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Sons Of Norway Praised by Mayor Mott in Sunday Speech

Candidate Is Cheered by Hundreds When He Recalls Deeds of History-Famed Norsemen, and the Part They Played.

Mayor Mott attended the picnic yesterday at Shellmound Park of Oakland
lodge of Sons of Norway at the request of Henrik Ibsen and Bjornst Blgornson lodges of the organization and was received in a very hospital manner by the members. There was a largest attendance on hand and with many of the members his honor renewed an acquaintance which has existed between himself and the sturdy men of the r.orth for many
years.

The day was a pleasant one and the guests enjoyed themselves in a hearty manner, both in the sports and dance. There was an interesting program of music and literary features in the pavilion which were greatly enjoyed by the throng, not the least interesting feature of which was the address on good citizenship delivered by Mayor Mott. This effort was listened to with the greatest attention and there were frequent burst of applause. The mayor spoke with a modest heartiness which appealed to his auditors and at the close the auditorium resounded with cheers:

The mayor spoke as follows:

DELIGHTFUL HOUR.

Mr. Chairman and Friends:: When your committee honored me with an invitation to take part today in this pleasant celebration, I felt that a delightful hour was ahead of me, for there Is nothing more enjoyable to me than to be able to mingle with those of my fellow citizens who represent so high a type of sturdy manhood as do the Norwegian people.

it was with a sense of high appreciation of the good feeling you have shown In your kind invitation that I gladly accepted tile opportunity to come here, and I shall not forget that I am indebted to all of you In this regard . These reunions are particularly Interesting and
useful in that they bring together many of you in fraternal accord, not only to make a pleasant holiday relief from the cares and troubles and anxieties of the work-day week, but to furnish the medium by which ties of friendship are knitted more closely, associations renewed and memories of the fatherland kept fresh and alive among the elders,
and traditions maintained for the benefit of the younger people.

As the history of your adopted country mingled with that of the older lands across the sea, we are reminded that at the very foundation of any civilization of any race of people worth while there is established a real patriotism, and by that we mean a devotion to those standards which make for true citizenship, morality, thrift and manhood, a sterling trinity of qualities which you have contributed to the upbuilding of this land of ours so steadfastly and honestly.

It has been so often said that the whole world is kin, and as I have sat here looking into your many faces I seem to realize this keenly. It is a far journey from your rugged country of Norway to the edge of our Pacific, to our most western State, yet the road which leads to it has been well trodden by your countrymen. It has, indeed, become the Mecca of many of your people, whom we have gladly and anxiously enrolled upon our list of citizens.

And why, indeed, should we not proudly make you one with us, for are we not bound by the ties of relationship? Can we not trace our ancestry to one of your daring navigators? Was it not the soil of Norway that nurtured the sturdy Roilo, your bravest Viking? He, who in one of your wonderful Viking vessels, boldly sailed to ancient Gaul and wrested from its awed inhabitants a part of their finest territory. Was he not the conqueror of Normandy? Here he founded a kingdom, ruled and settled by the Northmen, hence Normans. From him there sprang a race of warrior who gave us finally the powerful William of Normandy.

Even as had Rollo wrested the territory from the French, so did William take from the English their scepter. He introduced into the English language many words of foreign origin, many new customs, new blood, new ideas; with him had come many nobles, many men of Norse blood. Norse traditions. Thus entered into this land a new element, one which proved strong, one which should be lasting -- an element of hardihood and sturdiness, of fearless faith, and one that was unafraid; an element that found its truest expression in our Pilgrim forefathers, who crossed the seas with the same spirit as did your Vikings of old.

Bond of Kinship

So you see, my friends, there is a bond of kinship between us, and this kinship has been growing stronger and more strong with each passing decade. Why even your boys await eagerly the time when they may venture fourth. It is, in fact, the great desire of Norwegian youths to go to America, and some are brave enough to do so with little or no capital. Their knowledge of the United States is, of course, limited, but there is one place known to all of them -- California. New York they find good, Chicago better, but California is the El Dorado of the Scandinavians, for to this place many of them buy through tickets, making Oakland, San Francisco or Los Angeles the doorway to a greater prosperity.

And we want more of your sturdy men and women; they make good, orderly, frugal, law-abiding citizens. It has been bred in your very blood and sinews to revere your monarch, to respect authority, to keep the peace. Your homes are beautiful examples of domesticity, your children are reared with care and attention. Such children make good citizens; they are what we want; they are what will help make the strength and sinew of our future political and moral welfare. As the twig is bent, so is the tree inclined.

The loyalty and civic pride which your children see in you, they will reflect in their lives, in their future thoughts and deeds, and you are, indeed, a hardy, dependable people, you Norwegians.

Truly, you partake of the very characteristics perceptible in the conformation of the land of Norway, and small wonder that you should have these characteristics deeply ingrained within you, for have not long lines of your ancestors dwelt on the heights and within the valleys of your ragged, rugged, precipitous mountains? And have they not lived on the wondrous fjords, those great watery gorges extending many miles inland, lying in the shadow of tremendous cliffs, rising sheer and awful? It is such scenery as Dante might wonder that you are strong, hardy, loyal, true?

Air Gives Courage

Why, the very air you breath -- the invigoration and sweetness of the air of Norway, pure from its miles of mountains, rich with the fragrance of a billion pines and freshened by its passage over glaciers of the Arctic sea has given you courage, strength, energy. Your proximity to the sea has made you fishermen, shipbuilders, seafaring men, but as the population increases emigration, mainly to the United States, has become active, due largely to the small portion of land capable of cultivation in Norway. Indeed, Norway sends us yearly between 20,000 and 30,000 subjects for good citizenship.

Although your people soon become one of us, they never lose that pride in the fatherland which is so truly justifiable, for you have much of which to be proud. Did you not give the world a rollo, a venturesome restless conquering spirit, and Ole Bull, that flaxen-haired, blue-eyed Paganini of the North, whose violin stirred the hearts and souls of countless thousands throughout the world?

Did you not give us a Nordeskjold, a Fridtjof Nansen, whose daring polar explorations won the admiration of a united world? And then you gave us that loin of the literary sphere, Ibsen, one of the greatest modern dramatists, and then a Bjornse, that able delineator of Norwegian national peasant life. These men exemplify the characteristic national strength.

First Christians

Scandinavia was one of the first European countries to embrace Christianity when advocated by Olaf I. This marked a period for those dauntless warriors of the North, who for 200 years not only ravaged England, France and Ireland, but even crossed the Atlantic to America hundreds of years before Columbus sailed from Spain. This new religion made them gradually more law-abiding, and then for a long time, Norway, like the other countries of Europe, was in the throes of formation and reformation. As a part of Scandinavia, it shared its many vicissitudes. It finally fell under Danish dominion, but about 1814, when Napoleon was harassing and terrorizing the people of Europe, that country was deprived of its dependency. While Norway had become and independent state, still it was under the combined rule of Sweden and Norway until a few years ago; the proposed severance of the union was put to a vote of the people by King Oscar of Sweden. The vote carried and Norway was independent.

Prince Charles of Denmark received permission of his grandfather, the king, to accept the call of the people to the throne of Norway. Eh assumed the name of Haakon VII, chosen for its significance, Haakon VI having been the last of the old royal line of Norway; he was anointed and crowned in the ancient cathedral of Trondhjem, capital city of the first king who reigned over the whole Norse realm, and now Norway has entered upon an era of peace, sweet and prosperity; and, although the though of the fatherland will always warm your hearts, you are now our citizens, and as such you must aid us, stand by us, support us loyally in all questions of civic righteousness, help us in every phase of good government; help the city of your adoption in it progression toward the highest aims of an adequate administrative force.

Minus Ideals

A human being without ideals is but a poor thing; still, the attainment of any ideal is not along a rose-strewn path. Particularly is this true of civic ideals. It is work, strive, persist for accomplishment of these ideals, with many obstacles to be overcome. Yet these are easily met with if one is aided by right-minded people. Just so is this true in my position. I can do nothing, attain no ideals if I am not aided, if I am not backed by the people. You can all help each one can ply his role, be it man, woman or child, in bringing our city to a state as near perfection as possible.

We can only best work hand in hand, and for whom are we striving? Is it not the citizens of the future -- the children of our city? To give them every advantage, to endow them with a good education, good health, good morals? This can only be done by good men and good women, by good parents and good officials holding the reins of government.

We all have a part in the great development of our country. We want to make it right, and we want to know that those who shall come after us will have ever before them the example of duty well don. Let all of us work to that end and, above all, let us remember that each one of us has something to contribute to the general welfare.

As I have briefly reviewed this afternoon some of the salient points in record of your fatherland, I felt that they stand as illuminating guide posts in the march of a great liberty-loving people. And to you all, my friends, I can only add that my best wishes go out to all of you for your success and happiness.

Source: Oakland Tribune Article, April 10, 1911 Page 4