There are seven hundred and fifty-one newspapers and periodicals in Sweden, including fifty-two dailies. Stockholm has twelve dailies, seven published in the morning and five in the evening, which is a large number for a city of three hundred and ten thousand inhabitants, and the wonder is how they all manage to exist. None of them is as large as the ordinary dailies in the United States. It is the practice of the Swedish editors to waste very little room in headlines, and to condense as much as possible. They state facts without padding or comment, and manage to bring the daily allowance of news within ten or twelve columns. There is usually a continued story, three or four articles of a literary character, a couple of columns of clippings and miscellany, and the same amount of editorial. The balance of the paper is given up to advertising, but with all that it is seldom necessary to print more than four pages. The morning papers stick to the blanket sheet.

Most of the Stockholm papers have a good advertising patronage, which runs to display at times. The Swedish business men have learned that it pays to advertise. The rates are much lower than in the United States. The ordinary want ad. costs from seven to ten cents, and for display advertisements the rates run from two and one-half to twenty cents a line, according to the location. In the semi-weekly edition of Aftonbladet, which is considered the best advertising medium in Sweden on account of its large circulation and superior class of readers, display ads. in preferred places cost about twenty-eight cents a line.

The subscription price corresponds. You can have any one of the evening papers delivered at your house for $3 a year, and the highest rate for the morning dailies is $5 a year. It is worth while to know that postmasters in Sweden will receive subscriptions for newspapers published in any part of the world. A small fee is exacted to cover the amount of postage and the stationery required in forwarding the subscription.

The father of cheap newspapers in Sweden is Anders Jeurling, the publisher of Stockholm-Tidningen and Hyvad Nytt i Dag, who started the first-named journal about twelve years ago and sold it on the street for two Öre, which is about one-half cent. Now the price of the former is four Öre, about one cent, and of the latter a half cent. The former paper has the largest circulation in the city of Stockholm, its ordinary edition reaching about one hundred thousand copies, but Aftonbladet exceeds it in the country. Mr. Jeurling has the reputation of being the ablest publisher in Sweden, and is a better business man than the editor. He has made a fortune out of his papers on the theory that the people care more for news than for politics. Mr. Adolph Hallgren is the editor-in-chief of Stockholms-Tidningen, and the managing editor is Mr. F. Zethraens, who studied journalism in the office of the Chicago Record-Herald.

The official paper of the Swedish government is Post och Inriches Tidning, which was founded as far back as 1645, and is one of the oldest periodicals in the world. For more than a century it has been published under the auspices of the Swedish Academy, an organization of eighteen of the most learned scholars and philosophers in the kingdom. The editor is Dr. J.A. Spilhammar, a very learned gentleman, who, on account of his position, is naturally conservative and discreet in all his utterances.

Aftonbladet, a liberal evening paper, to which I have already alluded, has the greatest circulation in Sweden, the daily edition varying from one hundred and fifty thousand to one hundred and sixty thousand copies, and it is one of the most influential forces in the kingdom. The editor, Harald Sohlman, is regarded is an able writer and shrewd business man. He is also editor and publisher of Dagen, a morning paper, liberal in politics, which has a circulation of about forty thousand copies, and is sold at three Öre—about three-quarters of a cent. Aftonbladet's semi-weekly edition goes into every corner of the kingdom, has a high literary standard, contains correspondence from all the European capitals, and has a special department devoted to news concerning the Swedes and Swedish affairs in America.

The most conservative of all Swedish papers is Nya Dagligt Allehanda, edited by Dr. J.A. Bjorklund. Its circulation is confined almost exclusively to the nobility and wealthier classes, and is said to be more loyal to the government than royalty itself.

Vart Land, another conservative paper, edited by Professor Gustaf Torelius, an eminent author and scholar, is an organ of the Swedish state church, and on that account is taken by every Lutheran clergyman and active layman in the kingdom. It contains the official announcement of the minister of religion and the archbishop, and is especially given to news of an ecclesiastical character. Its most prominent writer is Dr. C.D. af WirsÉn, one of "the immortal eighteen" of the Swedish Academy and a lyric poet of reputation.

Svenska Morgonbladet, another religious daily, opposes Vart Land, and represents the dissenters from the established church. Its circulation, according to its sarcastic competitors, "is limited to those who have been saved." Its most eminent contributor and patron is Dr. Peter Paul WaldenstrÖm, founder and leader of the Free Lutheran Church, "the Swedish Moody." Scarcely a week passes without an article from his pen in Morgonbladet, which gives that paper its standing among Free Lutherans.

Dagbladet is the only paper in Stockholm which is issued twice a day, and it has also a Sunday edition. It styles itself in politics a "moderate," but is more popular among the conservatives than the liberals. Having the city printing, it is not inclined to quarrel with its bread and butter.

Dagens Nyheter, a liberal morning paper, made a fortune for Rudolph Wall, its founder, who died a millionaire. It is considered one of the most profitable newspaper properties in Europe. It sells for a cent and a quarter, and has a circulation of about thirty thousand.

The Stockholm paper which imitates the American press most closely is Svenska Dagbladet, ably edited by Helmer Key, a doctor of philosophy, and C.G. Tengwall, who is regarded as one of the best all-around newspaper men in Sweden. It has the best class of contributors of any of the Swedish papers in a literary way, including Professor Oscar Levertin, Verner von Heidenstam, the poet, Tor Hedberg, an art and literary critic, and Ellen Key, the authoress, and the most influential woman in Sweden. The paper has a large circulation among the thinking people of the country, and exercises a wide influence.

The official organ of the Royal Yacht Club, the Royal Jockey Club, and all representative Swedish sport clubs, is the Ny Tidning fÖr Idrott, which is owned by Count Clarence von Rosen, one of the grandsons of the late Mrs. Bloomfield Moore, of Philadelphia. The count, himself the finest rider in the Swedish army, edits the horse news, while Colonel Victor Balck, the father of modern Swedish sports, and Alex. Lindman are the editors. Ny Tidning fÖr Idrott has a regular correspondent in America. Hjalmar Branting, leader of the socialists in Sweden and a member of the second chamber of parliament, is editor of Social Demokraten, the organ of his party. Although a man of aristocratic origin, he has cast his lot with the laboring classes. He is a man of great force of character, an able writer, an eloquent speaker, and is generally respected even by those who can not approve his views. The circulation of his paper is almost exclusively confined to the laboring classes.

The compensation of newspaper men in Sweden is much less than in the United States. The highest salary paid to an editor-in-chief is $4,000, while the lowest for that position is about $1,500. Managing editors are paid from $1,200 to $2,000 a year, and ordinary reporters from $300 to $750 a year. Contributors of fame receive special rates. The price for news items is two and one-half cents a line. Space writers seem to be paid more in proportion than the regular members of the staff, but the difference is more apparent than real, because of the tendency to condensation. Articles in the Swedish papers are seldom more than half a column long.

Stockholm has several comic papers, even more in proportion to population than we have in the United States. The most prominent are Strix, Puck, SÖndags-Nisse, Kasper and Nya Nisse. They are small and comparatively insignificant, and sell for two and one-half cents a copy. They satirize politicians with good humor, and their cartoons are based upon current events. There are several literary weeklies, monthlies, and other periodicals, for Swedes are great readers and, unlike the Americans, have not lost their taste for poetry. A poet enjoys a much higher position and larger income from his writings in Sweden than at home.

There is a Press Club in Stockholm with four hundred and forty members, of whom twenty-two are women. In 1901 the club arranged "a week of festivals," including military tournaments, public entertainments and a fair, and closed with a masquerade ball at the Royal Opera House to raise funds for a building. It was a great success. King Oscar accepted an invitation, and enjoyed himself very much among his "colleagues," as he called them. The king was always considerate to newspaper men. He appreciated the purpose and understood the requirements of reporters, and never failed to assist them whenever he was able to do so. Hence he was very popular among them, and they reciprocated by showing their appreciation in every possible way. The old king once said to Hjalmar Branting, the socialist editor:

"We have different opinions, Branting, but we are both working for the welfare of our country."

In 1897, during the international congress of the press at Stockholm, the king gave the editors a banquet at the Royal Castle at Drottningholm, and mingled among them as "one of yourselves." He also proposed a toast in most complimentary language.

Oscar II made many speeches, and upon occasions of great formality he used manuscript, but generally spoke without notes, preparing himself in advance by study and reflection. When he spoke from manuscript, he invariably furnished copies to the press, and was never known to request that part of his speech be suppressed.

Reporters are invariably admitted to state ceremonials. There is very little secrecy about the Stockholm court, and intrigue is entirely unknown in Swedish politics. There are no mysteries in the council chamber and no skeletons in the royal closet. Hence the doors are open, and the reporters can come and go as they please. As a natural consequence comparatively little attention is paid to affairs at the palace. There is an announcement every morning of the movements of the king and the royal family and occurrences of public interest, but with very little detail, and the newspapers depend upon the officials to furnish the information voluntarily. Reporters are seldom sent to the palace unless some special inquiry is necessary.

The story is told that once when Oscar II went to Gothenburg to attend a dedication or opening of something or other, where he was expected to make a speech, he was intercepted at the railway station by an enterprising reporter who wanted a copy of his speech. The paper was to be published that afternoon, and there would be no time for a stenographer to write out his notes afterward. The king greeted him pleasantly and explained that he had no manuscript; that he intended to speak without notes. The reporter was very much dissappointed, and confided to the king that he was a new man and that his future standing with his employer might be seriously affected if he failed to get the speech. King Oscar responded sympathetically, invited the reporter to get into his carriage, and while they were driving to the hotel, gave a brief synopsis of what he expected to say.

Newspapers in Norway are not so good an investment; in fact, none of them may be considered financial ventures. As a rule, they have to be assisted by the government or by political clubs in order to survive. Their subscription lists are limited, the largest circulation in Norway not exceeding fifteen thousand and few publications print more than five thousand copies, while advertising pays not more than ten or twelve cents a line at top prices in the most expensive papers.

An ordinary newspaper reporter in Norway receives a salary of about $5 a week, while the most competent editors are satisfied with $20 or $25. Norway was the last of the European countries, except Turkey, to adopt the art of printing, notwithstanding its early famous literature, but to-day has four hundred and twenty-nine newspapers and periodicals, an average of one to every five thousand of the population; one hundred and ninety-six are political newspapers; eighty-eight are literary weeklies, and one hundred and forty-five are reviews, magazines, professional, religious, and scientific publications.

Norske Intelligens-Seddeler is one of the oldest papers in the world, having been founded in Christiania in 1763, and has been the organ of the government from the beginning. For a century and a quarter its contents were limited to advertisements and official announcements. It was a sort of a government gazette, but when Hjalmar Loken took hold of it, ten or twelve years ago, he changed its character entirely and has turned it into a good modern newspaper and a vigorous advocate of government measures, exercising a wide influence through its columns.

Monopolies were formerly granted to newspapers in Norway. The government allowed only one paper to be published within the limits of an ecclesiastical diocese, or at least only the favored paper was permitted to receive money for the publication of advertisements. Competitors resorted to all sorts of ingenious methods, by issuing pamphlets and 'handbills and such things, that a free discussion of political issues might be had, but it was not until 1786 that the last monopoly, which happened to be in the city of Trondhjem, expired. In 1814 freedom of the press was granted by the new constitution, and from that date the political agitators have found expression in various publications, and partisanship has often risen to a bitterness that would not be permitted in other countries. The Norway newspapers have not known a censor since that date.

Morganbladet, the first daily, was established in 1819, and has played an important part in the political affairs of the. country. It is still very influential, being edited with great ability by Mr. Nils Vogt. BjÖrnson, the author, has been connected with two newspapers—the first, Krydseren, a literary weekly which survived only a few years, and Verdens Gang, which has been published since 1868 as the leading organ of the liberal party. Among its editors and contributors have been other distinguished men, poets, dramatists, and novelists. Nearly every writer of distinction has contributed to its columns, for most of the thinking men of Norway are liberals. Since 1878 Mr. Thommessen has been the editor, and he was the first to modernize the Norwegian press by printing cable dispatches, cartoons, caricatures and other illustrations.

Dagbladet is also a widely read and influential daily, under the editorship of Mr. A.T. Omholt, and has a large circulation. Its list of contributors has included some of the most distinguished writers of the country. There are numerous other dailies of more or less influence and circulation, and all the trades and occupations have organs, as in the United States. In every town and almost every village, a weekly or semi-weekly is published, usually by the liberal party, and sometimes by other parties. Even Hammerfest, the most northerly town in the world, which lies in the Arctic Circle, has two enterprising weeklies.[q]