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NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS. MORAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS.
137
Percentage of illiteracy among the conscripts.
The figures given above with reference to the height of conscripts plainly
denote that physical development has improved among Swedes during the period
given. The figures for those who have been rejected as unfit for military service
tell in the same direction. The percentage of these to the whole, for the six
decades 1831/40 to 1881/90 and for the period 1891/95 in order are: 35-7,
36’4, 35*7, 27-8, 23-6, 20’2, and 21’7; that is to say, a considerable improvement
on the whole. Compared with the figures in other countries, the percentage of
rejections is unusually low. Here, too, may be remembered the fortunate position
which Sweden occupies in regard to mortality, and the very marked way in which
the death-rate has declined, especially during recent decenniums.
With regard to the Dissemination of Knowledge among the People
it will probably be a well-known fact that the Scandinavian nations
occupy a very prominent position. The art of reading has been general
in Sweden for many generations-, and hence a certain degree of
intellectual power has been attained by the people at large, forming a very
sound foundation for further educational improvement. On the other hand,
it may be that there is at times wanting that youthful enthusiasm for
the acquirement of knowledge often met with in nations where the great
masses have only recently begun to enjoy the advantages of book-learning.
Hence, it will be observed that, for many generations, the
population of Sweden, by the power of being able to read, has been placed in a
position to pursue mental work. In contrast to this favourable
condition of things, it is to be remembered that the extensive area of
the country, the sparseness of the population, and in many parts their
poverty too, do not let life itself present to the people as many
opportunities for mental improvement as in more wealthy and more
thickly populated countries. A result of this is that the intellectual
development of the Swedes often appears to be unequal in character
and not to come into full force in practical life. A certain coarseness
of mind is, moreover, still to be found in many places as remains
from the incessant wars of bygone ages — or, may be, in part from
the early nineteenth century, when drunkenness was very widespread.
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