New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-10-15
M. RUCHONNET.
DEATH OF SWlTZERLANDS GREAIEor
STATESMAN-A FAR-SIGIlTED AND MOD
ERATE RADICAL

c,,,zer,and Is in deep mourning for NJ. Ruchon-
net. a member and former president OF the Federal
Council. He man who lived simply though'
highly and wrought only as he thought had inc
pleasure Of spending evening In his society last
wear at Berne He struck me as being man OF
srlondtd mind and of a pure and noble soul The
n,enta nature was great the moral nature greater,
and the spiritual nature greatest He was tre
from Swiss rusticity or shortness or manner ana
took a high polish. His ideas were broader ana
more winged than those of his countrymen In gem
eral This may be due to his having had an Eng.
Ish mother of unusual distinction OF manner ana OF
mind. She governess, but hshiy eduea'eu
and well connected and Ruchonnet was paruaiv
educated in England. He thought SWISS primary
and technical schools better than English. but
Cooked upon higher education in England as max
ing for the ennobling OF manhood" These were MS
words as he was telling how he came to be good
deal the citizen OF the world and TO great degree
"A AngloSwiss =.
Ruchonnet had exquisitely sweet ana implo
nature He was prone to act on his beilefs Hs
was religious, and had made up his mind tnat no
motive power was great and good as that tur-
nIshed to human nature by deep-seated religious
principles When he was some years ago at our
nigel to take the waters. he heard some otner per
sons who were not absorbed In care Tor tner oooaW
and their rament regret that there was no pas
tor NJ Ruchonnet at once sent round 70 All 'hs
strangers In the hotels to say that his room wa
onon 10 every one who wished TO assemble 70
praise God and to pray to Him. lie had FANNY
prayers there daily, and Sunday service, ae "ne'
he oniclated Methodist lay preacher m'sns
have done The room became a place or pubic
Worship and Il centre of good WORKS. fis
professional life at Lausanne was arduous Yet No
took upon himself. from motives OF humanity 'hs
task OF helping TO revise the penal coue OF s"tAs
land and was engaged In the work wheh ne ieii
| dead The strain his health OF his own WORK.
Of his duties OF Cantonal Councillor at Lausanne
/
cal marty broke down his health early. This over
worked man when at Berne wrote at least once
week a long and chatty letter to his old father,
and he constantly sent short letters, to show that
no pressure OF business shut out his loving remein-
brance OF the old home and parents
He was the great pacificator OF Switzerland when
the Confederation was In danger OF splitting up
because of ultra Conservatism and Catholicism on
one side and ultra Radicalism and free thought on
the other Ruchonnet was held In esteem py 'he
different governments OF Europe. 1t was ne VINO
nut n stop to the Irredentist or Italian agitation
I'm the Canton OF the Tcino. by showing the ltaiian
Government what risks they ran In encouraging
and the Swiss of the other cantons TO what oah'
gers they exposed the whole country IN not agree
ing to the changes in the Cantonal Constitution
which the popular party In Tclno wanted ihaeeu
he showed both that NJ. de Freycinet was tne
| father of the Irredentist movement at Lugano Ills
object was to have an excuse for saying that s"i'
zerand was unable to defend her neutrality anu ior
! recurring security. The Canton OF liciho co~is az
the southern slopes of the st. Gothard IL ltaly
| ascended the pass on tEat side, france surely
| would have right TO claim the military sur'en.
! lance of the north side both of the Saint Gotharu
| and the Slmpon Ruchonnet was deputed 10 deal
| with the whole matter. and did so with the repre-
sentatives of the powers at Berne
NJ Ruchonnet's motto was. Justice exaiteth
Nation He also believed that 1t exalted the ndi-
vidual and tried to be in all things just ana tai'h-
full Though advanced in politics, the Naudols ana
Bernese Conservatives. who are narrow, prasmauc'
and often raised by family pride too hish IN 'her
own esteem. believed in him and submitted TO ms
justice. He OF the rare men VINO nsns
have done as Washington did In the circumstances
in which the Father Of the American Republic was
placed .,. ..,.u ,,..s ana
might have spoken OF his menta, ana so' hnr 'Hr s
father was an excellent man in his way. He ana
dn e rr ay
and died on May "A. 1889. He was ndefatsaos, to
to the end Of his life in the fencing school OF the
Military Academy at Lausanne He was ropus. "'
a a' inherited r from his father the dgnhsd tradi;
q the tee nrSss thu sSn
family how to handle the sword; The grsndfather
ascrbea to ns The o Hears S OF Sfe
that event ladies wore nantes trimmed with lace
the 'i sword handles Of the courty gentlemen often
caught In this kind Of trimming and tore H. SO INC
s%S ns ns ssmsm wss
bodened the sans coulotte. who used TO Tear pc
ps s run in the public thoroushfares though unless in
| extreme cases under some violent emotion INC
hack Of a "canalle." The sans culotte" would
have thought twice before arrestng an arisocras
armed with a sword and knowing how to use u
There may be something in this explanation OF TIE
French Revolution given by one who Wi,meSsea ne
l in Was not this sign of efeminacy? The gen.
flight Of sa the %ss no
D quality OF the French nobility f. "