Greenland Junket

Denmark's only colony, Greenland, is three times as big as Denmark. Just back from an inspection trip of Greenland is nature-loving Danish Prime Minister Theodor A. M. Stauning. In Copenhagen last week he waxed enthusiastic: "Great changes are taking place in Greenland, not only economically but also in the mode of life of the inhabitants.

Igloos are gradually disappearing as the Eskimos build neat wooden houses to take their place. Flowers are being cultivated--think of that in Greenland! Some of the Eskimo women are becoming interested in window boxes. During the summer, I can tell you, they make a brave, bright show!" Not so backward as many people suppose, the Eskimos of Greenland publish two newspapers (monthlies) in Eskimo.

There are only 274 Danes in the entire country and more than half of these work in the cryolite*; mines. Trade in everything except cryolite is a monopoly of the Danish Crown, but even so the monetary returns from Greenland are so meagre that Denmark is out of pocket some $150,000 yearly as a result of keeping her huge colony. Greenland is bigger than Iceland which is not a "Danish colony" but a "sovereign State" whose king, Christian X, happens to be also King of Denmark.

On his voyage of inspection Prime Minister Stauning also visited the Faroe Islands which are legally a part of Denmark proper and lie midway between the Shetland Islands and Iceland. These tiny isles with an area of only 540 sq. mi. have a population of 22,835--whereas big Greenland with an area 84 times as great (46,740 sq. mi.) has a population of only 14,355. "In my opinion," said Prime Minister Stauning, "there is room in the Faroe Islands for private initiative and the investment of capital to establish repair stations equipped with large petroleum and benzine tanks to supply the Diesel-engined fishing vessels which are becoming very numerous." Of Greenland's trade the Prime Minister said cautiously: "It is well to wait and see how the country develops. The seal industry which was once very prosperous is declining, but expansion of the fishing industry is taking up this slack. The people are awakening to a new and more hygienic standard of living but there is still great need of more Danish schools."

*A fantastic mineral. The Eskimos thought that cryolite, which means "frost stone," was a mysterious kind of ice. It looks like ice, melts readily in a candle flame into something which especially puzzled Eskimos because it is not water. Found in Greenland, cryolite is a compound of fluorine, sodium and aluminium, is used commercially as a flux in smelting aluminium.

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