The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1857-08-20


physical debauchery. Here, the number of
broken down young men, und blcar.eyed,
hoary sinners is astonishing. l have never
been in any place where licentiousDess was
so open and avowed-and yet, where the
slang Of sham morality was SO preValent.-l
There are no houses Of prostitution in Stocs
holm, and the city would be scandalized ut
the idea of allowing such a thing. A few
years ago two we're estab lished, and the fact
was no sooner known than q virtuous mob
arose and violently pulled them down ! At
the restaurants, young blades order their din,I
ncrs Of the female walters, with an arm
around their waists, while the cid men place
their hands unblushingly upon their bosoms.
All the baths in Stockholm arc attended by
women, generally middle aged and hiaeous,
| must confess,) who perform the usual
scrubbing and shumpooning with the great
est nonchalencc. One does not wonder
when he is told Of young men who have pass.
ed safely through the ordeals OF Berlin and
Paris, and have come at last to Stockholm
to be ruined. 49,,
This, the most vital of all the social prob.
lens, is strangely neglected. The diseases
and excesses which it engenders arc far more
devastating than those which spring from any
other vice, and yet no philcn'hropist is bold
enough to look the question in the face
The virtnous shrink from it, the vicious don't
care about it, the godly simply condemn, and
the ungodIy indlIgc--and SO the world goes
| on, and hundreds of thousands 60 down un-
nually to utter ruin. Which is best--l city
like Stockholm, where prostitution is pro.
hibited, or New York, where it is tacitly al
lowed or Hamburg, where it is legalized!-
Let some one with more tine and more ethi-
cal-ability answer. My business here is TO
nuke statements.
1t it but fair to say that the Swedcs ac-
count for the large proportion of illegtimatc
births by stating that many unfortunate fe-
males come up from the country to hide
heir. shame in the capital, which no doubt
is true. Everything that have said has
been derived from residents Of S:ockholln,
who, proud as they are sensitive, cannot con-
ccal this glarng deprayty. The popul ,tion
of Stockholm, as is proved by the statistics,
has only been increased during the last
fifty years by immigrants from the coun-
try, the number. Of deaths among the in
habitants exceeding teie births by several
hundred every year. was once speaking
with Swcde about these facts, which he
seemed Inclined to doubt. "But," said |,
''thoy nrc derived from your own statictics. -
"Well," he answered, with naive attempt
to find some compcnsating good, "yon must
at least admit that the Swedish statistics arc
| as exact us any in the world - ..
Drunkenness is leading vice among the
.Sw odes, as we have daily evidence here
Sx years ego, tho consumption of brandy
throughout tic kingdom, was nine gallons fol
every man, woman and child annually; but
1t has decreased considerably since then
mainly through the manufacture of beer nnt
porter. "Bajersht o" (Bavarian bee) is noN
to be had ovcrywhcrc. and is rapidly becom'
ing the favoritc drink OF the people. Swe.
den and the United States are fast proving
tile fact that lager beer is more. ethcucious ii
preventing intempcFuncc than any amoun
Of prohibitory law. Brandy drinking is still
nevertheless, one of the greatest curses o
Sweden. 1t is no unusual thing to sec boys
of twelve or fourteen take their glasses o
fiery .Gnhel before dinner. The celebrated
Swedish punch, mode of urrach, wine ant
sugar, is universal evening drink, and on,
of the most nsdious ever invented, despite
its agreeable flavor. There is movemcn
in fayo., of total abstinence, but it seems t,
have made but little progress, except as it il
connected with some of the new religious
ideas, which are now preached throughout
the country.
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