46 ANNALS NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED SWEDISH 



SOCIETIES OF NEW YORK. 



Emil F. Johnson. 



I do not intend to encroach upon your time by attempting to make a 

 long speech, but I consider it my duty as president of the United Swedish 

 Societies to express to you, Mr. President, and to the members of the New 

 York Academy of Sciences, our gratitude for the opj)ortunity you have 

 given us to take part in honoring the memory of our distinguished country- 

 man Linnseus, whom we are used to call the "Flower King of the North." 

 To be sure, our participation in this celebration is limited to the assistance 

 given by our singing societies and to the presence of a goodly number of our 

 people in the park. The Swedish minister to Washington, Mr. Lagercrantz, 

 is also with us, and I take this opportunity to convey to you. Your Excellency, 

 our appreciation of the interest you have shown by coming to New York 

 to-day. Our consul and vice-consul are also with us. 



I saw a statement in a paper a few days ago to the effect that Swedes 

 in New York have presented this beautiful bridge to the city. I only wish 

 that such were the case ; but unfortunately we are only about fifty thousand 

 strong in this neighborhood. Such a gift might well be possible out West, 

 where, as you know, most of the Swedish immigrants settle, but not here. 

 Indeed, there are parts of the West and Northwest, where for miles upon 

 miles you will find Swedish settlements almost exclusively, and all in pros- 

 perous condition. In Chicago the Swedes have even erected a statue to 

 the memory of Linnseus, a duplicate of one erected in Stockholm just twenty 

 years ago to-day. I remember the date well, because I took part in the 

 celebration, being a student in Stockholm at the time. 



It is a great satisfaction to us Swedes, that Linnaeus, whose memory' is 

 to-day honored all over the globe, was a man of peace. Every one has heard 

 of our Gustavus Adolphus and Charles XII, not to mention the old vikings ; 

 but our great scientific men — such as Linnseus, Berzelius, Scheele, Celsius, 

 Edlund, Rudbeck and others — are kno'wn only to a select few. Even John 

 Ericsson the great engineer, whose statue has been erected in Battery Park 

 by the city of New York, is remembered and honored only on account of 

 his ship of war, the "Monitor." The fact that he invented the fire-engine, 

 the propeller, the solar engine, the hot-air engine and other wonderful 

 machinery, is well-nigh forgotten, though we have in the city to-day about 

 fifteen thousand pumping engines run with heated air on Ericsson's prin- 

 ciples, and the solar engine is being used more and more in California. 



