78 RACEIMPROVEMENT IN SWEDEN 



temperance movement makes considerable contributions in this area, by an improv* 

 ement in the environment, is easily seen. General hygiene, sport, protection of 

 the workers, especially the regulations respecting workers under age, which have 

 been mentioned before, and measures for the protection of children born out of 

 wedlock, can all be looked upon as euthenic activity. In this country 20,000 

 children are born out of wedlock every year. By means of the law of 1917 

 the dreary position which was often their lot before has been considerably 

 improved. The law assigns to these children the right to be brought up and 

 educated at the cost of their parents in a way suitable to the financial and 

 social position of both parents. To make sure that the children receive the ben* 

 efit of the advantages the law gives them, a guardian is appointed for every child 

 born out of wedlock, and every community has its Board of Guardians for 

 Children*, who take in hand all matters connected with these children, as well 

 as watching over the children born in wedlock to make sure they are not neg* 

 lected. This law most certainly will be the means of saving many children, and 

 making them useful members of society. 



Great attention has been paid in Sweden as is the case in many other countries 

 to bodily culture. The man of mark in this connection is PER HENRIK LING 

 (17761839) who won a world*renowned name for Swedish gymnastics. The 

 Central Gymnastic Institute founded by him in 1835 has been of great impor* 

 tance for the further development in a sound direction of the Ling gymnastics and 

 has on the whole exercised a momentous influence on the development of bod= 

 ily culture in our country. The Swedish gymnastic has also made a triumphal 

 progress throughout the world and has been transplanted to most of the civilised 

 countries. In this connection it ought to be mentioned that in 1874 the College 

 for Sloydsteachers was opened at Naa's; since its opening it has received a large 

 number of teachers from all parts of the world. As well as the pedagogic sloyd 

 (Naa's system) it has held courses for the education of game=leaders and instruc* 

 tion courses in gymnastics. The old Swedish folk*games and folksdances have 

 been cherished here and have awakened great interest in the foreign teachers tak* 

 ing part in the courses. Interest for pure sport is great, but considerably less 

 among the students than among the younger industrial workers and labourers. 

 Unfortunately sport seems to be degenerating more and more, which is much to 

 be regretted, and the matter is not helped by the fact that its development has 

 gone in the same direction in other countries. If our students bestowed more 

 interest on gymnastics and sport, it would perhaps be easier to bring bdck sport 

 into the right track again. The Society for Physical Culture has been working for 

 several years for the advancement of bodily culture. 



For the furtherance of folk=hygiene the following means may be mentioned: 

 cheap baths for the people, free baths for schoolchildren, the sending of weak 

 and poor children to settlements in the country in the summer, the arrangement of 

 open air games, allotment gardens, etc. Such measures have been taken to a 

 very great extent. Added to this care of the health, comes the care of the sick 

 of which only the work in connection with anti=tuberculosis, which is of the grea* 

 test importance socially can be mentioned here. In this country about 10,000 

 (about 2 %o) people die yearly of tuberculosis. The death rate from tuberculosis 



