178 
THE AMERICAN-SCANDINAVIAN REVIEW 
French and German in Stockholm 
The award of the Nobel prizes in Stockholm 
last December became an historic occasion 
in a special manner, because a German and 
a Frenchman met on a neutral platform and 
together were guests of honor at the banquet 
that followed. Baron Gerard De Geer paid 
a tribute to Professor Walther Nernst, who 
received the 1920 prize for chemistry, laying 
stress on his researches in the field of thermo¬ 
chemical science. Professor Nernst received 
the prize from the King. 
The poet Erik Axel Karlfeldt, secretary 
of the Swedish Academy, then spoke for 
Anatole France, recipient of the prize for 
literature, and reminded the Swedes of how 
much they were indebted to the classical cul¬ 
ture that has come to them through France. 
He emphasized what Anatole France had 
done to combat the chauvinism and brutality 
of the day by reminding the nations that they 
needed one another. The King then handed 
the prize to Anatole France. The latter, at 
the banquet at Grand Hotel, paid a tribute to 
Hjalmar Branting and expressed his satis¬ 
faction that the Peace Prize was divided be¬ 
tween a Swede and a Norwegian, thus indi¬ 
cating that these two peoples were striving to 
reach Nobel’s ideal of peace between nations. 
A Netherlands-American Foundation 
The idea of international foundations is 
growing in favor as the need for sympathy 
and fellow-feeling between nations is making 
itself felt. We notice, for instance, that Ed¬ 
ward Bok heads a Netherlands-America 
Foundation established “to promote mutual 
understanding and deepen friendship between 
the Netherlands and the United States.” The 
new organization made its first public ap¬ 
pearance with a dinner at*the hotel Astor in 
New York in honor of Dr. H. A. Van Karne- 
beek, president of the League of Nations. 
A Proposed American-Irish Foundation 
An American-Irish Foundation, patterned 
after the American-Scandinavian Foundation, 
is proposed by Francis Hackett, author of 
Ireland, a Study in Nationalism. Mr. 
Hackett, writing in the World, suggests that 
such a foundation could distribute scholar¬ 
ships for study in America, Denmark, and 
possibly Italy. In the Danish folk high 
schools he sees precisely that combination of 
intellectual and spiritual culture with practi¬ 
cal knowledge of farming which Ireland 
needs, and he advises that Irish youths be 
sent to Denmark to study the Danish system 
of education and adapt it to Irish require¬ 
ments. 
Ibsen on the Christiania Stage 
The Review representative who spent the 
winter in Christiania last year was sore dis¬ 
appointed because the National Theatre in 
the whole course of the season did not produce 
a single Ibsen play. This year the manage¬ 
ment is retrieving the omission by presenting 
early in the season The Pretenders, under 
the instruction of Fru Alma Fahlstrom. Many 
European critics think this “tragedy of doubt” 
the most finished drama Ibsen ever wrote. 
Moreover, it has magnificent acting qualities, 
and in particular the characters of Skule 
Bardson and Bishop Nicholas, interpreted this 
time by Egil Eide and Johan Fahlstrom re¬ 
spectively, call for the finest efforts of the 
actors. So far as we know, The Pretenders 
has not been played here except by amateurs. 
Two Art Exhibitions 
Among the many New York midwinter ex¬ 
hibits of interest we noted two by artists of 
Swedish descent. Charlton Lawrence Ed- 
holm showed some sixty canvases at the 
Civics Club. They were his first individual 
show here, and consisted chiefly of landscape 
and weather pictures in and around New York 
City. Small as to size, soft in color, they 
reflect an artist personality of poetic tempera¬ 
ment and much charm. Henning Ryden’s 
paintings at the Babcock Galleries are, with 
the exception of three landscapes done at 
New Hope last summer, portraits, brilliant in 
color and execution. Those of children, and 
there are several, are particularly successful. 
A Newspaper Jubilee 
Svenska Trihunen-Nyheter of Chicago cele¬ 
brated its fiftieth birthday on December 
twenty-sixth and commemorated the occasion 
by issuing a special edition of thirty-six pages. 
Besides a comprehensive history of the paper 
and its makers, there are many long articles 
on eminent Swedes and their achievements, 
making this isue worthy of preservation as an 
important addition to the collection of litera¬ 
ture on Swedish contributions to American 
progress. Congratulatory messages and let¬ 
ters from President Harding, Premier Brant¬ 
ing, Archbishop Soderblom, Prince Carl, and 
a great many others were also published. 
