The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-12-30
The Dangling Key Informs You the
Tenants Are Out, but Friends Who
Call Are at Liberty to Unlock the
Door and Enter and Rest.

When the Swedes so calling. they
lock up and then hang the door key Oh
the bell or the doorknob or some other
conspicuous place. When they go visit
ing for a few weeks, bolts and bars are
Slid into place, and then out goes the
key. If the house is shut up for an en-
tire season or full year. the gayly
swinging door key says Not at home
to passersby.
There is no kicking your heels on the
doormat in Sweden while the bell or
knocker awakes the echoes in an emp
~ house. Agents, peddlers, friends
and relatives all know this message OF
the door key and seeing it out pass by.
AS can be readily imagined, this
strange custom has been put 10 good
use in many instances when visitors
were not wanted. Instead of telling
the maid TO inform callers that Mrs.
Jones is not at home the mistress says
to Jennie: Hang out the door key at -
o'clock this afternoon and bring 1t i'll
at ). l don't wish to see any one for
few hours
About the first of the month in GER
tain districts door keys swing to the
breezes in great numbers, and collect
ors, knowing the custom and also its
misuse. scratch their heads in perplex-
ity at this not at home signal.
Many amusing stories are told OF
creditors sitting down to await the re-
turn of their man while the debtor sat
or the other side of the locked door
and chuckled. There have been in
stances where q collector has taken
the key, unlocked the door and entered
the house to be met by the owner, who
calmly laughed over his ruse. Again Il
creditor has entered house in which
he supposes the owner to be hiding on
Iy to find it vacant and to be caught by
the irate master, arrested and made to
pay a fine, while the debtor got an ex-
tension of time on his bill.
These illegitimate uses of this very
old custom of not only leaving the
latchstring out, but also putting the
door key at the disposal Of all who
pass, are not discovered at first glance,
and they are really very much in the
minority, for Sweden Is pre-eminently
an honest land. In and around about
Stockholm there is very little need OF
policemen or strong boxes, for every
man, however low down in the socia
scale seems to have due respect fol
another's property.
Although a few of the more suspi
cious, or the foreigners who have no.
been brought up In this strange Gus
tom of leaving the door key out, may
lock up with bolts from the inside anG
use another door for exit when they
leave home for an extended visit. the
old residents actually leave their homes
at the disposal of any who may care Il
enter
Friends who call and find the Ike,
out feel at perfect liberty to unlock TIT
door, enter and rest q bit before pass
ing on. Strangers seldom misuse TIT
confidence.
The custom started ages ago when i
was the usual thing for holy men, o
priests to travel through Swedish vii
lagos, stopping to leave their BLESSING
on the households of the neighborhood
These visits were looked forward t
with eagerness by the pious Swedes
and it was considered an act of gross
est discourtesy to bar the door, 70
whatever reason, against a holy man
Consequently if family left home tn
key was always put out against the al
rival Of the priest Meat and drin
were left, and should the holy ma
stop at a vacant house he entered, re
freshed himself, left his blessing in tn
form Of a candle or a bottle of hol
water or bit Of consecrated green an
passed. Thus the custom originated
and, although these quaint village
l have become towns and travelin
priests have passed away and the II
fiux of other nations has modernize
Sweden and brought the evil of tibet
" with 1t, the door keys still hang out a
evidence Of trust and open doored ho'
pitality.
A thief seldom takes down one {
8 the keys and enters. for there is th
I uncertainty about the absence of tt
e residents spoken Of to hold him bacl
and the knowledge that an expose
t door key may merely mean that Il
q owner has stepped across to the stol
r and will return any minute make
tampering with property risky bus
= ness.
These facts, together with the b
c one that Swedes are one of the mo
d honest people on the face of the glob
|, make a custom safe there which Won
e be a foolhardy tempting of misfortuI
d in our land of the free."-Los A
4 geles Times.