emblem of liberty meaning as much to them as to any other citizen.

Therefore, the Scandinavian-American feels a certain sense of ownership in the glorious heritage of American soil, with its rivers, lakes, mountains, valleys, woods and prairies, and in all its n.o.ble inst.i.tutions; and he feels that the blessings which he enjoys are not his by favor or sufferance, but by right; by moral as well as civil right. For he took possession of the wilderness, endured the hardships of the pioneer, contributed his full share toward the grand results accomplished, and is in mind and heart a true and loyal American citizen.