Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1942, Blaðsíða 26

LE NORD
16
sen, who established a great engineering firm in New York, and
became the founder of the American Scandinavian Foundation
(see below), Karl Mathiasen and Eckard V. Eskesen, who have
established the greatest terra cotta factory in America: “The
New Jersey Terra Cotta Co.,” Mathias P. Maller who in Hagers-
town, Maryland, built up the greatest organ factory in the world,
William S. Knudsen, who became president of the world’s great-
est industrial concern: “General Motors Corp.,” and who is now
the leader of the United States’ armament industry, and Charles
E. Sorensen, who is the executive in charge of all branches of the
Ford Motor Works.
Several hundred Danish engineers have done excellent work
in American industry. Among them may be mentioned Lars Jor-
gensen, who has devised a method of constructing curved dams,
which was employed i. a. in the building of the gigantic Boulder
Dam across the Colorado River.
In contradistinction to the Norwegian-born Americans —
who can show several men who have attained the rank of
Governor — few Danes have occupied first-rank positions in
American political life. In this connection there is, however,
reason to mention the Danish-born expert on international law,
Fred. Kenelm Nielsen, who for many years was one of the chief
advisers of the American State Department.
Within the sphere of art, mention must be made of the late
Gutzon Borglum, who was born of Danish parents. Borglum is
regarded as the greatest sculptor of America, and is especially
famous for his two colossal monuments carved into rock walls:
that of Stone Mountain in Georgia (commemorating the Civil
War), and that of Mount Rushmore in North Dakota, comme-
morating four American Presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Lin-
coln, and Th. Roosevelt.
Philantropical work of an exceptional character was done
by Jacoh A. Riis. As police reporter to New York papers, Riis
acquired an insight in the poverty which prevailed in the slums
of that city about the turn of the century, and together with
the then Prefect of Police, Theodore Roosevelt, who later on
became President, he succeeded in carrying a number of reforms
for the relief of distress, especially among children. Both as
journalist, author, and lecturer Riis fought for social reform, and
in this field he did more important work than any other in-
dividual man.