We put our little emigrant trunk in father's old cart, and with many tears and the breaking of tender heart-strings we bade farewell to our brothers and sisters. Mother went with us as far as to the churchyard, so that we could say that she had followed us to the grave. When we were a little past the farm called Branslan, I turned to take a final look at our village, Norrback, and I felt as if my heart was being torn from my bosom. When we passed the dear old church, my soul was again stirred to its depths as I recalled that it was here I had been baptized and confirmed and had taken part in the worship, and now I would most likely never see it again.

Looking back to those days, I see the little cabin, often with a sod roof, single room used for domestic purposes, sometimes crowded almost to suffocation by hospitable entertainments to newcomers; or the poor immigrant just landed from a steamer, in his short jacket and other outlandish costume, perhaps seated on a wooden box, with his wife and a large group of children around him, and wondering how he shall be able to raise enough means to get himself ten or twenty miles into the country.

Their home was much poorer than any charcoal hut in Sweden, without floor, without roof, and with a few stones in a corner which were supposed to be a stove. Such was the magnificent house which they had written they were building to receive all the Swedes who would come.

The Swedes are generally described as even-tempered, serious-minded individualists. They have a strong sense of property ownership and a deep religious sense. The Swedes are noted for their adaptability to American conditions, for their ability and willingness to work hard, and for their marvelous physical stamina. The percentage of home ownership is high among them. Swedes also have an unsurpassed devotion to education, and send their children to school; the rate of illiteracy among them is extremely low. Like other Scandinavians, the Swede has little difficulty in adjusting himself to the American democratic system of government, for he comes from a country in which he has already learned the technique of popular elections.

The question whether immigration shall be encouraged or restricted, and whether naturalization shall be made more difficult or not, must be considered both from the political and from an industrial point of view; and in each case it is necessary to glance back and see what have been the character, the conduct, and the political leaning of the immigrant, and what he has done to develop and enrich our country.

If we look at the political side first, and, as our space is limited, we will go back to 1860, calling attention, however, to the fact that up to that time, no matter from what cause, the immigration had been almost entirely to the Northern and free States, and not to the slave States. These, when carefully examined in connection with election returns, will show that but for the assistance of the immigrant the election of Abraham Lincoln as president of the United States would have been an impossibility, and the nineteenth century would never have seen the great free republic we see, and the shadow of millions of slaves would today darken and curse the continent.

The Scandinavians have always, nearly to a man, voted the Republican ticket. The Germans, likewise, were nearly always Republicans. In fact, the States having either a large Scandinavian or a large German population have been distinguished as the banner Republican States. Notably is this true of Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan, which has a large Scandinavian population; and of Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania, which have a very large German population.

Good and bad, the Scandinavians monopolize Minnesota politics. Of the last nine governors of the state, six have been Scandinavians. So is Dr. Shipstead, who defeated Senator Kellogg in the 1922 election; so is Harold Knutson, Republican whip of the House. Scandinavians make up a large proportion of the Minnesota state legislature, and while in Santa Fe the Mexican legislators speak Spanish, while in Quebec the representatives still debate in French, though for generations they have been citizens of a British dominion, in Minnesota the politicians who were born abroad are zealous to speak nothing but Americanese.

Both of my parents were Swedish. My mother, Selma Olivia Erickson, was born in Grängesberg, in the southern Dalarna region of Sweden and came to the United States (Ishpeming) in 1904, when she was seventeen years old. My father, Herman Theodore Seaborg, was also born in Ishpeming. His parents came to Ishpeming in their youth and met and were married there.

Ishpeming had typical sections that were nearly all Swedish and it was in one of these that we lived. Since my father was fluent in Swedish and this was my mother's native tongue, the Swedish language was spoken in my home as it was throughout this community. I learned to speak and understand Swedish before I did English, but I am afraid that in the intervening years my facility with the language has declined.

Swedish customs of all kinds prevailed in our home. I remember particularly well the Swedish food that we enjoyed at our dinner on Julaften, or Christmas Eve. The fare usually included smörgåsbord, which featured sil, or pickled herring. One of the mainstays was lutfisk, which was always served with boiled potatoes and a white sauce. Another feature always was saffron buns and bread, usually served hot and made with glacéd fruits. This was part of a large spread of buns and cakes including gingersnaps made in the form of goblins, piglets, stars and other patterns. Another component which was almost always present was the Swedish lingonberries, which I still like so much. The meal was usually topped off with risgryn, or rice pudding, which was topped with cinnamon and cream and sugar.