32 BiUe—A History of the Danes in America. 
while in 1890 the Inner Mission Society found an expression of 
their ideas in the reorganization of the Elk Horn high school 
on the American plan; and that this change was approved by 
the laity is seen from the substantial increase in the attend¬ 
ance at this school already referred to. 1 This did not tend to 
allay the ill feeling already existing. The Grundtvigians con¬ 
sidered the change at Elk Horn as an act of treachery, for now 
the school for which they had worked so hard and from which 
they had hoped so much had been taken out of their hands and 
made a fortress of the enemy, and that too by a man whom they 
at one time had counted as one of their own. Meanwhile an¬ 
other cause of dissension had arisen. The instructors of the 
theological school in Polk county, "Wisconsin, Th. Helvig and 
P. Vig, had become entangled in a violent doctrinal quarrel 
which spread to the rest of the ministers, and it seemed as 
though the society was hopelessly divided; but at an extra meet¬ 
ing held at Waupaca, Wisconsin, 1891, a truce was patched up. 
It was agreed that Grundtvig should use his influence in dis¬ 
banding Hansk Folkesamfund, that the Elk Horn school should 
be used as a theological seminary, and that Vig and Helvig 
should return to their posts as theological instructors. But 
Hansk Folkesamfund refused to disband; the people at Elk Horn 
did not wish to see their school changed; and Vig resigned his 
position on the plea that he could not conscientiously work to¬ 
gether with Helvig, and again the quarrel was on, more bitter 
than ever. Finally in 1893 the Inner Mission ministers seceded 
and formed a separate society. But this separation was one of 
ministers mostly; the congregations are as yet woefully mixed, 
and there seems but little hope of getting them divided on a 
basis of Grundtvigians and Inner Mission, for though there are 
enough of each faction in every congregation to make it uncom¬ 
fortable for the other, there are not enough or they are not suf¬ 
ficiently enthusiastic to form separate congregations with 
permanent ministers and churches, at least no such congrega¬ 
tions have yet been found. 
One of the immediate effects of this controversy has been to 
stimulate somewhat the languid interest of the laymen in church 
1 Ante, p. 24. 
