Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1916-09-20
HOW SWISS WARD
OFF THE MENACE
Of WORLD WAR
Little Alpine Republic Has Sci
entific Preparedness for
Peace, Not War.
DEFICIENCY IN OUR
SYSTEM APPARENT
Army of 100000 Men Cost Less
Than Half What 10000 SOL
diers Do in U. S. A.
sv STAFF CORRESPONDENT.

BY STAFF CORRESPONDENT.
berne, Switzerland, Sept. ia stir
ring old picture of life in Switzerland
as it used to be hangs in enc OF the
galleries here. 1t shows village
reused at night by the wac alarm.
The signal is burning on !he bund-
spitz, or alarm station, that oyerlooks
the valley, and the people are rush
ing from their houses, the men arm
ing themselves as they, come.
That was the war summons, right
enough, in those days. The moment
an invader set foot in the land the
fires flashed from hill to hill like the
fiery cross of Scotland, and the stern
Swiss warriors came out to fight.
The bundspitzen are still there, the
alarm signal tripod is on each OF
them, as every traveller knows; and
the people, you may say, still sleep
on their arms, but other things have
changed.
At ten minutes past midnight on
August l, 1914, the Swiss government.
for the first time, sent out the war
alarm or fiery cross in its modern
shape. 1t was an order by telegraph
mobilizing the Swiss army, and IN
two hours it had reached every sta
tion in the country.
At the word, government officers in
every city, town and village went
forth to post up the notices prepared
for such an emergency, and to wake
the people, in some cases with the
telephones and in others with the
fire engines. t-.r:sAes. t.r:Ae- Y. .-.s'sass, ~ 2.
Ey six o'clock men began to issue
from their homes, fully uniformed and
fully equipped, each with his rife. AT
half past seven the ranks in the towns
and cities were full, every man know
ing his place and falling into it auto
matically. Before nine o'clock the
trains that were ready and waiting on
the government railroads began to
move the troops toward the frontier.
In sparsely settled rural regions,
wnere the meeting places We're far
off, more time was required, but by
UlS..Jldll, OUU,UVU "SlC oAl
the border or nearing it, and at seven
o'clock the morning of August 2. prac-
tically the entire active army OF
Switzerland, 100000 men, was in its
positions guarding the boundary lines.
A few hours before and they had been
working in the fields, factories, and
stores!
This beat all the records of quick
mobilization. It beat even the Ger
mans, with all their deserved fame
for efficiency and preparation. All
the other nations of Europe were mo-
bilizing. None of them modified so
swiftly and efficiently as the Swiss.
Four hundred thousand men, fully
equipped, at their posts in so hours
was the record of Switzerland.
If | remember rightly, 10000 men
in 80 days was the record of the
United States militia when called out
by the Mexican crisis.
The 100000 trained, equipped and
efficient troops of Switzerland cost a
little more than one-half as much
as the 10000 unframed troops of the
United States. I; 2: ! H.
Our system, put to the test, filled
us with chagrin and disgust; the
Swiss system, put to the test, worked
with the precision Of steamship IS
engines.