On the other hand, an observer remarks: "For a suffering _person_, circulate your subscription paper among the Irish; for a good _cause_, circulate it among the Scandinavians." In other words, the goodness of these people is from the head rather than from the heart. "If I can get him to see it as his _duty_," testifies a charity worker, "the Scandinavian will go almost any length." Credit men rank them with the Germans as the surest pay. Insurance agents say no other people are so faithful in paying their premiums "on the nail." If there is a suspicious fire in a store, the owner's name never ends in "son." In Minnesota there are more coöperative stores, creameries, and elevators in the Scandinavian communities than in the American. The Norwegians have been virile politically, and their politics has reflected moral ideas. They look upon public office as a trust, not a means of livelihood. In the days of Populism they were more open-minded than the Americans. In Wisconsin they have furnished a stanch support for the constructive policies which have drawn upon that State national attention. In the critical roll-calls in the Minnesota legislature all but one or two of the Scandinavian members are found on the "right side." The "interests" have the Germans,--brewing being an "interest,"--the Irish, and many Americans. The truth is, their slow reaction gives these people the right psychology for self-government. In politics they are "good losers." They are not to be stampeded by fiery rhetoric or mass hysteria. They have the self-control to right abuses by orderly constitutional methods. In the Chicago anarchist trials the defense was careful to keep Scandinavians out of the jury-box. Among the Scandinavian peoples riots, barricades, and street turbulence have played no part in the redress of political grievances. Ideas of right lie at the base of their social order, while habit and sentiment count for less than they do among South Europeans. So, while our Scandinavian strain may lack the qualities for political leadership, it provides an excellent, cool-blooded, self-controlled citizenship for the support of representative government. [Illustration: 1841-45 4900 1846-50 9500 1851-55 15900 1856-60 9200 1861-65 16700 1866-70 108800 1871-75 119600 1876-80 123300 HARD TIMES IN U.S. 1881-85 352300 { INTRODUCTION OF MACHINE POWER { 1886-90 304200 { ON SCANDINAVIAN { 1891-95 244600 { FARMS 1896-1900 127000 HARD TIMES IN U.S. 1901-05 291600 { HYDRO-ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES { 1906-10 213700 { IN SCANDINAVIA Immigration from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, 1841-1910] [Illustration: Distribution of Italians and natives of Italian Parentage--1910] CHAPTER V THE ITALIANS