Toredägen den §4 juni 194:1 * THE SWEDi^H PRESS Sida.il 9 NORWEGIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY HONORED IN SWEDEN. Stockholm, May 18 (By wire-less)-- May 17th, Norway’s Inde-pendence Dav, was celebrated throughout Sweden with special observances that began on Sun-day, May 16. and conchided last night with a capacity gath-ering in the Great Concert Hall here when speakers pre-dicted the speedv return of Norway to the familv of nations as a free and independent State. While all national observances of the day were banned inslde Norway, Sweden hono-red her brother nation with displays of the Norwegian flag in the streets of all towns and cities; with Street collections för the Swedish Norway Relief Fund; with public gather-ings in Stockholm’s parks and places of assemblage; with processions of Norwegian children and students carrying Nor-wegan flags, not only in Stockholm but in Uppsala where there are many Norwegian students at the famous univer-sitv A special performance of ‘Per Gynt” was given by the R- val Opera here, and in more than 340 communities all over Sweden, even in small places where May 17 has never before been observed, special commit-tees were in charge of programs of activity. SWEDEN NOW HARBORS 20.800 REFUGEES, MOSTLY NORWEGIANS At present there are some 20-800 refugees in Sweden, includ-ing 16,000 Norwegians. While the growing number of refu-eees gives rise to problems dif-ficult of sohition, the refugees are able. on the whole, to live a normal life. Only 181 refugees have been placed in intern-ment camps in addition to 26 temporarily in custody. Some of those interned normally would have been deported from Sweden, while some are Norwegians who are not accepted by Norwegian representatives in Sweden. Norwegian refugees are first Questioned bv Swedish police. They are then sent, without supervision, to a Norwegian reception camp. Onlv rarely have theru been instances where Norwegians have been held for further investigation. FLEES TO SWEDEN AFTER KILLING OF NAZI POLICE. ~A Norwegian couple and their five month old baby have ' arrived in Sweden after escap-ine arrest and summary execu-tion. The man .was found in possession of a radio set which he refused to hand over to the! German police when surprised by night. The Germans d e c id e d to shoot him on the spot. but before they managed to carry ont their threat they were in turn surprised by another Norwegian who shot three of them. The remaining Germans fled for help and then they suc-ceeded in killing the Norwegian. The owner of the radio with his wife and five months old baby had in the meantime fled from the house, without even time to dress the child. All they managed to take with them was one hlanket and one day’s supplv of bread. They set out for the mountains along the Swedish horder. They were soon hlinded by the snow and lost their way. Without food. warm clothes, or milk for eight days before they were found by some ^wed-es in Västerbottens Lappmark. The parents had succeeded in keeping the child alive bv rjv-l ing it snow they had melted in their mouths. During the nights they had kept warm by digging themselves into the^ snow and holding the baby hetween them. The nights were bitterly cold and the min and] woman both had their feet fro-t zen. In the daytime the burning sun and the glare from the snow bumed their faces. All developed high fever. When they were found the child had a temperature over 104 Fah-renhelt and was almost dead. The parents had not been able to keep the baby clean and its skin was in terrible condition. After (it had been cared for in Sweden it recovered fairly well, but both parents’ feet suffered permanent injury. THIS NAZI SPEAKER THOUGHT HE WAS POPULÄR. At a recent corhpulsory Nas-jonal Samling meeting for- work ers in a factory In the Oslo district, a placard with the in-scription “Long Live the King” suddenly appeared through the floor behind the NS speaker, according to Göteborgs Han-dels-och S jöfartstidning. A con-siderable time passed before the lecturer understöd the cause of the spontaneous enthusiasm of the audience. Pollce searches started immediately, but with no result. ICELAND TO BECOME INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC. Reykjavik, Iceland ~ The committee, which was formed by the Icelandic Government. to consider the future form of government for Iceland, has published its decision. The committee finds that Iceland should declare itself an independent republic from June 14, 1944, and that all connec-tion with Denmark should be discontinued on the same date. The committee has also suggested a new constitution for the new republic. WE CAN BE PROUD OF OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS The Swedish Press has kindly volunteered to publish a special Festival Number. So I am taking this oppor-tunity to extend greetings and a welcome to all our Scandinavian people and their friends to the Annual Midsummer Festival under the auspices of the Scandinavian Central Committee. Owing to wartime restric-tions on transportation it may! be necessary for many of us to walk the short distance to the park, but I am sure we will be repaid in the form of enjoy-ment when we get there. We can be justly proud that the Central Committee .through the support of the many affili-a