The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-12-20
JUSTICE IN SWEDEN.
Police System in a Land Where
There Are No Juries.
JUDGES ASK ALL QUESTIONS,
Lawyers There Have No Chance 60 Con.
found Witnesses-How Criminals
Are Handled.

Police Commissioner Ernst Lundbeck, OF
Stockholm, sweden, who is in the city, having
come a. representative OF ths swedish govern.
Elent TO aid in the prosecution Of siodin, the
counterfeite-, has spent some days in looking a.
the city and county buildings and in Learning
| the manner Of administering justice IN this
country. He speaks English bat little, a.
though he can speak nearly all OF the languages
OF the European continent At the Arlington
hotel last evening Mr.. Lundosck was asked con-
corning the machinery and method employed
in administering justice in bis country.
"In Stockholm" he replied, "thers are nine
districts, CORES ponding to wards In your cities
here In each one OF these districts Is police
commissioner whose court is called policedo.
metol l suppose that these commissioners
could be compared TO your United States CON-
rnissiOners or justices of the peace, or TO both,
perhaps They try small cases and have auth
ority TO sentence petty criminals 10 tia penlsen-
tiary.
lover these commissioners in Stockholm ara
six courts called radsturetts. Each ons Of
these courts is composed of four Judges, one Of
whom is the chief. A high offender Is taken
before q commissioner first In the district in
which he commits crime. The radsturett to
which he Is then taken is determined by lot
the names of all being written on slips OF pa
per and shaken up and drawn from. This rad
stuTett corresponds TO your superior court.
There IS no such thing as a Jury in sweden.
The chief judge, or radman, IS the only one
who can question witnesses or these accused on
the stand, bu. the other three judges can ask
the rsdTnau 70 put questions. These courts try
civil as well as criminal cases
cover the whole police system is q police
master whose Office corresponds to the mayor
here. or rather to the board OF police commits
sioners He is appointed by the king and he
holds his Office az long as he does well. He Is
over the courts, the commissioners and the po-
lice constables, or, you would call them, the
patrol1nen- There are 500 constables in stock
holm, which is n city of 250,o00 inhabitants.
Each constable gets from 100 10 Us crowns per
month, according 20 his length of service-the
new ones get loo kroeners a month and the old
ones 123. As each kroener is worth about 261l
cents III American money. you see the Swedish
policeman's salary amounts TO from $3.50 70
SIS Is per month, not so much as they get here;
but, you know, money viii buy great deal
there.
''The police commissioners meet every other
day TO appoint constables, which appoint menls
must be confirmed By the police master. The
kings secretary OF state appoints the commits
sioners. We do not call him the secretary Of
state, but that is what he corresponds TO in
America He is the highest man in the kingdom
next to the king, and our name for him is
ofverstalhailau.
"In the country districts, which are divided of
like your counties or townships, we have courts
called Ting, ana the judges of these courts
have much the same authority the police
commissioners
''In the whole OF Sweden there are twenty
penitentiaries, and every convict must work. In
Stockholm there are three cellangelse, or tails
All sorts OF trades are found-carpenters. stone
masons, biacksmiths and others. II new con-
vict does not already know a trade, he is put a:
some work and made 10 learn one Immediately
upon his arrival Capital punishment is in force.
the guillotine being the means Of putting TO
death murderers and rebels"
Mr.. Lundbeck says that he likes the American
fire department better than theirs, although
they use American apparatus there of the same
pattern 10 put out fires. But he says that tho
fremen here get around more quickly. There
are i've fire stations in Stockholm, besides the
big frebOat.