Public Control of the Liquor Traffic. By Joseph Rowntree and
Arthur SherwelL (Grant Richards. 2s. 6d. net.)—Messrs. Rown- tree and Sherwell return to the vexed question of the Gothenburg system, and the general policy of putting the sale of spirits under public control. We are in sympathy with their objects, and we also concede the difficulty of correctly interpreting statistics. The Gothenburg returns of arrests for drunkenness show formidable figures. In 1902 there were 47 per 1,000 of the popu- lation. On the other hand, the sale of spirits in the city had diminished from 27.45 litres per inhabitant in 1875 to 14.62 in 1902. But there was a vast increase in the consumption of beer, from 16.4 to 50 litres. As to spirits, it must be remembered that in Sweden they cost less than a third of what they do in England. The whole subject is full of complexity and doubt.
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