^4 THE GOTHENBURG SYSTEM OF LIQUOR TRAFFIC. 



ready to dispense with saloons altogether. All temper- 

 ance men, therefore, ought to be willing to work to- 

 gether in support of the system. Though I confess that 

 the extreme prohibitionists in Massachusetts have thus 

 far refused to imitate their brethren in Norway. 



2, It divorces liquor selling from politics. The com- 

 pany is composed of men who are interested in the wel- 

 fare of their community, regardless of party lines. They 

 have no political favors to asloand none to grant. The 

 saloon keeper with his regiment of heelers becomes a 

 figure of the past. There is no longer the question of 

 high license or low license or of manipulation of the 

 police throngt alliance with some political party. Each 

 saloon keeper is responsible simply to the comj^any, and 

 will gain no advantage by political deals. 



3. This seems almost incredible; but it is secured by 

 the complete separation of individual protits from the 

 traffic. This is its third and chief advantage. So long 

 as the liquor seller puts into his own pocket a large frac- 

 tion of the price of each drink he sells, so long he will 

 use all his influence to encourage drinking, and will be 

 ready to evade any laws which limit his sales. And so 

 long as modifications of the liquor laws materially in- 

 crease or diminish his gains, so long will he combine with 

 his fellows to manipulate elections and bribe legislatures 

 and secure the privileges he wants. The saloon, as I 

 have already said, is not Democratic or Republican or 

 partisan at all ; it is a party in itself interested in only 

 its own welfare. Tt joins with any party whose success 

 will for the time being benefit itself, no matter if that is 

 even the Prohibition party. And if all parties should 

 agree to cut off its profits, then the saloon would retire 

 from politics. The Gothenburg system makes liquor 

 selling unprofitable. It allows the company a small 

 percent on the little capital required to run the business, 

 for there is no reason why money thus employed should 



