Thompson — The Gothenburg Liquor System. 405 



Tlie sentiment against the samlags is evidently growing 

 weaker. This year the percentages for and against their con- 

 tinnance stand in the ratio of 58 : 42. 



The result in the year 1898 as shovsii by the following table 

 is not much different : 



Cities. 



Result. 



No, of 

 voters. 



No. for 



samlags. 



No. 



against. 



Fredrikstad .. . 



Moss 



Lillehammer ... 



Honef OS 



Svelviken 



Sandef jord 



Kragero 



Kristiansand .. 

 Flekkefjord .... 



Egersund 



Trondhjem 



Hammerfesf ... 

 Total, 12 samlags 



To discontinue 



To continue 



To continue 



To continue 



To continue 



To discontinue 



To discontinue 



To continue 



To discontinue 



To continue 



To con ti nue 



To continue 



S to continue, 4 to discontinue. 



3,476 



1,585 



498 



342 



222 



1,327 



1,916 



3,071 



727 



647 



4,017 



300 



18,128 



Again reckoned in percentages the nnmber of votes for and 

 against the samlags here stands in the ratio of 588 : 412. The 

 percentage of votes against the samlags is thus found to be 

 smaller in 1898 than in any of the preceding years when ballots 

 were taken. 



JSTow taking all years together w^e find that out of forty-five 

 cities, twenty-three have done away with the samlags, have, in 

 other words, abolished the Gothenburg system and substituted 

 in its place prohibition. Our next problem, therefore, wdll be 

 nothing less interesting than a comparison of prohibition as it 

 has operated in these cities during later years, with the Gothen- 

 burg system as it operated in the same cities previously, and as 

 it is operating in other cities during the years prohibition has 

 been in vogue. 



Has prohibition proved to be a gi'eater factor in the decrease 

 of drunkenness than the Gothenburg system ? The solution of 

 this problem offers the best of criteria for judging the relative 

 nxerits of the two systems. Of course, it is evident that in this 



