Lögberg - 26.06.1947, Blaðsíða 2

2
LÖGBERG, FIMTUDAGINN 26. JÚNÍ, 1947
A TOAST TO CANADA
Delivered ai Hnausa Celebraiion on June 21si„ 1947
by MISS VORDÍS FRIDFINNSON
On this day Canadians of Ice-
landic descent have gathered to
pay tribute to their forefathers
and t'he land of their forefathers.
On this day we have chosen to
awaken in the hearts of Iceland-
ic Canadians memories of the
beautiful land of song and saga
that our ancestors left behind
them when they set out to seek
a new home in an unknown
eountry across the sea. On this
day above all others we look
back and draw inspiration from
our rich Icelandic heritage. On
this day we seek to see with un-
clouded vision the true worth
of the past and bring it forth to
serrve the future hour.
The American poet Carl Sand-
burg has said that “the past is a
bucket of ashes” but it is not so.
The past is the foundation of the
present and the future. The
world would be sadly impover-
ished without the gifts and
graces of the past. In the words
o f Hamlet “how weary, flat,
stale, and unprofitable” it would
be without the poems and songs
of the past, the laws and tradi-
tions built up in the past, and
the thousand and one conven-
iences and improvements that
have been built up through the
centuries to make human life
more satisfying and complete
Recognizing these values ýi-
telligence alone should promt us
to preserve the traditions of the
past, and there would be little
heart in us if we failed to oherish
the gifts of the past and possess-
ed no sense of gratitude toward
those who have left behind them
so much for our benefit and en-
joyment. Each nation has its own
particular culture and tradi-
tions, its own peculiar gifts from
the past. Considering this it is
fitting that Canadians of Iceland-
ic descent should set aside a day
to pay homage to their forbears
and the land from which they
came
Canada
Landið mitt. í Mfsins blóma
ljóma slær á þína kinn.
Náttúrunnar ástar-óma
endursendir flötur þinn.
Fagurt skin af landsins ljóma
leggur inn í huga minn.
Eg á lítið ljóð á vörum
og langar til að gefa þér.
Taka þátt í þínum kjörum
þú hefir inndæl verið mér.
Hugdjarfur og hreinn í svörum,
heiðra, eins og vera ber.
Yfir byggðir bregður ljóma
blærinn hreyfir gróðrar ský.
Hlær við fold í beði blóma
blöðin lifna ferzk og ný.
Alla frjálsa heyrum hljóma
hörpustrengjum þínum í.
Eru þínar undra sléttur —
eins og drottinn sjálfur bauð.
Þar er allra þjóða réttur,
þar er nóg af marglags auð.
Hver í heimi er hærra settur
en hann, sem gefur daglegt
brauð?
Þegar stríðsins stormar æddu,
steyptust yfir land og þjóð.
Þegar allar benjar blæddu
bliknaði yfir lífsins sjóð.
Þegar sorgir sárar mæddu
sonum þínum varstu góð.
Góður sonur vil ég vera
vonum þínum fjær og nær.
Sannan, hreinan boðskap bera
blómi því sem fegurst grær.
Eg vil reyna gott að gera
gengi þínu móðir kær.
Vinna að því, að friður fáist,
frelsi manna og sáttargjörð.
Vinna að því, að sólin sjáist,
sælu breiði á lífsins hjörð.
Vinna að því, að nægtir náist
nauðstöddum á vorri jörð.
G. O. Einarsson.
I think it is fitting also that on
this day we should pay tribute
to Canada the land that our for-
bears made their chosen home.
— Canada that has given us so
genérously of her riches and the
opportunity to lead a good life.
While it is true that a people
owes much to the traditions of
the past it is also true that they
are profoundly influenced by the
land in which they live. To her
people Canada has given much.
Here they have encoutered great
difficulties perhaps but a 1 s o
great opportunities, opportuni-
ties such as perhaps no people
has had before in the floodtide
of history.
The very name “Canada” cre-
ates in the mind a picture of a
land beautiful and mysterious,
unknown and wild, yet at the
same time a land of promise, full
of hopes and possibilities. This
is what the name “Canada” must
have spelled to the minds of
those who set out to seek their
fortune in the new country. They
were to come to a land large,
lonely, almost uninhabited, a
land of vast expar.ses of open
prairie, of miles of impenetrable
forests, of seemingly endless
chains of lakes and rivers, a land
of great mountains. Above all
C a n a d a was a land of great
spaces where a man, or a hand-
ful of men might lose themselves
and live their lives almost un-
touched by an outside w o r 1 d
that seemed very remote.
But Canada was a land not
only of rich and varied beauty
and of great spaces. It was also
a land of untold riches. Canada’s
settlers might gather a fine har-
vest of fur from her forests,
chance upon shining nuggets of
gold, fish in her teeming rivers,
or reap a golden harvest of grain
from tilling her acres. Though
many of Canada’s settlers may
have received a somewhat rude
reception to none was livelihood
denied if he had the strength,
the daring, and the enterprise to
grasp the opportunities that pre-
sented themselves.
The majority of people who
came to Canada were probably
independent a n d self-reliant.
They had to have courage and
faith in themselves to leave their
old home and go alone to a
strange and unknown country.
Conditions in Canada strength-
ened rather than weakened these
qualities. A land that is large and
sparsely populated discourages a
great deal of dependence on
one’s neighbors or neighboring
groups of people, particularly if
the land is a prosperous one and
there is no real need for mutual
help. These conditions all exist-
ed in Canada so it would not be
surprising to find independence
and self reliance strong constit-
uents in the character of Can-
ada’s people, and when one con-
siders the great enterprises that
have been carried through in so
shorts a time by so few people
we have definite proof that they
had faith in themselves, dared
to entertain great ambitions, and
had the courage and determin-
ation to realize them.
Independence and self-
reliance are virtues to be prized
but they may carry with them
the danger of breeding intoler-
ance and mistrust. There is a
particular danger that this may
happen in Canada because her
people are drawn from so many
different national groups that
differ greatly in outlook and cus-
tom.
The statement has more than
once been made that it is a sur-
prising thing that Canada is a
nation at all — for to many
people it seems that there is little
common basis here for nation-
hood — firstly because the
people are drawn from so many
different groups and secondly
because it is a tremendous task
to develop and hold together in
a working unit a country so large
with such a small population.
The second obstacle is well on
its way to being overcome. The
people of Canada have accom-
plished a great feat. in opening
up and welding together into a
working unit, economically at
least, such a vast expanse of
country in so short a time. This
is an accomplishment which of
its kind has perhaps never been
equalled. In spite of this Canada
is often looked upon as a back-
ward and timid nation. Bruce
Hutchison touches on this note
in his book “The Unknown
Country” published in 1943. He
says:
" A backward nation íhey
call us beside our greai
neighbor — ihis ihough our
eleven milllions have pro-
duced more. earned more.
subdued more ihan a n y
oiher eleven millions in the
world"
It is not enough to grow mus-
cle and bone alone. As Ben Jon-
son said in his poem “True
Greatness”
"Ii is noi growing like a iree
In bulk, doih make man beiter
be • • •
Neither does the true great-
ness of a nation lie in the size
and wealth of its lands, mines,
and forests, or in the power of
its people to organize and pro-
duce. In spite of her gigantic
accomplishments in this field
Canada has not gained the em-
inence of a great nation and her
voice is but feebly heard. The
true greatness of a nation lies in
the spirit of its people and our
country cannot take its rightful
place among the nations of the
world until the Canadian people
know and understand each other
sufficiently to speak with a com-
mon voice.
Canada is a very young nation
— she has not yet developed a
character and personality of its
own. She is not known and look-
ed up to by other nations because
she does not yet know herself.
Bruce Hutchison expresses
this thought admirably in "he
opening paragraph of “The Un-
known Country”:
"No one knows my couniry
neilher ihe siranger nor her
own sons. My couniry is hid-
den in the dark and ieeming
brain of youih upon íhe eve
of iis manhood. My couniry
has noi found iiself nor íeli
ils power nor learned iis irue
place. It is all visions and
doubts and hopes and
dreams. It is sirength and
weakness, despair and joy,
and ihe wild confusions and
resiless sirivings of a boy
who has passed his boyhood
bui is noi yei a man."
Though Canada has been op-
ened up to a large extent, though
railways and settlements have
been established from coast to
coast. Canada is still the un-
known country. Many of us hard-
ly know how people in other
parts of Canada live, we do not
understand how they think and
feel, and which is worst of all
perhaps we do not desire to.
We in Canada are just begin-
ning to create a character and
tradition of our own and it is
only reasonable to suppose that
we can use to good advantage
many of the experiences and tra-
ditions that Canada’s people
have brought with them from
their homeland. It has been said
that Canada offered to its people
a unique opportunity for eco-
nomic prosperity. It also offers
to its people a unique opportun-
ity to create a broad national
consciousness.
I do not think that the best
way a Canadian can show his
loyalty to Canada is by forget-
ting as quickly as possible the
traditions of the country from
which his forbears came. I be-
lieve that the differént national
groups in Canada should cherish
their own traditions — but this
is not enough. They should also
seek to understand the traditions
of other national groups in Can-
ada, and attempt to assess the
values these traditions offer in
building up a Canadian way of
life.
In fact I can think of no way
in which Canadians of Icelandic
descent can be more true to the
loftiest ideals of their forefathers
than by seeking to know and un-
derstand the minds and hearts
of Canada’s many people. We
often look back with þride to
the viking spirit of our ancest-
ors, the spirit that rejoices in
adventure and discovery, that
ever seeks for the new and un-
expected, the spirit that delights
in ever pushing forward into the
unknown. I can imagine no
greater field of exploration for
the searching spirit than the
minds and hearts and beliefs of
Canada’s many people.
Aside from this joyous adven-
ture of exploring, Canada offers
us the rare opportunity of creat-
ing a nation such as has never
been before. More than this —
flutt á lýðveldishátíð að Hnaus-
um, 22. júní 1947, af Frances
Finsson.
Older generation here today
celebrate the independence of
the country of their birth. —
Through our parents and grand
parents we, of the younger gene
ration have developed a love
for the little island in the north,
but even today our thoughts
are with the land of our birth.
I think that surrendering our-
selves to the ideal of creating a
great and good Canadian nation
is to surrender ourselves to an
ideal that is truly worthy. A gen-
uine Canadian patriotism would
be no narrow or bigoted thing.
It would be based on a respect
for individual differences and a
real appreciation of the value
of these differences. It will,
above all be based on the con-
viction that a common pooling of
resources and tolerance for dif-
ferent viewpoints is the basis of
satisfactory human relationship.
If Canada’s people drawn as
they are from all races of the
earth can only live together
peaceably but can also share a
common loyalty and enthusiasm
for something they have built
together if Canada’s people can
do this they will have done more
than create a great and good
nation. They will have shown to
the rest of the world that irres-
pective of creed, or race, or color
men are capable of living and
working together though they
are different — and that, in fact,
their differences are a source of
strength and not of weakness.
To her people Canaad offers this
rare opportunity, this stirring
challenge.
strength. Tremendous things
were accomplished because of
our united front. Let us retain
this unity through the years of
peace
At times we have found it
difficult to achieve harmony
among Canada’s many and
varied races. But, we must over-
come prejudice racial, religious
or political, for every year we
welcome more people into this
dominion, and upon gaining
Canadian citizenship, all these
races are merged into one
nation.
Becoming a Canadian confers
great privileges but we must
not forget the obligations it in-
volves. The utmost co-operation
is required of all, if we are to
succeed in living happily and
peacably together. We must
make the newcomers feel that
we are interested in their wel-
fare and that we wish to help
them become firmly established
as useful citizens in the land of
t'heir adoption.
It is therefore, the duty of
every Canadian citizen to help
create a feeling of understand-
ing and tolerance amongst our
people. When mutual respect
and national pride have been
developed among the many
races which make this land
their home, we shall be able to
say that Canada has reached
the desired status of a true
democracy. Then, and only
then, we shall live and work
side by side, not as so many
different races, but, as one
strong, united nation.
Fyrir nokkrum mánuðum var
leitt í ljós á rannsóknarstofu í
Berkeley í Kaliforníu, hve miklar
upplýsingar varðandi glæpi væri
hægt að fá með vísindalegri at-
hugun. Þar sem morðtilraun
hafði verið gerð, fanst lítill
bandspotti. Hann var settur í
miðflóttaaflstæki og snúið þar,
og með rannsókn á ryki, sem
hrist var úr honum, uppgötvað-
ist, að hann var frá sveitabýli,
þar sem furutré og vissar plönt-
ur uxu, og einnig að þar væri
Jerseykýr, jarpur hestur, svartir
og hvítir hérar og Rhode Island
Red kjúklingar. Eftir þessum
upplýsingum fundu leynilög-
reglumenn þýfið og handtóku
glæpamanninn.
ÁVARP MISS CANADA
Our forefathers heard rum-
ours of the vast country which
lay to the west, and chose to
come to this land. Though fin-
ancially very poor, spiritually
they vere amply rieh. They
brought with them a good store
of courage, Cheerfulness and an
eager desire to carve for them-
selves a place in the world. —
With high hopes they set to
work to earn a living for them-
selves and their children. They
succeeded admirably. The pio-
neers gave of their best to
Canada;. we their descendants
are reaping the reward of their
efforts.
When we consider the hard-
ships endured by early Canadi-
ans and the fortitude shown by
them, we realize that they must
have fully understood and hig-
hly valued the opportunities
offered by life in a free country.
We too, then begin to realize the
fuU value of living in a democ-
racy, and solemnly vow to pre-
serve and carefully guard this
Canadian way of life.
At 'least two generations of
young Canadians, in some
cases three generations, have
offered their all for our country.
A great nurnber laid down
their lives. Let us pay tribut to
the memory of our fallen heroes
by doing our part in helping to
preserve that which they
fought to save, and thus build
a better and nobler Canada.
An important step has been
taken. Now, for the first time
we are all recognized as Cana-
dian citizens. The Canadian
Citizenship Act which came into
effect at the beginning of this
year will undoubtedly help to
promote national unity, which
will in future years result in
greater understanding and
closer co-operation.
Our ability to work together
was ably demonstrated during
the years of war, for then we
lacked not in unity nor in

^ /
Avarp til Islands
Hví skyldum við, sem fórum burtu frá þér,
í fjarlægð dvöldum langan æfidag,
með klökku geði mæta heima hjá þér
í hugans ríki — undir sólarlag?
Hví skyldum við? — Á löngum liðnum árum
við lærðum flest að græða eigin sár;
en fundum líka sviða í þínum sárum,
og sorgir þínar okkur vöktu tár.
Við fylgdumst með þér — kanske að litlu hði
— en lítið skapar stundum bættan hag —
þú unnið hefir frelsi þitt með friði,
við fögnum því, og gleðjumst öll í dag.
%
En þá er næst að hugsa um heimafriðinn,
á honum veltur líf og framtíð þín:
því þegar fuglinn út úr skurn er skriðinn,
þú skilur að hann þarf að gæta sín.
EJf stjórnlaus keppni stefnir þér í voða,
þá stýrðu sjálf af vegum syndafalls,
og leita Þorgeirs Ljósvetningagoða,
sem leiði þig — að ráðum Síðu-Halls.
í deilum þínum í gegn um brim og boða
oft býsna nálægt feigðaraldan skall;
þó fanst þú altaf einhvern Þorgeir goða,
og einhvern til að leika Síðu-Hall
Já, altaf gegn um lífsins storma og strauma
þér styrkur óx í þraut — og svo er enn.
Og jafnvel er þig dreymir þyngsta drauma,
þér drottinn sendir nýja og góða menn.
í Vesturheimi væri synd að segja
að sögu þinni hefði brugðist von:
þú átt þar mæta menn, sem aldrei deyja,
að minsta kosti hann Vilhjálm Stefánsson.
»
En einhver sagði: fegins fjár að gæta
er fult eins torvelt og að afla þess:
með orku og viti öllu er ráð að mæta;
en einingunni veittu hæsta sess.
í dag er ljúft að fagna sigri sönnum,
þeim sigri bygðu órjúfandi vörð:
með öllum þínum góðu gáfumönnum
þú gætir skapað himnaríki á jörð.
Sig. Júl. Jóhannesson.
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