End of the Snoops

In the People's Home--as Swedes describe their welfare state--even drinking is government-controlled. Before a citizen may buy a bottle of liquor, he must first be investigated by the Royal Control Board. He may then get a liquor passbook entitling him, according to age and income, to from one to three quarts of hard liquor monthly. If he proves boisterous on his allotment, the vigilant board may reduce his quota, or even lift his book. An unmarried female is usually allowed only one quart of liquor every three months, and loses this ration when she marries.

But hardest of all to take has been the board's practice, for about 30 years, of hiring restaurant-haunting alcohol spies. A Swede who dined out never knew whether his innocent-appearing neighbor at the next table might be checking on his drinking. By law, the restaurant could serve a woman precisely 5 centiliters (1.7 oz.) of hard liquor, or a man 7.5 centiliters, up to 3 p.m.. and double that amount after. If a friendly waiter brought the drinker an outsize tot. the snooper would not say a word, but at home that night would send off a report signed with his code number. A few days later, the unsuspecting waiter would be reprimanded or sacked. The board, employed ten such male spies, paid each $300 annually, plus allowances for their "business meals" (about a dozen weekly). Last week the board, to the relief of every drinker in Sweden, decided--for reasons of economy, it said--to abolish the hated snoops.

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