Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-09-26

under the direction of the Salvation
Army, there are two coffee tavern.
or temperance saloons in the slums o
the city, where coffee, tea, milk an.
other soft drinks" are sold in compe
tition with the beer and liquor saloons
and they are made as attractive q
possible; three bakeries. where breat
is sold to the poor at nominal prices
a laundry, where women from the
tenement-houses may do their wash
ing. They can bring their own soaf
or purchase it at nominal price
The laundry tubs, with plenty of hot
water, and the drying and ironing ar
rangements are free There are two
woodyards. in which tramps are al
lowed to work for their breakfast: a
home for servant girls out of employ
ment; an employment office for wo
men, which is also under the care OF
the municipality. a home for fallen
women; a boarding-house for stran,
gers-chiefly for girls and women who
come to the city in search of employ
ment-and day nursey, where
mothers who go out to work may have
their children cared for. There are
also four meeting halls, or 'sluul
posts" as they call them. where the
religious exercises are carried on.
All these are in the City of Stock
holm, and there are similar institu-
tions in fourteen other cities in Swed-
en-. according to their peculiar re
quirements. including soup kitchens,
shelters. bathing houses, free laun-
dries, coffee saloons, homes for the
unemployed, day nurseries and res
cue houses.
The Salvation Army people are try
ing hard to secure government
recognition and financial assistance
for their rescue homes for fallen wo-
men. because Colonel Oliphant be-
lieves that it will increase their use
fulness Queen Sophie. the wife of
Prince Oscar. and other benevolent
women of influence are deeply inter
ested in the movement. and hope for
success next winter.
Colonel Oliphant tells me that
Stockholm. comparatively speaking.
is very moral and orderly city. The
Gothenburg system for the regulation
of the liquor traffic is in operation
here, and the consumption of spirtu-
GUS liquors is therefore severely re-
stricted, but there is no limit to the
consumption of beer. and it may be
called the national beverage. Every
body drinks it. from infancy to Old
age. and il is not considered a vice.
The clergy. and even the bishops. do
moi think ii unbecoming to their pro-
fession to visit beer gardens or offer
that beye;ag to every guest. Colonel
Oliphant is OF the opinion that beer
is not entirely an evil According to
his observations there is less drunk
enness where it is the common bever-
age. but he says the trouble in Swed-
en- is that the working classes drink SO
much tha- 1t absorbs their wages and
leaves them nothing to lay by for
rainy day. Notwithstanding the in.
crease in population. the convictions
for crime in the city of Stockholm
have been decreasing annually. al
though the convictions for drunken
nes are now about 10000 year. or an
average of 1000 n month. as against
5000 year ago, or 700 u month in
1895. The convictions for disorderly
conduct remain about the same, and
average about 1875 month. The con
victions for petty larceny are very few
in number as compared with those of
other cities, as the Swedes are fam
Gus for their honesty. In 1894. when
the city had a popoulation of about
1000. the total cinvictions for petty
larceny were only 147 Last year.
with more than 100000 people, there
were 1928. In 1894 there were III
for grand larceny and bur
glary. and last year only 1875.
Murder is almost unknown. Dur
ing the last five years there have only
been two homicides in the city of
and the only execution for
ten years occurred last March when a
murderer was beheaded with "a broad
ak in the old-lashioned way. as in the
middle ages. The public We're so
shocked that parliament took UP the
matter and ordered that gulllotine be
used hereafter. There was a strong
plea for the adoption of the ele iric
chair. but it was not adopted.
Prostitution is regulated and H.
censed. The number of licenses is
sued annually has been about the same
for the last ten years. In 1890 they
were 472; in 1896 they were 4Ss. and
in 1900, 4S7.
Colonel Olphrnt, who perhaps
knows the working classes of Sweden
better than any other man. because of
his long association with the relief
work of the Salvation Army, says
church attendance and piety are not so
marked as they used to be in Sweden.
According to the laws of the country
every citizen is member of the estab-
lished Uutheran) church unless he
confesses adherence to some other
and upon reaching certain age every
child Is brought to the communion
table. having previously been instruct
ed in the scriptures and the religious
doctrine in the family. in the public
schools and in the day schools. Re-
ligious instruction Is compulsory in the
rbiIdrnu