Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1901-06-13


Iating the Liquor Traffic, 1892-1898, is
the title of a thesis submitted by
George Thompson of Moscow, Iowa
county, for the degree of bachelor of
letters in the university two years ago
and which has been reprinted from
the transactions of the Wisconsin
Academy of Sciences, Arts and Let
tiers. Mr.. Thompson graduates from
the university law school this year.
In his discussion of his subject Mr.
Thompson says that in 1895 when the
system was established in GOthen-
burg, the city from which it has de-
rived it's name, Sweden was a land of
distilleries and dramshops. That ma
ton was then known as a nation of
dIunkards Or this curse of inebriety
the new. liquor system became a
healer. AS it began to operate drunk
enness began to decrease enormously
For the country of Sweden, as a whole
the annual per capita consumption of
spirituous liquors decreased from
1916 litres in 1865 to 6.5 litres in 1892
For many of Sweden's cities, which
had shown for several decades an
enormous amount of drunkenness, the
decrease was still more marked. In
1871 when the system was introduced
into Norway the average inhabitant
there consumed 5.3 litres Of spirituous
drinks a year; by 1892 the average in
habitant consumed only 80 litres, and
Norway could claim, Italy excepted,
that she had reached degree of So
briefly higher than any nation of the
world. Misery was also greatly
lesSened.
But the new liquor system came not
only to curtail drunkenness and the
miseries accompanying drunkenness
but also, unlike all other liquor sys-
TENS, to serve as a promoter of phil
anthropy. During the years 1877-1890
the company in Bergen alone contribu-
ted not less than $348, 655.94 for such
purposes. From 1886 to 1891 the COM
pany in Christiana contributed $312,-
0O6.24. Orphan asylums, schools, dea-
coness homes, reading rooms, temper
ance societies, and charitable institu-
lions of various kinds were in this
way materially assisted.
However, statistics are incontrover-
tible that drunkenness has increased
in Sweden of late years. Inebriety
with all it's evils seems to be increas-
ing in that country Must we there
fore say that for Sweden at least the
Gothenburg system has outlived it's
usefulness? 1t would, of course, be
rash to assume that the present tend
ency is simply natural and temper
airy reaction from the many preced-
ing years of increasing sobriety.
A greater prosperity accompanied
with higher wages always permits a
more extensive satisfaction of the de-
sire for intoxicating liquors, providing
saloons are near enough to make that
desire easily satisfied. A recent rise
in the prosperity of Sweden must GER
tainly be accounted one of the causes
for the present increase in drunken
ness in that nation. Another factor
frequently referred to in various re-
ports is the dispersion among the peo-
pie of vast amount of sensual litera-
ture How far such literature may
have any influence must be, however,
entirely matter of conjecture But
a third factor is the fact that Scandi-
navia is becoming more and more a
center of attraction for tourists.
Tourists in large numb rS often make
GOthenburg, Stockholm, Upsala and
other cities their summer resorts. The
liquor consumed by them, however, is,
in the general statistical reports,
counted as if it were consumed by the
native inhabitants, thus making the
per capita consumption somewhat
greater than the amount really con-
Sumed by the average inhabitant of
the land. But still after making rea-
sOnable allowances for these factors
there evidently remains a large mar
gin of the increase unaccounted for,
an increase which speaks plainly of a
greater inebriety on the part of the
Swedish people.
In Norway there is a tendency to-
wards sobriety in some cities while
there is tendency toward greater
inebriety in others.
Continued drunkenness in the pro-
hibition towns is due neither to lille
ultimate sales of spirituous liquors
nor, to any large extent to the pur-
chase of these liquors from neighbor-
ing samlags. 1t is due to an extraor-
binary sale of ale and wine. Yes, this
is the only conclusion to which an
impartial study of the question can
lead. AS the samlags never possessed
exclusive control over other than the
spirituous liquors, it is evident that
their discontinuance would not stop
the selling of ale and wine Naturally,
we should expect a greater sale of
these milder beverages. When one
avenue is closed the other becomes
doubIy crowded. When the samlags,
and with them the safe of spirituous
liquors, were done away with, ale and
wine. especially ''Ladde VIM" took
their places. At present ale and wine
are sold by almost every local mer-
chant. A license which according to
law cannot exceed $107.20 and which
IS nearly always much lower is entire
ly too small to put any reasonable
limit to the number of ale and wine
houses. Drinking is thus made very
easy, and consequently is very largely
INDUCED in. 1t is, however, not only
in the. cities that have abolished sam
lags that this kind of drinking has in
creased. 1t has found its way into
samlag and prohibition towns alike.
Ale and wine have become more and
more fashionable in later years. Vast
breweries have been erected and more
are in the process of erection every