THE AMERICAN-SC AN DIN AVI AN REVIEW 
45 
Denmark 
With the small resources of Denmark, it is of course out of the ques« 
tion to contribute very large sums toward the alleviation of suffering 
in the war-torn and needy countries of Europe. Nevertheless it has 
been the purpose of the authorities that something should be done 
toward supporting the work in aid of Russia which has for its spokes¬ 
man the earnest and indefatigable Professor Nansen. It seemed that 
the comparatively small amount which Denmark was in a position to 
contribute could be applied to particularly good purpose because of 
the knowledge of Russian conditions and the experience possessed by 
the present minister of foreign affairs, Harald Scavenius, and his wife. 
He was Danish minister at Petrograd from 1912 to the outbreak of 
the Revolution. Up to the time they were obliged to leave Petro¬ 
grad, the minister and his wife conducted a very beneficient work, Fru 
Scavenius being especially active in the feeding of destitute children. 
Cf Recently Fru Scavenius offered her services as a member of an ex¬ 
pedition to consist of fifteen persons, which should, with funds obtained 
partly from the State and partly from private sources, feed and clothe 
5,000 of the poorest children in Petrograd. This plan, however, had 
to be given up, when the Soviet government refused to admit an expe¬ 
dition of more than five persons and claimed the exclusive right to direct 
the work. In an interview with a newspaper representative, the for¬ 
eign minister explained that it was impossible to send so small an 
expedition to a disrupted country like Russia, where, if anything hap¬ 
pened to some members of the expedition, the others would be quite 
helpless. €J Later the question of contributing 65,000 kroner to Cen¬ 
tral Europe (Germany, Austria, and Poland) and a similar amount 
to France has been discussed, and there has also been talk of giving 
100,000 kroner to Russia and the Baltic states through the agency of 
the Red Cross. At this writing, final decision has not been made. 
^ Upon the reassembling of the Rigsdag, October 4, the new minister 
of the interior, Dr. Oluf Kragh, introduced a bill to unify and extend 
the laws governing aid to the unemployed either by providing work 
or by direct financial support. The number of those out of work was 
between 50,000 and 55,000 with a tendency to rise in the winter months. 
The financial budget for the fiscal year 1922-23 and the report covering 
the fiscal year 1920-21 showed the necessity for either an increased 
revenue or a curtailment of expenditures, preferably both. Still a 
government loan did not seem necessary. The debates on financial 
legislation gave evidence that the Liberal Left, which is now in the 
saddle, can continue to count on the support of a majority in the Folke- 
thing. €| In spite of several large demonstrations by the Socialists 
against the present unemployment laws, it is not likely that the 
parliamentary majority of the government will be affected. 
