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."