Squatters in Square

A sight that might make any monarch quail last week faced Denmark's tall, saturnine King Christian X. The great, eight-sided courtyard of Amalienborg Palace was jam-packed with strapping, irate Danish farmers in the grip of a grievance. The King, as he peered from his palace, noted on some brawny arms the swastika band of the Danish Nazis, on others the hammer & sickle of Communism (see p. 18). The mob had gathered from the eastern Danish islands, where little farms are thickest, to demand that Premier Theodore Stauning lower farm taxes, raise farm prices, declare a farm mortgage moratorium and dismiss politicians from the Government's agricultural bureaus. In a huff the Premier refused to see the farmers' delegates. Thereupon the whole 50,000 surged to the Royal Palace.

Squatting on their heels, the farmers watched a change of the palace guard, grinned at this show of pomp. Still squatting, they watched King Christian appear on a balcony. Said His Majesty: "Since I am a constitutional King, I can only advise you to negotiate with the Premier. I hope that your justifiable grievances may produce a remedy." At this the farmers good-humoredly raised a cheer for perspiring King Christian, then squatted, Gandhi-fashion, for a total of four hours.

Finally to get them on their feet again, Premier Stauning received their delegates.

"I promise on behalf of the Government," said he, "to give your demands the most earnest study." At this the 50,000 farmers dispersed to their homes but their spokesman declared: "We'll be back soon enough, if Stauning doesn't do what's right!" That there was no violence last week in the Royal Palace square was due largely to the Farmers' Association which appealed to city folk: "Go down to the street, find a farmer, and invite him to spend the night with you!" Response was so wholehearted that all 50,000 farmers had been comfortably bedded and adequately breakfasted by sagacious city folk before they set out to mob Amalienborg Palace.

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