The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-11-27


Doc. box, 6 for $3.50, trial size, Csc.
AT all dealers or sent postpaid by Fruit.
a-tives Limited. Ogdensburg, NY.
in September, which provides for the
mutual exchange of the principal
products of the two countries, is be-
ing bitterly denounced by some Of the
Swiss munitions makers who are fill
ing contracts for the Allies, because
of the clause which prevents the ex-
portation of war materials made in
factories using German machinery
or\ German coal. Further indigna-
ton has been caused by the fact that
the price of coal imported from the
| Saarbruken region was raised about
60 per cent. on October 1, although
| the Germans protested that this .ad-
vance was merely in line with a rise
in the price of other sorts of coal put
| into effect on August i. Some of the
Swiss munition makers are getting
their raw material and fuel from
| France, so they are not affected by
the trade agreement.
Dissension in Republic.
| To add to the troubles OF the AL
pine republic, there has been a sharp
revival of late of the dissension be-
tween the German-speaking and the
French and Italian-speaking citizens,
| due to the tension caused by the war
and the division of sympathies. Mu-
tual determinations and charges of
being pro-German or pro-Ally reach
ed such a height last summer that
an army order was issued warning
the officers of the possibility of mill
tary action being taken against the
, canton of Vaux. in order to preserve
order there. This was done without
the request or sanction of the can
tonal government and caused that
body to send sharp protest from
Lausanne to Berne minding the
federal authorities that such action
was calculated to provoke rather than
to allay trouble, and expressing the
hope that in the future the central
government would not take any SINH
lar steps without consulting with the
local authorities.
One Of the leading opponents of
the German cause in Switzerland is
a Zurich clergyman named Bolliger,
sermons from one of which, the CO.
London Chronicle, quotes as follows:
"Our French compatriots sympa-
thize with the French. with whom
they are united by blood and race.
That is only human. They feel that
if France disappears they sink with
France. They desire to help France
to fight for her. But in Switzerland
there is something which is much
worse. Worse than the French
Swiss are those German-Swiss and
German-Swiss newspapers who en-
terrain the thought calmly and Sc
renely that perhaps Germany will go
under in this ocean Of blood and mis-
cry and horror. They even regard
this idea as acceptable and pleasant.
"You do not know what you are
doing, and this is your only excuse
Let me help you to truer conceptions
In the first place, you are Germans,
as German as the Swabians, the Sax
ons, and the Bavarians, and it is not
right that you should forget your
own flesh and blood or deny SYM
pathy for them. In the second place,
we were a portion Of this German
empire until the peace Of Westphalia,
and 1t was owing to French disfavor
that we were then separated from
Germany. Thirdly, the political sep
aration Of German Switzerland did
not interfere with our common in
tellectual history. We have the great
est event of the last thousand years
in common-the German refornaa-
ton. Zwingli is ours, it is true, but,
Notwithstanding Luther's quarrel with
him, Luther is ours, too. Luther's
translation of the Bible is ours, and
the high German he created is our
literary language. German poets are
our poets. and it is to German poets
we Swiss are indebted for the noblest
songs and epics commemorating our
struggle for freedom.
zone thing Is certain: Should the
German empire fall in consequence
of the attacks of it's enemies, who
have been driven to madness >by their
numerous defeats. its fall will be
followed by ours. Reason and hon
or alike point out to US that the Ger
man heroes on the Vistula, the Dnies-
ter, and elsewhere are also fighting
for us, are bleeding and dying for
the German-Swiss. That is why find
the Indifference and entente friend
ship of 50 many German-Swiss and
so many of their journals worse than
the Chauvinisrn Of the French-Swiss. %
Charges printed in several French
and Italian newspapers, and even in
some journals in the Latin cantons
to the effect that during the last two
years the German government had
spent more than $1,000, 900 for the
purpose of influencing the German
Swiss press, especially the papers of
Zurich, Berne and Basic, have caus-
ed the president of the Zurich Press
association to complain to the execu-
tive committee of the Swiss Press
association and deydand that action
be taken to, make the Swiss papers
which printed these charges either
prove their statements or retract
| them.
| The Berner Bund Of October tells
OF the trial in Neuenburg of Marc
Martin, editor Of little local paper
| called the Courier de la Cote, on a
charge of abusing the federal council
by having published an article ac-
cusing the German-Swiss and the
higher officials of the government of
being devoted heart and soul to the
| kaiser. M. Martin was sentenced to
three weeks Imprisonment and a fine
Of $40.
Three persons were burned to death
in q fire which destroyed the summer
home of Mrs. Russell O'TIara at Bing-
hamilton New York