THE DRY FARMING CONGRESS. 



47 



Scandinavian Immigration. 



"Scandinavians in the United States, born in the old country, num- 

 ber a little less than tv^^o million people; counting the first generation 

 born here they exceed four million. Counting Scandinavians born in 

 the old country and all their generations here, they number over five 

 millions, and in these figures we do not include Leif Erickson, who 

 came here in the year 1,000, nor George Washington, who traces his 

 ancestors to an old Norwegian warrior family from Orkney Islands, 

 which you have very likely read about in the letter of Wm. E. Curtis 

 in the Chicago 'Record-Herald.' 



"The Scandinavian immigration has yearly been between fifty and 

 one hundred thousand, except in 1908, when the financial crisis cut 

 down this figure, 

 Scandinavian Farmers. 



"The overwhelming majority of Scandinavian immigrants belong to 

 the farming class. While many other nationalities, more or less, seek 

 the cities and big towns, you will find according to the United States 

 census that the Scandinavians lead all other nationalities, as land own- 

 ers, natives not excepted. Three-fourths of the Scandinavians are rural 

 people, and one-fourth city people. Of the Norwegian only one-fifth 

 live in cities. This shows the Scandinavians want lands and take to 

 lands. 



"We all know the Scandinavians represent one of the leading fac- 

 tors in the development of the Northw^est. I believe it is fair to state 

 that they can hold their own against any other nationality. They may 

 not be as good truck farmers as, for instance, the Germans, but as corn 

 and grain farmers, they cannot be beaten. 



"They have been great pioneers in the entire Northwest, and they 

 were and are well fitted for this, as they are more enduring and more 

 patient than any other nationality. Take, for instance, Goodhue County 

 in Minnesota, where they in the early days settled in with Americans, 

 Germans, Irish and others. The Indian wars, the grasshoppers, the 

 drouth, hard winters, and distant markets were conditions to be over- 

 come. The result is that today you can find that the Norwegians are 

 the owners of the entire county 



"The facts remain, however, that wherever the Scandinavians set- 

 tled, lands enhanced in value rapidly, and they were soon forced to seek 

 our further and further West, looking for new fields to lay under the 

 plow. Thus into South Dakota and further on to North Dakota they 

 pushed, where the Norwegians alone today represent the biggest one 

 element in the State. Here in the western portion of the latter state 

 we find the connecting link between the old settlements and the Trans- 

 Missouri fields. 



"We also find strong Scandinavian settlements in Nebraska and 

 Kansas. Their hunger for land has pushed them across the Missouri, 

 along the whole line from Canada to the south line of Kansas. One 

 will find them today right at it, still pushing forward 



