New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-02-21
Treason of Staff Colonies
Increases the Bitterness
Against Government.
GUSHING OF MEN
TO BLAME ASKED
Military Critic Demands Punish.
ment of Those Responsible
for Mistakes.
By NINE. JEAN ALCIDE PICARD

BY NINE. JEAN ALCIDE PICARD
Lausanne, Switzerland, FEB. Pot.
"ahsre"-as the act Of the two Swi.,
colonies, Egli and de Wa,tenwyl. 3,
communicating military secrets o.
France TO Germany and Austria {.
called here-continues 70 impa,,io,
public opinion. The excitement, b,.
subsidized somewhat since the two Of
GERS Of the General STAFF have been
given over to the military authorize,
and since Colonel Dubois who has tho
, confidence Of the people, has been
placed in charge Of the case.
Public sentiment ia still so strong
however. that severe criticisms Of the
.pclicy followed By Switzerland in the
lass. few months and Of the treason Of
the two officers are almost daily get.
ting into fsrint Colonel Feyler, a vel
known authority on military and pub
lie affairs, expresses g., feelings o.
most earnest citizens IL an s-ticle IN
"The Swiss Military R -"is
at is not possible %. ava. "to
weaken during sixteen months. the ss-
sential spring in the government os.a
people and not suffer from the effects
of the error. There exists confusion
between war and peace; between civil
and military power; between sover.
eighty and neutrality; between awed
neutrality leading to painfully bal.
anced opportunism and proud neutral.
ity, which We should have practised,
but which we have secuted
"Colonels Egli and de Wattenwyl will
have to answer not only for their own
personal mistakes. but also for the
strange state Of mind which has ia.
',vored them and which others have cor
q 'buted to maintain by their weakness
sad illusions.
State of Mind 4 'rming.
What is most alarr in this az
fair il not so much a. acts, however
serious they may be, as the strange
mentalir they reveal. We should pre-.
fer that he Colonies Egli and de Wat.
teawyl had jone it for money Then we
should have simply said they were vile.
Their ristak, would have been exclu.
siyely ineividual 4 nobody else, nor the
fac. would haze been besmirchec By
If The honor Of a General STAFF or
Of an army is no, compromised BY the
presence of individials who have failed
q IN their duties.
"But such is not tie case. II it do
not appear too paradxieal, one might
almost say that the Cionels Egli and
de wattenwyl have c'r1mitted theF
faults in good faith. i they should
pretend that they though TO save the
country by them. one would WONDER !.
II were not true. They haze fcSgoo'eH
one thing only: that they ar' '~iss'
unhappily, that was tbs es ennsi
thing.
"The hour has come when ys must.
look for the real causes OF the num'".
atinc situation in which Switzerland
has placed herself The doetrne o.
silence has lasted too long; il hasdoh'
TOO much evil. We have bp' 70
erase. We cannot do it in ignor'ne'
and with half-measures.
From the beginning Of hos'i''''
we have been making military s'
takes. and they must be paid '0r' -
time Of war more heavily than IN ~
other time.
Folly of Playing Politics.
Colonel Feyler goes IN TO show ~"
unwise il was to give to General W.
as major general, Colonel Won spes''
the other candidate for generalsnip
the time of the election-an oHce'
lust as much merit, but with ideas an'
methods Numerically opposed 70 'n0''
of the commander in chief. ms '
done to conciliate both poli'lea' ="
tics. and Il was an act Of wesknesSga
the mart Of the Federal CouheiL
made the situation Of both oree's
yerv delicate. Before the moolliz@..v"
polemics had arisen between the ssP
iior officers OF the Swiss army VIZ -
bA done much to destroy the spir" y
comradeship. ..,rue,
Colonel Feyler, "the dogma o. a;sr
m.ny's victory has not ceased 70 re's~
A dogma in the domain Of military
t,ors,-whar strange heresy. P.
conceived idea has been the daily e.e-
of the General staff during eighVi
months. Colonies Egli and de WslIen~.,
were the most convinced OF n1' ~.
victory. As they were inhuentlal al
sonalities in the staff. they did no have
the counterpoise which misH'
saved them from themselves. n.
what we must reproacn ,hss,Ty
GERS for is not that they had irlssn
sentiments toward the Central hnP" re-
hut that they INDUCED them IN.
point of diminishing their mii''''
telligence.
Consequences Grave -,
"The consequences are psrtles,ra "a.
grave, from the two points Of '''"
tional and international. ,h.ns
"In Switzerland there . more 20
sense of offended Helvetic dignnw' eon.
are ashamed, Inundated. ana s vs, pro.
fldence is greatly shaken; Alss;,n.,Ion
claiming so loudly our detS.andsnee,
to uphold our sovereign indspsniri.shsi
we have, through our faults oi"'
Colonel Feyler asks that the II is
law be applied to the eulprit:, u, III those
severity hut he asks also ina, a." hssn