240 
THE AMERICAN-SCANDINAVIAN REVIEW 
Sweden 
Cj[ The first meeting between the Riksdag and the government, when 
the former scrutinizes the work of the latter in the so-called remissde- 
bat passed off very amicably, and the criticism from the leading op¬ 
position group, the Conservative, was very moderate. Premier 
Branting, in his conclusion, expressed appreciation of the good under¬ 
standing among the parties which had developed in the common ef¬ 
fort to cope with the economic difficulties of the country. CJThe 
Riksdag has already acted upon one important constitutional ques¬ 
tion, having decided with 71 against 39 votes in the first chamber and 
124 against 45 in the second chamber to introduce the referendum 
in questions of vital consequence. The temperance group m the 
Riksdag has already brought in a proposal that the referendum be 
put into use next year in the temperance and prohibition measures 
which are under consideration. An unusually severe and lengthy 
spell of cold weather began with the New Year and lasted until far 
out into Februarv. For a time Sweden was quite isolated fiorn the 
rest of the world by the ice which locked the waters of the Sound as 
well as the Baltic and the Aland Sea, and for several days it was pos¬ 
sible to walk across the Sound from Malmo to Copenhagen, some¬ 
thing that has not happened since the early nineties. It was not long, 
however, before the ice-breakers had made open waterways, so that 
traffic could be resumed. There has also been much snow, which has 
o-iven work to many of the unemployed, One of the most encouiag 
mo* developments in the Swedish business world recently is the re¬ 
opening of eight sawmills which have been shut down for a long 
time but have now resumed operations. The lumber industry is one 
of the chief industries of Sweden, and in normal times brings millions 
of kronor into the country annually. In fact the importance of the 
lumber and allied trades is such that they exercise a decisive influence 
on the entire Swedish money market. Several of the pulp and paper 
mills are also starting work. ^ Since the resignation of Tor Hed- 
berg from his position as chief of the Dramatic Theatre at the be¬ 
ginning of the season in September of last year, the theatie has been 
without any real head. The matter has roused much discussion in 
the press, and various proposals have been made for a coalition with 
the Opera or the Concert Society, since all these institutions aie run¬ 
ning with a loss. The government, however, has not paid any at¬ 
tention to all these suggestions, but has appointed as chief of the 
Dramatic Theatre one of the oldest actors in the country, Tore 
Svennberg, an appointment which has been greeted with general 
satisfaction. €J Sweden’s only woman aviator, Miss Elsa Andersson, 
was killed January 22 in a descent with a parachute from a flying- 
machine at Askersund. She was only twenty-four years old. 
