Scandanavia, 1950

puts into B Norway Sir John Ferguson looks shortward more eagerly than usual is the ship's Home Port and her crew all comes from this part of Norway now after months at se they're home again back in their own Harbor in view of the old familiar City soon the ship is at the dock and bergus and the rest of the crew lose no time the wives and children who know so well HED for a seafaring man during the months and years he's away at sea but these happy homecomings are always too brief for the Ship Sails again in a day or so so the men of the crew hurry off with their families to make every moment of the visit come John bergus goes home to a farm near Bergen he was born on the farm though he spent much of his life at Sea he's proud of his ship and his calling but being so hail and Hearty his mother here still works the farm just as his father's father did before him and the first thing John bergus does on a visit home is to look the old place over talking livestock and props with his father just like any farmer yes love of the land is deep in men of Norway what is there about this land that sends so many men like John bergus off to a life at Sea well a sailor will probably show us on a map Norway is in Scandinavia a region of two peninsulas and many islands locked in the northern Seas Scandinavia lies far to the nor North on the Earth part of it above the Arctic Circle but the climate is milder than in other Northern lands for the warm Atlantic drift BS these coasts and the Westerly winds blowing over it keep the region temperate and wet the Seas provide the main travel routes throughout the region as well as with neighboring countries looking at Scandinavia as a whole we find that it's r and mountainous the Scandinavian Peninsula has a backbone of mountain hugging its western coast this is Norway sunless land of the fjords Arms Of The Sea stretching miles Inland between high mountain walls and here back from the coasts are rolling valleys Sheltering clusters of small farmsteads here are Swift flowing icy streams that tumble turbulently out of the mountains and and high above on the mountain Summits lie wide stretches of Baron moand across the mountain backbone to the east lies the land of Sweden also a mountainous country covered with forests that slope down into broad fertile Plains dotted with numerous Lakes South across the narrow Straits that join the North and Baltic Seas by the islands and peninsula of Denmark pointing up from Europe a country of Seashore and dune changing Inland into carefully tilled fields and grassy pastures but more than anything else a sealock land lying across the busy shipping lanes of Northern Europe but what are Region's people long ago this became the homeland of Hardy folk peoples of the Viking age who built these strange stave churches on the fjords and went off to Sea in dragon-headed ships but today from the quiet country villages to the great busy cities there is a vigorous modern spirit for the Scandinavians are peoples of progress noted for their Devotion to learning and the arts for their success in the development of stable Democratic living and above all for the spirit of cooperation in which they work together for the common welfare the region holds three nations Norway with nearly 3 million people Sweden with almost 7 million people and Denmark with more than 4 million people about this many people live in cities and towns with about a million swedes and a million Danes in Stockholm and Copenhagen Oslo and gothen B having somewhat less than half a million people each and other cities with about a 100,000 people a little over half of the people live in rural areas on the farms and in The Villages yet little of the Scandinavian land is suitable for agriculture of all the land of Norway only 3% can be used for farming and of all the land of Sweden only 10% can be farmed but in Denmark the picture is quite different for in this tiny country over 80% of the land is in cultivation agriculture is an important industry throughout the region but here in Denmark the people have learned to make the most of the land they have typical of Danish Farmers is Cano lunning here unlike John bergus Cano has stayed on the farm he keeps a good-sized herd of cattle on his 30 odd acres of land he has a bit of pasture but he has to buy most of his feed from abroad like any good farmer he raises a few chickens and Cano is wearing a healthy happy family too he has a pleasant home and good farm buildings they aren't new of course but he keeps them in excellent condition Cano is particularly proud of his carefully bred Danish Hogs Hogs are a specialty with farmers of Denmark where there's an excellent market for good Danish bacon and hams in Great Britain and other industrial countries nearby Cano knows his Prosperity depends upon these markets so almost everything he grows he plans to sell abroad each day he sends his milk to the nearby Dairy like most dairies in Denmark it's a farmer's Cooperative owned and operated by Cano and his neighbors here their milk is made into butter and cheese most of it to go to neighboring countries likewise Cano and his neighbors operate a Cooperative bacon Factory where they carefully fattened Hogs are processed for Market often canut and his neighbors come together to discuss the business of their cooperatives on such occasions there's a great deal of talk of crops and livestock and products and prices these men have learned to farm successfully by working together working together they have turned the meager land of Denmark into a rich food factory for their industrial neighbors and they together with the farmers of the other Scandinavian Nations have made agriculture one of the Region's Industries but the soil of Scandinavia yields other riches too to the North in Norway and Sweden stands the timber vast forests of Evergreens carefully tended and Cut From Here Comes much of the world's wood brought down by river and rail some to be used as Lumber but most of it to go to Mills making wood Pulp and Paper another source of wealth lies in the rivers in Norway and Sweden they have thrown up great dams to capture the power of Swift running streams to turn the generators making electricity this goes out in plentiful Supply to homes and factories throughout the region there are also minerals here among them large deposits of iron ore this goes to the Mills of Sweden and Great Britain and here in the Swedish Mills they use electric furnaces to turn the ore into iron and the finest of Steels these Metals go to supply numerous plants producing Metal Goods the Metal Industries specialize in the making of fine Precision machinery and Machine Tools these like other Scandinavian products are largely destined to be sent to markets abroad they are the work of Highly skilled technicians men who carry over into modern industry the traditions of fine craftsmanship long practiced here but the Craftsmen of old the silver Smiths the glass blowers and pottery makers still fly their trades making wees of a beauty famous everywhere and the spirit of the Vikings lives on in the fishermen who Sail Out daily from Scandinavian ports to bring in fish for the dining tables of all Europe but John Ferguson would have us know that one of the biggest industries is shipping all of the Scandinavian Nations have large fleets and Norway's Fleet is one of the largest in the world many of the ships are built in Scandinavian shipyards like this one at gothenberg in Sweden here John bergus ship was laid down with ships for The Fleets of many countries now ship building is work for skilled and rugged men men like Olaf Thorson here who has worked in the yards most of his life Olaf is fairly typical of the millions of Scandinavians who hold skilled jobs in Industry now after eight hours of work he's on his way home his wages aren't much more than average for a Swedish laboring man but he lives on a Pleasant Street in a modern low rent apartment house Olaf thinks of it as a good place to bring up a family he looks for his own youngsters to be waiting for him to come home and here they are little Brea and young Eric this is usually the time when he sits down in the living room before supper to chat with a children and glance over the paper but tonight Mrs Thorson has supper ready early a man who works on ships all day doesn't hang back when supper's on the table what's more he expects good food and there's plenty of bread and milk fish and potatoes and something green at supper Mrs Thorson generally tells the news of the day she talks about the purchases she made today in the neighborhood stores she mentions Eric's latest exploits at his public school and speaks of taking Brea to the public Medical Center where the family gets good care this is a family that likes to be together but tonight the meal is hurried for father has something to do according to the custom he thanks his wife for supper and a little while later here he is at a meeting of his Shipyard singing Society these men who work in the yard sing together once a week or so often they sing at the ceremonies when ships are launched in the yard and tonight they're rehearsing a song they sing for the launching of Norwegian ships [Music] yes these are the Builders of ships ships that Sail Out from Scandinavian ports to carry the goods of the world across the Seven Seas ships that come back bringing the wealth of the world to the Scandinavian Nations but now we're in Baran again and the Arcturus is ready to sail once more John bergus takes leave of his family a sailor off on a voyage that will take him who knows where around the world and now we know as the ship casts off why men of Norway and Sweden and Denmark go down to the Sea ships we know that every ship that sails from Scandinavia carries with her the hearty spirit that the Scandinavian peoples give to the world