The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1922-12-29
CENTURY SEES Big SLASH
IN SWEDISH WHISKY USE
Per Capita Consumption Whisky
Falls From Forty-five Litres
to Five Litrcs.
THE DRYs' EFFORT DID IT
First Temperance Society in
Sweden Was Organized by
Peter Wieselgren.

During the last one hundred years
consumption OF whisky has been cut
down in Sweden from 10 lters (about
Is gallons) per capita and annum TO
5 liters (about l-3 gallons).
The cause OF this is continuous
temperance work.
From the year 1910, when Peter
Wieselgren founded the first Swedish
Temperance Society, the good work
has been carried on. The first legis-
lative result from the adulaton car
ried on so ably by Wieselgren was the
prohibition of home distilling, 1855.
Previous distilling OF whisky had
gone on quite unhindered by law, but
by the great reform of 1855 mighty
struggle was ushered in aiming at the
root OF the evil tree In spite OF the
vets continuous threatening that
moonshining and bootlegging would
increase enormously, the conditions
continually were getting better and
drinking diminished year by year.
While home distillng was forbidden
by the law OF 1855, the making of
whisky became matter OF legalizing
by the state and great distileries were
founded. The sale OF liquor became
regulated by legislation The Gothen-
he tah lteha
main principle was to prevent in
dividuals from making great profit by
selling strong drink. The sale was
turned over to companies where no
shareholder should get more than s
per cent or per cent annual profit
on his investment. The excessive
profits should be turned over to the
state. The main failure of the Gothen-
burg system was, though, that
practically free sale of strong drink
could go on and no real control was
exercised as to how much the in
dividual could buy.
This so-called Bratt system, or
Stockholm system, was invented and
made effective from 1918. Its main
purpose was to hinder excessive drink
ing. The right to purchase whisky
was cut down SO that only those who
were considered by the authorities to
be capable OF handling strong drink
without doing apparent harm should
be allowed to buy it. The amount
allowed anybody should not exceed
one gallon of whisky per month. AZ
present about 100000 persons or
one-sixth of the Swedish population
! is in possession OF such whisky per-
mits, or 'motbok," as they are called
in the Swedish language.
The Bratt system has failed.
Drunkenness has not been diminished
to any great amount by the working
of this Bratt system during the last
seven years, and one feature of it is
quite alarming 1t has a decided ten
dency to reach further out among the
people and especially to tempt the
young people to drink. While it may
have, to some extent, diminished
heavy drinking, it has greatly in
creased the number of whisky con-
sumers in the country.
The alcohol problem is still await
ing better solution than it has SO
far had in Sweden.
A great awakening has taken place
among the Christian people of the
land. Since u. S. A. in the year 1919
settled that total Prohibition should
be part OF her Constitution, and it
became known that this great moral
reform was result of the combined
work of the Christian churches, the
Swedish church people in the year
1920 organized Prohibition work pre-
cisely after the American pattern of
the Anti-Saloon League. This new
organization has its representatives
from all the denominations in Sweden
and consists of about 100000 people,
who together with the various other
temperance organizations form very
strong fighting force for total Prohi-
bition.
The plebiscite on Prohibition was
held on August 81, 1922, and was pre-
coded by very strong dry campaign.
The Prohibition friends came very
near to getting a majority. Votes
cast:
Against Prohibition 49,. o24,o34
For Prohibition ......... 88o,02S
Wet majority ......... $1,000
The fight is on. The Swedish tenn
perance friends are determined to con-
tinue their work and hope that an
overwhelming majority for Prohibi-
ton shall be obtained when the next
vote will be taken, as they hope two,