New Republic

Everybody in Iceland knew that practically nobody in Iceland wanted to remain a vassal of the Dutch crown -- particularly since old King Christian X, from Nazi-held Copenhagen, had stiffly told the Icelanders to mind their independent ways (TIME, May 15). The referendum on independence was a mere formality. In Reykjavik (the capital) alone, the vote was 24,528-to-150.

Result: on June 17 Iceland will formally become a republic. Almost certain to be the first president: bulky, stern-faced, U.S.-minded Sveinn Bjoernsson, 63, the island's regent since 1941.

Newest Is Old. World War II's first "new" nation is one of the world's oldest democracies. Discovered by Irish explorers in 795 A.D. (according to De Mensura Orbis Terrae, written in 825 A.D. by Dicuil, an Irish monk), Iceland was an independent commonwealth until 1264. Then it became a Norwegian protectorate, finally (in 1387) a Danish colony. Its Althing (Parliament; literally, The Thing) is 1,014 years old.

On their craggy, flounder-shaped island (39,709 sq. mi., about the size of Kentucky), 120,000-odd hardy Icelanders trade in sheepskins, cod and herring, cod-liver oil, furs, some cryolite (an aluminum ore). Proud, self-sufficient people, they have a balanced budget and compulsory education. They have never had an army or navy. They have no beggars, not even a jail for Icelanders.

But in the modern world, where oceans are narrow and no place is really remote, Iceland's chief claim to distinction is geographic. Squatting squarely astride the hemisphere dividing line (the 20th degree of west longitude), it is an important base for protection of Europe-bound convoys, in the postwar years will be an important aerial way station between North America and Europe.

Farthest Is Nearest. Icelanders know that they must lean on a strong, good-neighborly power. The British Isles are only 700 miles away. But the U.S., whose troopships steamed 2,300 miles to Reykjavik's cobblestoned levees in 1941, is closer in other ways. Naturally Iceland does not like the presence of strangers. But the U.S. has demonstrated neighborliness by trying to keep things on a guest-&-host basis (see LETTERS). The U.S. has underwritten British obligations to Iceland to the tune of $20,000,000 annually. The U.S. pays good U.S. dollars for Iceland's fish and fish products. Chances are that if the Icelandic Republic leans in any direction, it will lean westward.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.