Lögberg - 15.08.1940, Page 7

LÖGBERG, FIMTUDAGINN 15. AGÚST, 1940
7
MINNI CANADA
Flutt cið Hnausum 3. ágúst 1940
af G. S. Thorvaldson
Just priof to the turn of the
present century, a- great Cana-
dian of that day, Sir Wilfred
Laurier remarked: “The Nine-
teenth Century beloned to the
United States, the Twentieth
century belongs to Canada.”
Sir Wilfred had seen the
world grow, and develop in the
Nineteenth century. He had
seen the British flag firmly
planted in every part and corner
of the world. He had seen our
neighbor, the United States of
America grow from ,a few scat-
tered colonies along the Atlantic
coast until that great people
occupied the southern half of
this continent. He had seen the
population of that new land rise
to over a hundred million souls.
He had seen the development of
towns, of cities, of wealth which
staggered the imagination and
astonished the rest of the world.
He had seen frontier after fron-
tier conquered by advancing
civilization until no more fron-
tiers remained.
But he could also see Canada
•—occupying too, one-half of the
continent of North America. He
could see a land of innumerable
frontiers, nearly empty of peo-
ple—waiting only for the wood-
man’s axe and the plowman’s
plow.
That was over forty years ago.
The century is nearly half gone.
We still occupy one-half a con-
tinent, but we still have not
rnany more people, we still have
little more wealth — than the
lone State of Ulinois. The city of
Chicago alone contains as many
people as the four western Pro-
vinces of Canada.
That is what I want to talk to
you about today. Although I
know that perhaps your expect-
ed me to talk to you only about
the War. I might say something
about the part that Canada is
taking in the defence of liberty,
in the preservation of freedom.
I know that no people in Canada
are more concerned with the
preservation of our way of life
than we are; our way of life
vrhich seeks to uphold the moral
and spiritual standards which
till now have been accepted as
beyond challenge by civilized
ttien. But even so I would sooner
talk to you about the Canada of
the future. What kind of land
will it be? What kind of people
will we be? Will our institutions
be the same? Or will they be
different? Will you and I be
the same? Or will we be dif-
ferent?
Ladies and Gentlemen, the
present conflict means nothing
unless we ponder some of these
Questions; unless we try to find
some answers before it ends.
But first, one thing is crystal
clear. If we lose this war, all
Will be changed. And surely it
will not be changed for the bet-
ter. Surely we would not like to
lose the things that you and I,
your people and mine have cher-
ished for a thousand years.
We may not at times have
Prized our freedoms. We may
Pot at times have valued our
liberties. In times of adversity
vre may not have thought we
vrere much better than vassals
aod slaves. But now that the
chips are down, now that we are
face to face with the stark real-
ity of a dictator’s heel we may
remember that the things for
y'hich our fathers fought a
thousand years ago are worth
íar more than all the gold and
treasure of the whole world.
But let me come back. What
°f our futures as a nation? Less
than a generation ago we fought
a war to preserve what we then
called the democracy of the
world. During that struggle
Oanada became a world power.
After the war she became
Pecognized as a free and inde-
Pcndent nation in the commun-
íty of nations known as the Brit-
lsh Commonwealth. She became
a world power. But did she as-
sume the obligations of a world
Power- Did we even realize
what those obligations were? Do
'Ve yet know fully what they
are?
We occupy a half a continent.
We still are the home of less
fhan twelve million people. For
tWenty years from platforms
cverywhere we have told of our
lrnmense and illimitable natural
Pesources. We have said that
wcstern Canada alone was the
^ranary of the world. That it
couid grow sufficient wheat to
feed one hundred million peo-
ple. And so it can. But we
have forgotten that the greatest
natural resource of a country is
people. And we have blindly
thought that the rest of the
world would sit idly by and
allow ten or twelve million peo-
ple to occupy a half a continent
of space. We have continued to
forget that the world still re-
mains a seething mass of hu-
manity all struggling for their
share of the world’s bounty.
So as a world power, what of
our obligation to the rest of the
world. Isn’t part of that obliga-
tion to become the haven and the
home of millions of people in
crowded lands in other parts of
the world?
A few years ago we dreamed
blissfully of a world where wars
belonged only to the savage past,
nqver to return. We in Canada
smugly hid behind two theories,
one called by the name of “The
League of Nations”; the other
“The Monroe Doctrine.” The-
ories, inferior in themselves, but
only useful so long as maintain-
ed by guns. And we didn’t have
the guns. Less than a year ago
those theories were smashed to
the winds. But with that let us
hope that our complacency as
Canadians, has also been smash-
ed the winds.
So, Ladies and Gentlemen,
win or lose the present war, this
will be the first change in Can-
ada. We can no longer hold up
our hands -and say to the rest
of the world, “keep out.” We
can no longer keep our wide
open spaces in Canada to our-
selves. We can no longer allow
our vast and illimitable re-
sources to remain idle and un-
used. We can no longer keep
willing hands and heads and
hearts from keeping us to make
Canada the land of the twentieth
century. This century must be
for Canada what the nineteenth
was to our friends on the south.
That will be Canada’s obliga-
tion to the world. That will bp
one of the great changes in
world affairs after peace settles
over the earth.
But that is only one of many
changes. What are some of the
others ?
A few years ago, you and I
took so-called democracy for.
granted.
We saw all around us and all
throughout the world free insti-
tutions. We loved freedom, we
loved liberty, but we loved it so
much that we didn’t think it
could ever be lost. For ourselves
and most other peoples there
was only one way of life. But
now there are two. And more
than that, let us not forget that
you and I can count on the fin-
gers of one hand the great na-
tions of the world that today en-
joy our way of life. All the
others are now subject to the
crack of a dictators whip.
So let us not be smug. Why !
have nearly all peoples on earth !
lost their personal liberty, lost
their individual freedom, lost
the right to worship the God of
their choice. And in the midst
of all that, how can we, win or
lose this war, preserve for our-
selves those things that have
been as dear to our Icelandic
people than to any people on
earth ?
I spoke a moment ago of Can-
ada’s obligation to the rest of
the world. I want to speak now
of your obligation and mine to
our way of life.
In what I have to say about
that, some of my friends may
ask—have you any doubts about
our ways of life? Do you ques-
tion the worth of individual
liberty and of human freedom?
Do you doubt the value of our
democratic institutions? And to
those I would reply, I question
not the value of these things but
I do question whether our way
of life can survive—whether it
be in Canada or in any other
part of the world—unless you
and r, as individuals, pay a big-
ger price for our freedom. And
when I refer to price, I don’t
mean in money or in money’s
worth. I mean that you and I
must assume obligations, both
to our neighbor and to our state
that we never thought of assum-
ing before. Let me give you an
example of what I mean. Take
the case of the last of the great
democracies to go—France. Was
there ever a country in the world
where political instability ran
more riot than in France? Week
after week, month after month,
governments toppled and chang-
ed, each new government chang-
ing aims and objectives as they
came and went. Also, was there
ever a government so overburd-
ened and undermined with cor-
ruption and political filth as in
France? And yet a few months
ago—a few weeks ago—France
had a way of life similar to our
own. But no wonder she was
conquered! No wonder her way
of life has been destroyed!
Of course, you say, we are
Canada; we are not France. Our
form of government is stable;
we have no political corruption
or filth. And then you also say,
our people are more intelligent;
they are better educated; we are
more prosperous. You say, “It
can’t happen here.”
People in every country in the
world have said, “It can’t hap-
pen here.” But people in nearly
every country in the world have
already been obliged to say: “It
did happen here.”
Let us, while remembering
France, take a closer look at
Canada. Until a war forced upon
us a United Canada, who, dur-
ing the last 25 years has been
able to honestly say: “Canada
is a united nation?” No one.
Because we know only too well
that for at least the last quarter
of a century our country has
been as breakable as a china doll.
We have had an East and we
have a West. We have had a
Canada of Quebec and a Canada
óf Ontario. We have had a
French Canada. We have had
an English Canada. We have
had a Canada of Catholics and a
Canada of Protestants. We have
had a Canada of the big inter-
ests and a Canada of the little
interests. We have had the ex-
ample of Canadians in the Prov-
ince of Saskatchewan howling
for secession from the rest of
Canada while at the same time
during its years of adversity, ac-
cepting the charity of the rest of
Canada to the extent of tens of
millions of dollars. And besides
these things we still have most
of the petty faults of democracy
everywhere. Party patronage
and political favoritism still run
riot in Canada. Our machinery
of parliament, of government, is
still nearly as cumbersome, and
weighed down with what we call
“red tape” as it was one hun-
dred years ago.
A revealing example of the
weakness of democracy is shown
in the land to the south of us, in
their convention for nominating
the next president of the United
States. What are these conven-
tions if not glorified circuses.
They consist largely of noise,
frolic and fun and the riding of
donkeys and elephants along the
crowded streets of cities and
into the lobbies of hotels. These
have aptly been described by an
American writer as “Govern-
ment by Screams.”
Perhaps, you say, I 'am too
critical. too cynical. But if we
don’t get critical now, it may be
too late a short time hence.
But that, Ladies and Gentle-
men, is the darker side. There
is a brighter one. I am still one
of those who believe that the
next sixty years hold much more
for Qanada than the last forty.
For example, till now most of
our neighbors on our south have
looked at Canada as a land half
British, half American, lighted
chiefly by the Northern lights
and the midnight sun, populated
chiefly by Indians, the North-
West Mounted Police and the
Dionne Quintuplets. They for-
get or never knew, that Canada
is greater in area than the
United States. That Canada is
the third largest country in the
world, exceeded in size only by
Russia and China; they forget
that in area she is more than a
quarter of the whole British
Empire.
And let us not forget that
when peace again reigns on
earth, and if the British Com-
monwealth survives the difficult
days ahead, Canada in the next
sixty years, is more than likely
to become the centre and the
head of that greatest Empire of
all time.
So perhaps it is your task and
mine to prepare for the day
when Canada may become the
centre of British civilization of
the world. That a new civiliza-
tion may be built in Canada out
out of the ruins of the old. You
say, how fantastic! But remem-
ber that today’s happenings are
world shattering events. Even
now—and during the last month
or two enormous plans have
been under way which may or
may not succeed—for the trans-
planting of thousands of the
children of British parents to a
haven of safety in Canada. Even
now, reports are brought to us
day by day of this industry and
that removing to Canada—from
Britain—from the centre of the
old world to the centre of the
new. Even now, Canada is the
air centre of'the Empire. In a
recent speech Mr. Winston
Churchill, the Prime Minister of
Great Britain, told the whole
world that if the British are
driven out of the old world, the
British People and the British
navy will continue the struggle
for freedom from the shores of
the New World. And by the
New World, Mr. Churchill
meant Canada. Canada, is to-
day, the British Empire’s second
line of defence.
These are some of the things
that may be in store for Canada.
Only time will tell; but the next
year or two may be that time.
{ But whether these things
| come to pass or not, let us con-
j tinue to believe that the Twen-
tieth century does belong to
• Canada. Canada is now on the
1 highway of the heavens. Can-
! ada is that part of the New
) World which must become a
j haven for the ruins of the old.
j So let us all prepare for that
i day. And when that day does
i come let us take down that sign
| which reads: “Strangers, keep
] out of Canada.” Let us welcome
! those who come to use with^will-
j ing hands and willing hearts.
j Let us remain on guard for our
s liberties and our freedom. Let
us say no more “It can’t happen
here,” because it can.
Let us avoid the political filth
and corruption that so greatly
hélped to destroy the democracy
of France. Let there be no Can-
- ada of the East and a C.anada of
J the West. No more a Canada of
j Quebec and a Canada of Ontario.
j No more a Canada of French
j and a Canada of English. No
I more a Canada of Catholics and
i a Canada of Protestants. No
: more a Canada of big interests
'! and a Canada of little interests.
! It has taken the greatest
| catastrophe of all time to make
us think as Canadians; to make
us do things as a united people.
Only if we continue to think
in terms of Canada as one of the
great nations of the world, will
the glowing forecasts of 40
years ago come true. Then, and
then only, will the Twentieth
century belong to Canada.
CELEBRATION DAY SPORTS
Hundreds of enthusiastic
sports fans attended the Icelan-
dic celebration held in Gimli
Park on August 5. Many out-
standing athletes from. all parts
of the province were there. The
decisions in some of the senior
events were very close.
The first race was for chil-
dren under six years of age. The
winners being:—
1, C. D. Wright; 2, Joan Berg-
man; 3, F. Arnason.
The results of other events
were:—
Girls, 6 to 7 years — 1, O.
Beckett; 2, L. Torfason; 3, D.
Helgason.
Boys, 6 to 7 years — 1, T.
Thompson; 2, Arni Suhr; 3, B.
L. Jacobson.
Girls, 8 to 9 years—1, Miss L.
Johnson; 2, L. Eyjolfson; 3, T.
Peterson.
Boys, 8 and 9 years—1, Einar
MIRACLE YEAST
Bakar brauð á 5 tímum.
Borðið það héilsunnar vegna.
Gott ger fyrjr bruggun.
Framleitt hjá
DYSON’S LTD.
WINNIPBG MANITOBA
Johnson ; 2, D. Domarchuk ; 3,
H. Kardal.
Girls 10 to 11 years—1, W.
Weir; 2, D. Torfason; 3, B.
Byron.
Boys, 10 to 11 years—1, C. »
Helgason; 2, Joe Grabowski; 3,
Franklin Martin.
Girls, 12 to 13 years—1, M.
Hart; 2, Eileen Torfason; 3,
Inga Helgason.
Boys, 12 to 13 years—1, D.
Einarson; 2, Albert Skoniar; 3,
\D. Bergman.
Girls, 14 and 15 years—1, L.
Holm; 2 and 3, tied, K. Arnason
and S. Olson.
Boys, 14 and 15 years—1, B.
Appleby; 2, Bill Burns; 3, D.
Einarson.
Single women—1, Miss Thora
Austman; 2, Miss Ellen Ander-
son; 3, Miss Gudrun Eyjolfson.
Married women — 1, Mrs.
Felix Sigurdson; 2, Mrs. V.
Greenberg; 3, Mrs. Fred Thom-
eila.
Married pnen—1, Dori Holm;
2, S. Magnusson; 3, B. Arnason.
100-yard dash, closed—1, J.
Johnson, Oak Point; 2, M. Mar-
tin, Hnausa; 3, C. Wilson, Win-
nipeg.
100-yard dash, open—1, P. V.
Lyon, Winnipeg; 2, T. Gibb,
Winnipeg; 3, W. Crisp, Winni-
peg.
Broad jumþ, closed—-1, P.
Hallgrimson, Riverton; 2, J.
Howardson, Gimli; 3, S. Sigfus-
son, Lundar.
Broad jump, open—1, C. Hay-
ward, Winnipeg; 2. C. Laveman,
Winnipeg; 3, P. V. Lyon, Win-
nipeg.
220-yard dash, closed—1, J.
Johnson, Oak Point; 2, M. Mar-
tin, Hnausa; 3, E. Johnson, Oak
Point.
440-yard dash, closed—1, J.
Johnson, Oak Point; 2, E. John-
son, Oak Point; 3, E. Einarson,
Arborg.
440-yard dash, closed—1, P.
V. Lyon, Winnipeg; 2, G. Hay-
ward, Winnipeg; 3, W. Crisp,
Winnipeg.
Hop, step and jump — 1, S.
Sigfusson, Lundar; 2, John
Howardson, Gimli; 3, L. Palson,
Lundar.
880 yards, closed—1, Ingvar
Gudmundson, Arborg; 2, Frank-
lin Johnson, Arborg; 3, L. Pal-
son, Lundar.
Pole vault, clbsed—1, J. How-
ardson, Gimli; 2, M. Martin,
Hnausa; 3, S. Sigfuson, Lundar.
Mile, closed—1, L. Gudmund-
son, Arborg; 2, John Sigurdson,
Hnausa; 3, L. Palson, Lundar.
Shot put, closed—1, S. Sigfu-
son, Lundar; 2, J. Howardson,
Gimli; 3, P. Hallgrimson, River-
ton.
High jump, closed—1, C. Olaf-
son, Lundar; 2, Carl Olafson,
Riverton; 3, Einar Einarson,
Arborg.
Relay, open — 1, Winnipeg
team captained by P. V. Lyon;
2, Winnipeg team captained by
K. Taplin; 3, Hnausa team cap-
tained by M. Martin.
The A.G.G.H.R. club won the
Th. Oddson Shield.
John Johnson, Oak Point, and
John Howardson, Gimli, tied for
the Skuli Hanson trophy.
P. V. Lyon, of Winnipeg, won
the MacBride cup for the high-
est total of points in open com-
petition.
Archery was a new and color-
ful feature of the day, under the
supervision of Dori Swan. The
winners were:—
Ladies’—1. Thelma Thorvard-
son ; 2, Ilelga Arnason; 3, Ola
Barnes.
Consolation — Maude Peter-
son.
Men—1, Siggi Peturson; 2,
Oli Peturson; 3, Leo Barnes.
The committee in charge of
the spoi’ts were: Eric Isfeld,
chairman ; G. Thorgeirson, P. M.
Peturson, Dr. L. A. Sigurdson,
Andy Anderson, starter; Joe
Sigurdson and S. Torfason.
H. BJARNASON
TRANSFER
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LÖGBERGS
Amaranth, Man.............B. G. Kjartanson
Akra, N. Dakota ........B. S. Thorvardson
Árborg, Man. ..............Elías Elíasson
Árnes, Man..............Sumarliði Kárdal
Baldur, Man............................O. Anderson
Bantry, N. Dakota......Einar J. Breiðfjörð
Bellingham, AVash.......Arni Símonarson
Blaine, Wash............Arni Símonarson
Brown, Man......................J. S. Gillis
Cavalier, N. Dakota.....B. S. Thorvaldson
Cypress River, Man............O. Anderson
Dafoe, Sask.............J. G. Steplianson
Edinburg, N. Dakota....!..Páll B. Olafson
Edmonton ...............................
Elfros, Sask.....Mrs. J. H. Goodmundson
Foam Lake, Sask..........................
Garðar, N. Dakota.........Páll B. Olafson
Gerald, Sask.................. C. Paulson
Geysir, Man................Elías Elíasson
Gimli, Man. .................O. N. Kárdal
Glenboro, Man..........................O. Anderson
Hallson, N. Dakota.........Páll B. Olafson
Hayland, P.O., Man....Magnús Jóhannesson
Hecla, Man.........'....Gunnar Tómasson
Hensel, N. Dakota ...........John Norman
Hnausa, Man.........................Elías Elíasson
Husavick, Man................O. N. Kárdal
Ivanhoe, Minn....................B. Jones
Kandahar, Sask...........J. G. Stephanson
Langruth, Man.......■. John Valdimarson
Leslie, Sask..........................Tón Ölafsson
Lundar, Man...................Dan. Lindal
Markerville, Alta.........................O. Sigurdson
Minneota, Minn...................B. Jones
Mountain, N. Dakota.......Páll B. Olafson
Mozart, Sask.............................
Oakview, Man...............
Otto, Man.....................Dan. Lindal
Point Roberts, AVash.........S. J. Mýrdal
Red Deer, Alta............... O. Sigurdson
Reykjavík, Man.......................Árni Paulson
Riverton, Man.......................Björn Hjörleifsson
Seattle, AVash...............J. J. Middal
Selkirk, Man..........................Th. Thorsteinsson
Siglunes P. O., Man.......Magnús Jóhannesson
Silver Bay, Man..........
Svold, N. Dakota...........B. S. Thorvardson
Tantallon, Sask...........J. Kr. Johnson
Upham, N. Dakota.......Einar J. Breiðfjörð
Víðir, Man.............................Elías Elíasson
Vogar, Man..........................Magnús Jóhannesson
Westbourne, Man.........Jón Valdimarsson
AVinnipegosis, Man...Finnbogi Hjálmarsson
Winnipeg Beach, Man...........0. N. Kárdal
Wvnvard, Sask.............I. G. Stephanson