Speech #780115159

The pages of history are replete with heroic records of bold Norwegian adventurers. The spirit of the early Vikings. who knew how to combat and overcome th- terrors of the Arctic. finds expression today in the solid character of the men and women of Norway. who. prior to the invasion of their peaceful coluntry on April 9. 1940. by the lustful hordes of Hitler. had developed a national economy that has been acclaimed by libertyloving and peaceloving people throughout the world. The sons and daughters of Norway who came to this country in the years prior to restricted immigration. over a million strong. have integrated themselves as thorough Americans and by precept and example have played an important role in the development 6f our ever. expanding economy. "In the years preceding the German invasion the people of Norway had overcome almost insurmountable difficulties in developing a solid. firm domestic economy with a high standard of living and an economic system based upon the most advanced ideas of social reform. With a population of about 3.000.000. with only a small portion of her total land area subject to cultivation. and with mining and manufacturing industries engaged in only on a small scale. the Norwegian people in the decades immediately prior to the outbreak of the present war maintained steady progress. Thousands of small farms were carved out of the hillsides without destroying the forest lands which have played such an important part in the internal economy of Norway.