The morning call., 1893-09-10

remarka bly, picturesque, and forms one of
the most interesting portions OF the cele-
brated Val de Travers route. 1t was not
so many years ago when only diligences
came over the pass. Pontarlier, which is
the French frontier town, is at an altitude
OF 1854 feet, so that even the hottest time
of summer is cold in the early morning.
The Swiss frontier town Les Verrieres is
higher still-namely. 3061 feet; vet these
are the places where all the passengers
must leave the train and be ready to open
their trunks for Custom house inspection
The accOn. m odation is mostly scanty. Les
Verrieres does not boast of railway
station, but only very small shanty-so
small, indeed, that it could not hold all
the luggage our train contained. The
Swiss Custom-hOuse officers got uver this
difficulty very easily and iu a manner
highly satisfactory TO the passengers,
They simply took the top trunks out of
the van and examined them. After that
they told the passengers whose luggage
had not been brought out of the train that
it was all right. and they were free to go
on. do mol believe half the luggage was
examined.
A little after in the morning the ex
press train reached Berne and was coon
installed in hotel situated in the main
street, which, like the main boulevards in
Paris, reloices in various names, but is
the same thOroughfaTe throughout. From
the station it goes straight through the
whole length of the town to the sulendid
bridge that spans the swift river Aare at
the extreme end. What wonderful street
IL is. with its quaint houses. The roofs are
lotty-sOme have as many as three floors of
dwellings or attcS in the roof. Then as a
rule the roof protrudes six feet or so be-
yond the wall of the house. thus sheltering
the street below. But this is not all. The
houses are built right over the causeway.
which is thus converted into an arcade.
Hence we can walk in almost every part
or Berne under shelter. There never was
such a convenient town for rainy weather
Umbrella-makers must drive but a poor
trade at Berne. In summer the arcades
also offer cool shelter from the sun.
Indeed. nothing can be more convenient
for pedestrians than streets with arcades
They can scarcely be con sidered so aduan-
tageous for the dwellers in the houses. In
the poorer quarters of the town, which |
have carefully visited, l find these arcades
distinct source of i'll health. Whether
originally the streets were OF a level with
the causeWay do not know, but now the
causeway is good two or more feet below
the street-that is TO say, the carriage way.
On the other hand the arcade is very little
more than six feet high. It may be ten to
twelve feet broad. When we reach the
house wall under the shade of this arcade
we naturally find the ground floor rooms
Il
reaches them. Yet in the poorer quarters
people sleep in such rooms. In the better
quarters the rooms giving on to the arcades
serve as shops or as workshops and day
rooms. not as sleepiEg-rooms.
Notwithstanding this structural defect
Brrne Is wonderfully healthy town.
Cholera is unknown in this place There
has been no typhus for fifteen wears.
Berne stands on dry, hard rock, at an alti-
tude IF 1876 feet above the sea level 1t is
swept by wind and fresh mir, and though
OF all the towns of Switzerland it has best
preserved Its characteristics and its old
houses, its Typographical position is so ad-
vantageous that IL enjoys immunity from
disease which many modoru towns might
envy. SO the tourist NAV come to Berne
without fear. No modern improvements
will destroy his sense of enjoyment. He
will not only see the Rathhaus, which
dates from 1406, the Cathedral, which was
commenced in 1892 and completed it 1873.
ana other historical monuments, but any
NUN ber Of private houses that are as an
tique and quite as interesting.
There are. however. some tourists who
are not absolutely bent on sightseeing:
who take more interest in public questions
than in picturesque hooks and corners
For them Berne is the most important
town in Switzerland. as tits the seat of Gov
eminent and the place where all official in
add that Switzerland is one of the most
interesting countries in Europe; for is not
the Swiss Government The model govern
ment of the whole civilized world? +?
Where else is there a government so per-
feet and that works so harmoniously? Of
course there is an answer, namely: that it
Is easy enough to govern so small De ople
The fact remains, notwith standing this ex-
planatioD, that IL this Swiss model consti-
tuition is small model 1t nevertheless is
still a model.
IL ia some cases a small State cannot
give an example to large countries, there is
one important question which the Swiss
Government has boldly faced, and in this
its example can be useful to all nations.
1t has very determinedly dealt with the
growth OF drunkenness and has appar-
emily succeeded in materially checking
this vice. To Switzerland belongs the
honor of having. first among the Govern
ments of the world, recognized officially
the scientific truth that drunkenness is
brought about by bad drink rather than by
too much drink. The quality of the
liquor is the determining factor.
Pure wine and wholesome beer will do
but little harm unless they are strength
ened by the addition Of spirits that have
not been properly rectified. Persons who
become inebTiated on pure drinks do not
become diDsomanlacs. In Switzerland
the vice OF alcoholism was spreading In an
alarming manner. At first il was thought
that there were too many taverns; but il
was found that there was no connection
between the number of taverns and the
number of cases of alcoholism. Then an
effort was made TO start temperance So
ciety. Its members preached total absti-
nence, but they met with no sort of sue
cess. The temperance movement began
In 1877, and the society had then thirry-
three members. Six years later the So
cIety numbered 2768 adherents, and in 1890
there were 534S. At this rate the pro-
posed remedy would take some centuries
before it could affect the whole of Switzer-
land.
The remedy was sought in the interyep-
tion of the state, aid this for the purpose
of insuring that nothing but pure alcohol
should be consumed. The only way TO
insure this was to make the sale and pro-
duction of alcohol a state monopoly. This
would have. among other results, the ad-
vantage of abolishiug the numerous private
distilleries that existed in peasants
houses. Here alcohol was made for home
consumption. IL was not good enough to
put on the market, bat it was good enough
to poison the families of the peasants. who
drank 1t all the more frequently as it cost
them but little.
The Government sought to improve the
quality OF all liquors. and. while cheapen-
ho ncf Af mi, ND -