Swedish residents in Russia had been enabled to return home) because of oppressive conduct in Russia towards Swedes and in regard to Swedish property. All trade relations were for a time broken off, but to an enquiry from the Allied Powers as to whether Sweden would take part in a blockade of Russia a reply in the negative was given. In 1920 permission was accorded to a Russian trade delegation to visit Stockholm. From the Russian side large orders for railway engines were placed with Swedish manufacturers, and much Russian gold passed through Sweden, mostly destined for America.
The Eight-Hour Day. Within the ranks of the Eden Ministry there was from the beginning a fundamental divergence of view between the Liberals and the Social Democrats, but for some time it was possible for them to work together. Moreover, this Ministry was the only one for a long time past which had a gen- uine majority, though a very heterogeneous one, in the Riks- dag. The most important measure introduced in 1919 was for a legalized eight-hour day, but when first proposed it was rejected by the First Chamber. The Government dissolved the Chamber, and after the new elections an extraordinary autumn session was called at which the eight-hour day proposal was accepted. The Right had retained only 38 seats, the Bondeforbund coming back with 19, the Liberals with 41, the Social Democrats with 49, and the Socialists of the Left with three. According to this law, which was to hold good provisionally until the end of 1923, 48 hours in the week constitute work-time in industrial and other businesses in which at least four employees work at an em- ployer's expense, agricultural work and forestry work excepted. As a general rule over-time must not be instituted to a greater degree than 150 hours in the year. A newly founded institution, the Labour Council, decides questions concerned with the carry- ing out of the law. A number of flaws were soon discernible in the law, and in the Riksdag of 1920 this Council applied to the Government to effect certain improvements. A proposal was laid before the Riksdag of 1921 and was in the main accepted. The modifications left the main principles of the law unchanged. Sweden subsequently declined to ratify the draft of the Washing- ton Convention of the League of Nations on hours of labour, partly because it conflicted with the Swedish measure already passed, and partly because adhesion would be binding for n years, while the Swedish law held good provisionally for a shorter period.
The Social-Democratic Ministry. It was over the communal taxation question that the Eden Ministry went to pieces. This question had for a long period been under discussion, and it was intended to submit some proposal in connexion with it to the Riksdag of 1920. The Social-Democratic members of the Govern- ment asked for a definite settlement, while the Liberals wanted only a provisional solution. The end was that the entire Ministry resigned, and that the King invited the Social-Democratic leader, Herr Branting, to form a new Government. In March 1920 he did so. Baron E. Palmstierna, formerly Minister of Marine, became Minister of Foreign Affairs. All the ministers were Social Democrats. The new Government could only count on minorities in both Chambers as a regular Ministerial party. The discussion of the communal taxation question ended in a victory for the Liberal standpoint, a provisional arrangement. In the meantime the Ministry awaited the result of the general elections to the Second Chamber in the autumn of 1920. A comprehen- sive programme was put forward by means of commissions of inquiry into projects of socialization, industrial democracy, and the control of trusts and other great combinations.
Change of Ministry. Dissatisfaction with the eight-hour day and with the socialistic projects brought a good many electors over to the party of the Right. The strength of the Social-Demo- cratic party in the Second Chamber went down from 86 to 75, and the number of the Liberals was reduced from 62 to 47, while that of the Right went up from 59 to 70 and of the Bondeforbund from 10 to 29. The Socialists of the Left were reduced from i r to 7, a result of their sympathies with the Russian Communists. Two members of the Chamber were " independents." The more than usually complex party conditions led the King to invite Baron Louis de Geer to form a non-political Ministry. Count
Herman Wrangel quitted the post of Swedish minister in London, in which he was succeeded by Baron Palmstierna, to become Min- ister of Foreign Affairs. The new Government began at once to occupy itself seriously with industrial, commercial and financial matters. Among other bills which it put before the Riksdag of 1921 was one for increasing the duty on coffee. On this being re- jected Herr Tamm, the Finance Minister, resigned, and the prime minister, too, then resigned. He was succeeded by Herr Oscar von Sydow, former Minister of the Interior.
The Economic Crisis of 1920-1. During the latter half of 1920 Sweden had entered on a grave economic crisis her share of the general economic difficulties which prevailed after the war. The period from the dissolution of the union with Norway in 1905 down to 1914 has been characterized as one of great economic development. During and after the war cost of production rose swiftly, not least because the workmen, after the passing of the Eight-Hour Day Act, in most cases obtained higher rates of wages so that they could earn as much as when working longer hours. Compensation had already been allowed them for the increase in prices. As soon as importation possibilities became increased after the war, goods began to be imported to an extravagant degree, so that the country became flooded with them to the detriment of home industries. Finally the Swedish exchange, which stood somewhat higher outside than inside the country, facilitated importation but hindered exportation. When the international crisis came, with its swift fall in prices, it became necessary to lower wages again, but this brought the country up against great difficulties. In April 1921 about 60,000 industrial workmen were unemployed; in June about 90,000.
The Swedish Red Cross. Some account of the activities of the Swedish Red Cross must have its place in an outline of Swedish his- tory during and after the war. King Gustav's brother, Prince Carl, played a leading role in this connexion, and also the Crown Princess Margaret (daughter of the Duke of Connaught), whose death in 1920 was sincerely mourned. The work of the Swedish Red Cross was directed more particujarly to relieving prisoners of war in the various countries, above all in Russia on the one side and Germany and Austria-Hungary on the other. During 1915-8 a great number of invalided prisoners, including 3,617 Germans, 22,123 Austro- Hungarians, 428 Turks and 37,295 Russians, were brought homeward through Sweden by means of the Swedish Red Cross, specially equipped trains travelling between the Swedish-Finnish frontier in the north and Triilleborg in the south. Across Sweden, moreover, there went a stream of parcels by post, in both directions, for pris- oners. The Swedish postal service dealt with 12,700,000 parcels of this kind. The Crown Princess was specially interested in collecting books to despatch to the prisoners' camps. Important work was also done in the inspecting of the prisoners' camps in Russia, Ger- many and Austria-Hungary. Delegates distributed gifts from home among the prisoners: 1,016 railway waggons packed with such gifts passed through Petrograd en route eastwards, and from Russia 1,012 travelled into Germany and 304 into Austria-Hungary. The delegates drew attention to various shortcomings in the German camps and in most cases this resulted in improvements being effected. The conditions in Russia and Siberia were found to be much worse. Delegates' records of what they saw revealed a terrible condition of things in many camps. In some there were 30 deaths a day among the prisoners. Under the guidance of the Swedish delegates new hospitals were established in many places or old hospitals improved, kitchens and baking-rooms being constructed, drains put into order, and large stores of medicines and bandages, etc., being supplied. In Jekaterinburg, for instance, the authorities threw all care for the prisoners entirely on the Swedish delegates within a region of 1,200 s:|. miles. Thirty-three hospital buildings were erected in this re- gion, and at some periods a Swedish Red Cross Kitchen established there was able to distribute food to 1,200 men a day. This work was attended with risks. Two delegates were murdered and several died in hospitals for infectious cases. During the Finnish civil war two ambulances were sent to Finland in 1920, and one ambulance was sent to Poland to help in coping with the epidemic there.
The grave privations in many countries after the war due to the scarcity of food aroused deep sympathy in Sweden. Among other steps taken to afford help may be mentioned the welcoming of 20,000 children from Germany and Austria (and in some degree from the Baltic Provinces) to stay in Swedish homes with a view to their regaining health and strength. The homes of both the well-to-do and the poor were thrown open for this. The total amount of money devoted to such acts of helpfulness (including the cost of the chil- dren's visits) is estimated at more than 25,000,000 kr., of which the State was responsible for 1,500,000 and the rest was collected by private subscriptions. A detailed report was laid before the Inter- national Red Cross Conference in Geneva in 1921. (K. H.*)
