Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/1365

 INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS— MONET AND CREDIT 1313

Internal Communications.

In 1918 147,271 ships and boats passed through the canals of Sweden.

At the end of 1919 the total length of railways in Sweden was 9,392 miles, of which 3,409 miles belonged to the State. The receipts of the State railways in 1919 were 298 million kronor, and expenses 309 million kronor. The total cost of construction for the State railways to the end of 1918 was 734,011,000 kronor, and for private railways in 1917 631,091,1)00 kronor. The total number of passengers «n the State railways in 1919 was 34,077,000; weight of goods 13,764,000 tons ; private railways in 1919, 25,513,000 tons of goods, and 51,991,000 passengers. The line between Gotheborg and Stockholm is about to be electrified.

The length of the wires of the telegraph at the end of 1919 was 48,761 miles, 22,269 miles of which belonged to the railways. The wire3 of the State telephone had a length of 398,413 miles, the wires of the private telephone lines a length of only 6,264 miles. There were 3,333 telegraph offices. The number of messages sent in the year 1919 was 9,293,490, including 810,068 in transit. In 1919 there were 383,499 instruments (in Stockholm 131,204) employed in the telephone service, including only 4,708 private telephones.

The Swedish Post Office carried 667,069,000 letters, post-cards, journals, &c, in the year 1919. The number of post-offices at the end of the year was 3,657. The total receipts of the Post Office in 1919 amounted to 55,471,800 kronor, and the total expenditure to 54,423,800 kronor, leaving a surplus of 1,048,000 kronor.

Money and Credit.

The Riksbank, or National Bank of Sweden, belongs entirely to the State and is managed by directors elected for three years by the Diet, except one, the president, who is designated by the King. It is a bank of exchange to regulate financial relations with foreign countries ; it accepts deposits of money, and on sufficient security it lends money for purposes in which there is no speculative element. The Bank is under the guarantee of the Diet, its capital and reserve capital are fixed by its constitution, and its note circulation it limited by the value of its metallic stock and its assets in current account! at home and abroad ; but its actual circulation is kept far within this limit.

The following table gives statistics of the National Bank, and private banks (joint-stock banks included) in Sweden for December 31,1920 (1 8 "16 kronor = 1/.). There are 11 conjointly responsible private banks and 30 joint-stock banks (December 1920). Since December 31, 1903, only the Riksbank has the right to issue notes : —

The Riksbank Other Banks

Real estate and furniture. Gold and bullion .... Bills, etc., payable at tight Bonds and Government securities

Shares

Claims on Swedish banks.

Claims on Foreign banks

Bills parable in Sweden

Bills payable Abroad.

Outstanding loans

Cash credits and overdrawn carremt

accounts

Sundries

Total

Kronor

284,509,601 18,663,011

17.184,363

73.561.322

541,187,970

31,831,920

15,894,785

1,125,327 4,070,259

1,017,518,560

Kronor

84,035,350 175,658,527

71,972,996 226,733,012

53,396,529

103,293,402

293,393.424

1,949,814.355

37,*- 06,904 5,590,665,411

1,670,834,298 394,652,665

Total

7,662,256,900

Kronor

84,085,350 430,168,125 IK, 626,009 243,917.375

53,396,529 103,293,402 366,954,746 2,491/)

69,138.824 2,606,560,196

1,671,959,62.-,

8,679,775,607 4 P