Thompson — The Gothenburg Liquor System. 399 



various factors: (1) the sale of spirituous liquors by the sam- 

 lags, (2) the sale of ale and wine by the samlags, (3) the sale of 

 liquors in bottles as found in Christiania, (4) the sale of ale and 

 wine by private merchants, (5) that portion of the wholesale 

 trade Av<hich is direct to consumers. As there are no means by 

 which to estimate definitely the exact force of the last three of 

 these factors, the Central Statistical Bureau of the kingdom has 

 based its estimate of the total amount of liquor consumed in the 

 whole realm upon the total home production, minus the quantity 

 exported, plus the quantity imported, minus the approximate 

 amoun.t used for industrial and scientific purpo&es. Thus it 

 estimates that for 1897 the per capita consumption of liquors 

 was as follows: spirituous liquors, 2.2 litres; ale, 17.8 litres; 

 wine, 2.66 litres. For separate cities, however, such a basis 

 of course could not be applied. 



We have seen that Bergen and Christiania, the two leading 

 cities of Norway, both show an increase in drunkenness. In 

 thirteen other cities records show a similar sad condition. The 

 most important of these are : Kristiansand, Trondlijem, Holmes- 

 trand, Mandal, Boros, Lillesand, Molde, and Tromso. But the 

 condition is for the better in m,any cities. Records tell us that 

 in as large a number as thirty-six drunkenness is decreasing. 

 Among these more happy places may be mentioned : Fredriks- 

 hald, Drobak, Drammen, Brevik, Grimstad, ISTamsos, Hammer- 

 fest, Gjovikj and Floro. 



There is thus a tendency towards sobriety in some cities while 

 there is a tendency towards greater inebrierty in others. That 

 being the case among the cities we ask, — what is the condition in 

 the country ? Our answer is not difficult, for in the country 

 districts of both Norway and Sweden prohibition has reigned 

 nearly everywhere for a considerable length of time. In iNTor- 

 way there is in the country but one saloon for every 12,800 

 inhabitants; in Sweden there is only one to every 30,839 in- 

 habitants. iSuch conditions are unparalleled the whole world 

 over. It may be noted, too, that this happy state of affairs is 

 not due to any special prohibitory law. The fact is that the 

 country people of Scandinavia, taken as a whole, do not want 

 saloons. Like the cities they could have samlags or they could 



