In 1874 the Liberal party, under Fonnes bech, succeeded Holstein-Holsteinborg's Con servative Cabinet, which had been in power since 1870, but even the Liberals failed to overcome the opposition which the Folke thing persisted in showing to the proposed expenditure on the military and naval forces. The king therefore called into office a minis try of a purely bureaucratic character, which he had counseled Estrup to appoint. Jacob Bninnum Estrup was a remarkable man. When he took his seat in the Landsthing in 1864, he appeared as leader of the Agrarians, and showed both power and patriotism in his political career, and did much for the advancement of Danish constitutionalism. His desire always was to render Denmark's place among the Powers secure and inde pendent, to develop its resources, and espe cially to secure for his country adequate pro tection in the carrying trade of the world's commerce. The king had found in him a man ready to carry out his wise designs for the little realm. In 1866 he had been a lead ing spirit in the revision of the constitutional code of Denmark, and he strongly advocated the view of the Conservatives that the Folke thing, or lower house of the Rigsdag, had not, like the English House of Commons, the sole right to make appropriations from the public treasury. The Radicals of the Folke thing, however, claimed supremacy in all mat ters of taxation and finance, and formed the Left in that assembly. On the other hand, the king and Landsthing, or upper house, according to the Conservatives, had constitutionally the right of overruling the Folkething. Estrup was on the side of those who would not trust the lower house with the sole control of the ex chequer. The government, he maintained, was threefold,— king, Landsthing and Folkething; where any two of them were united against the third, the majority ought to be paramount in deciding the issue. From the time Estrup was appointed Minister of Finance and president of the Council, the clash of parties increased day by day; Estrup again and again brought forth his measures of warlike preparation; again and again were they defeated. In the Folkething the opposition majority increased with every division. In 1876 this party had 74 members as against 27 supporters of the govern ment. It threw out the budget of Estrup, and the government was compelled to beat a re treat, although the fortification of Copenhagen went forward. This brought about a crisis in political affairs and also led to a new develop ment in the constitution. Estrup stood his ground and was supported by the press as well as by the public opinion of the capital. He maintained that, according to the parliamentary system of Denmark, he had it in his power to propose a provisional finance measure; that such a measure could be carried by the Lands thing, the upper house, which controlled the Folkething. The measure was carrried with the approval of the king, and the fortifications at Copenhagen were on their way to be com pleted. In 1880 two measures were passed for the increase of the army and navy. The op-• position thereupon began what was known as the "Verdorrungspolitik,x' "The policy of blight)) i.e., obstruction. Not only did they oppose the finance measures of the government, but every measure, of whatever kind, proposed by Estrup's party and sanctioned by the Lands thing, they threw out. But the king and the ministry remained firm, and were supported by a large majority of the population of the coun try. The fortification of Copenhagen was com pleted with the assistance of volunteer con tributions to the amount of $253,333.33. The financial prosperity of the country was evi dent. The appropriation made for land de fenses amounted to $10,033,333.33; the de partment of railways had expended $17,733, 333.33. There was still a large balance in the treasury. The history of Denmark from that time is a history of parliamentary struggle. The Moderates of the Left could not keep pace with the violence of the Radicals, and in 1891 an actual rupture took place. The Moder ates desisted altogether from the "policy of blight," or obstruction, and drew nearer and nearer to the Conservatives. The consequence was that the Radicals lost their supremacy in the Rigsdag, and in the elections of April 1892 forfeited many seats. The opening speech of the Prime Minister in the Folkething (1892) outlined a policy which was not long in being carried out. The Moderate Lefts supported a measure for land defenses; the fortifications projected were quickly finished, and the triumph of the Conservatives was complete. This was shortly before the resignation of Estrup in 1894. But the fluctuations of parliamentary life in Denmark were not yet complete. The dispute indeed seemed interminable. The Landsthing and the ministry stood on one side, a majority of the Folkething on the other. This majority in the lower house gradually completed the rupture which had been threatened during the debates on land defenses, and seemed at last rent asunder permanently into Radicals and Moderates. In August 1899 M. H8rring became Premier.' The Radicals had been gathering strength since the retire ment of Estnip and the absence of his firm hand and clear judgment had imperiled the tranquillity of the political voyage in Denmark. In 1900, however, the new Conservatives rallied their strength, and a Cabinet was formed by one of their number, M. Seh8sted, who, after a stormy experience, resigned in 1902, when the Radicals won an overwhelming victory at the polls and a Radical administration, under Pro fessor Deuntzer, tame into power. After the elections of 1915 the Landsthing contained 5 Free Conservatives, 22 Right (Conservatives), 26 Left, 6 Radicals and 4 Socialists. The Folke
thing, elected May 1915, contained 42 Left, 27 Radical Left,' 32 Socialists, 8 Right (Conserva tives), and 5 Independents. On 29 Jan. 1906 the aged Christian IX died. He was succeeded by son Frederick VIII, whose second son Charles had been elected in the preceding year to the throne of Norway as Haakon VII. On 14 May 1912, Frederick died suddenly in Ham burg, while traveling incognito, and the body remained unidentified for some time in the public morgue. His son succeeded as Chris tian X. In the year following his accession he was shorn of some of his powers by the Folke thing, which in the same session granted suf frage to women.
The prosperity of Denmark has greatly ad vanced since its dismemberment in 1864, and the increase in its trade has been remarkable. In 1915 the merchant steam fleet included 3,564 vessels of 589,873 registered tons. These form a part of the great tramp fleet that plies be tween Europe and America. The trade be tween Denmark and the United States has especially shown a healthy growth, the imports from.the United States to Denmark for 1914 being $21,073,000, while the United States im ported from that country goods to the value of $2,915,250. This growth of trade between the two countries has been rapid, for the route from Copenhagen to Newport News and Nor folk, Va., was only opened up in 1898. The six Danish steamers engaged on this route also run to New Orleans and carry American goods to all the principal Baltic ports. The New York route has several large steamers built since 1898. The Danes emigrate in considerable numbers to the United States and generally set tle in the agricultural districts of the West, notably in Illinois. Returns for 1914 give 6,262 as the extent of Danish immigration to the United States. Agriculture has been developed in the peninsula to a remarkable degree dur ing the past few years, and dairy produce manufactured with the aid of steam machinery has shown a proportionate increase. There are about 900 steam dairies in Denmark. The sani tary precautions taken by government in the in spection of cattle are more thorough perhaps than anywhere else in the world.
The Danish West Indian possessions have recently become territories of the United States. These comprise Saint Croix, the largest of the Virgin Islands, Saint Thomas, a smaller island further south, and Saint John, to the east of Saint Thomas. Their united area is 118 square miles. The proximity of these islands to Porto Rico and their importance as stations in the trade routes of the Caribbean Sea adds to their desirability as United States possessions. There was expressed for many years a willingness by Denmark to transfer these islands, and the question was brought up afresh in 1902, when a treaty, n for the sale of the Danish West Indies to t United States for $5,000,000, was signed at Washington by President Roose velt, 14 January, and ratified by the Senate, 17 February. This was considered to have settled the. question finally, but 23 April of the same year the Danish Landsthing passed a resolutio., postponing 'a decision as to the sale, until the electors qualified to send members to the Colonial Council should be consulted. The sale was not to be ratified until these electors should approve the cession. The Folkething went even further than this, and refused to ratify the sale, unless the inhabitants of the islands, who are mostly free negroes engaged in the cultiva tion of the sugar cane and number 35,156, de clared in favor of the transfer by a plebiscite-. The matter was thus naturally referred once more to the Landsthing, and when the matter came before that body (22 October) their de cision was regarded as adverse to the bill. As the Premier reminded the Council, it would be necessary to put out more capital in the islands unless they were sold, and accordingly the West Indian Co., with a capital of $1,000,000, was formed at Copenhagen three days after the de cision of the Landsthing. Trade between Den mark and these three islands had been steadily decreasing for some years, and the Danish gov ernment in 1902 appointed a commission to pro ceed to the islands and report on measures for improving their commercial condition. In Feb. 1917 Congress of the United States appropriated $25,000,000 for the purchase of the islands and fixed the form of government. The formal transfer of the islands took place a few weeks later. See DANISH LANGUAGE; DANISH LITERA TURF.; VIRGIN ISLANDS.
Baedeker, K.,