Evening star., 1914-08-23

are armed camps-but all their popula-
tons are not sold!ers Well-to-do men
wives, ask themselves: What good can |
do clutter!HX up IL hattletield?" So. at
each war scare, their wives tsnpiore them:
Let us go 10 Swit2crland.'
And there are the scEly, the weakly.
lone women with money. lovers Of a
quiet life and Americans and other
tourists caught abroad To all such the
first thought is; Let US haste TO Switzer-
land,
L can best give an idea by bits OF actual
conversation collected in these past days
j ST. Louis lady with two little girls
came hurrying to the Beau-Sejour Of
Lausanne from Paris. We We're in the
riots Of the Paris boulevard the other
evening" she tells. we took refuge in
a cafe-and a Down with War; mob
rushed in after US. The patriots fought
them with bottles II was enough for me
and my babies They took the train
switzerland is safe she said.
Chicago banker. VINO is doctorins
here spoke up: 'Two-thirds of the
swiss frontier is naturally protected
by mountains, lakes and rivers. he
said "A hundred old men OF the land
sturm with MaXims could hold road
against an army.
The St Louis lady and her little ones
were gra tilted; but Boston landscape
painter aad his wiee-who regularly
live in Florence--opened their eyes
Switzerland could not defend Geneva
or Basle," said the Boston man. IAN
the country between them is open to
the crash OF French and German arm
les. Lausanne itself is in immediate
uroxiritV of their first battlefields as
are Co!re, Sion, Neuchatel, Aarau and
Zurich If you want to be really sure
go up to Fribourg, Berre. Lucerne or
Interlaker.
DO you know that Swiss troops have
a right to occupy Savoy to cover their
frontier in case Of war between
France and 1taly?" l said. Not to
mention the forts of St Maurice, all
the passes except enc belong to
SwitZerianG.
But Why should they want to come
into SWITZERLAND at all?" asked
gentle English widow.
Natural battle ground between
French and German fortresses" re-
peated the landscape painter. ITALY
and France the same"
4 Lausanne business man. rugged.
trained down. not looking his forty
five years. had been taking lunch with
friends whom we knew. officer of the
landwehr, he would go out with the
nor landsturm are reserves in the
great nation sense. SwitZers OF
forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, hght De
side the youngsters, except tnat the
very aged ones are given more Sc
dentary jobs, like blowing up brldses
or defending canyons Patrlouc edu
cation is 20 high that the men 'aih
and understand like officers.
SWISS cities and towns are iull "
food fodder ;,nd hospital resources
said the Lausanne business man ne
befligerints might easily desi"e 10 Ia
and hold this Or that. tltleS are fstil
road and tslegrapE functions, com
manding the communications win
neighboring countries, They possess
electric power houses and gas plants
for searchiiehts and balloons. They
have butcherurs and bakeries ana
hotels with thousands of beds.
IF they ever got in. they Woulh
never get out" grumhled q swiss wait
ef a t.il you, II was ali excite
In.ut~,
M. Would hitSr TO mead then on.
concluded IN. fusiness man OF iau*-
.tun".
AstouishinE SWISS people, ready 70
head on their giant neighbour
have most admired the young ofhcers
of the Elite. !, e, who are always III