Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1906-08-04
LETTER FROM SWITZERLAND.
[rorrespondence of the Alexandra Gazette. ]

LETTER FROM SWITZERLAND.
IForrespondence of the Alexandria Gazette.
Rarsz, Switzerland, July %, 1905.
Il was with unfeigned surprise that an
American mother, registering at a Swiss
hot, al out The isl Of July, ascerIained
that she could enter her two children in
tue nriehboriDg public school. There
vas absolutely 10 "Ied tape about the
.e.ter. The two little strangers, who
bad a fair knowledge of German, were
,l.,sed with children of their own age,
provided with books, music books, states,
pencils, writing material, etc, just as
The native children; every article was free,
and brand bew. The mother, expressing
her surprise at this libersiity toward
transient visitors in Rsgsz, was told by
one Of the teachers that BE could see no
occasion at sll for her warm spprecla-
liou. "Why nol?" "What harm can
Two little children dO?" "Wherefore
u,?" "Is not the object of the school to
do all The service that it camp And
the American woman would have
blushed to admit that, at home,
tae children of Que county were often
made unwelcome, or even refused free
sdp1ittsnce to the country public school
in the adjoining county '1s not the
;be object of the school to do all the
service that it camp
Folowing this generous view, Switz'
e,lqud exhibits, in spite of the poverty
OF its people, school system that puts
richer nations to shame. AS anecessary
result of the immense engineering work
always going on here, numbers OF Italian
masons are employed in the country.
For the little children of these common
Italian laborers, the public school au-
tAorilies in certain csntons provide ex-
TIA Italian teachers, that the little
f1teigners may not forget their mother
tongue, nor be hampered in their school
Gofk by the difficulties of learning, first,
strange speech.
A few days ago the little American
children reported to their mother that
there would be no school the following
dsy, as one hundred and eighty visiting
school children from the city Of Basel,
of Bale, as it is on English maps, were
To sleep over night in the school house.
The mother knowing Basel to be about
| 50 miles from Ragsz, charged this ex-
,r ordinary statemen. to her own child
rn-' imperfect knowledge OF German,
al sure enough, about eleven o clock the
l.uwiug morning music Was heard ap-
,,tuaching, aud the tramp, tramp, tramp
IF little feet, and one hundred and eighty
children, marching in military order to
the strains OF their own little band, en-
{, red lhe village. A great van followed,
with kuapsscks, cooking utensils, bed
ding, provisions, medicines, and all
necessities for whatever emergency might
arise, and on the top Of all the luggage
perched several little fellows, ioolsOre,
and unable to keep up with the Others
on foot.
1t was fine sight these sturdy little
sons Of a brave nation, each boy with
an Alpine staff in his hand; all roughly
clad, heavily shod tor the long tramp,
aud their faces besming with heat and
exercise A delegation OF little girls
came later by train. Curiousity sent the
American mother to the school house
and, peeping in the windows OF the hrst
floor. she saw that all the heavy furnitnre
| had been removed, and the floors were
covered with fresh straw, where the tired
little ones would sleep. AT seven O'clock
that evening, an incongrnons company
| assembled outside the school walls, tC
see the preparation for supper. Fash
ionably dresses French aud English wo'
men, dissipsted Old barODs, Hungarian
and Polish adventures, mingled with The
peasants of the village, the little trades
men. the bakers, the tailols. the tired
mothers with babies 10 their arms anc
inside the school yard, the visitors wer.
making soup-camping out, in roya
| stylel What a stirring and tasting, wha
searching in knapsacks for spoons
knives and forks What rsttling o
| tin soup pans, each fellow h,ving BIZ
owl What a saving and chOpping o
great losves of bread What business
like strutting about, before the eyes o
80 many spectatorsl What a bFeakiai
Up into little groups of congenial three
OF fouls, aud sitting down to eaIl Au'
then what silencel
This little army were out for a tw
weeks excursion, "to see the Father
land" making round trip. They hs
had occasional lifts by train, but the
had travelled mostly by foot; campin
out when the weather was favorable
finding the hospitality of school house
over night, here and there. There wei
some necessary expenses, but | was II
formed that when the parents could nC
spare the money, it was found 10 oIh'
quarters, !for must not every Swi'
, tuow the Fatherland? 2" They had see
cities and villages from Basel to FlueleI
on Luzerne; had sailed on the beanhi'
4, lakes; had heard over aud over the n