The Hickman courier., 1919-09-11

a Geneva.
The Rome OF the Caesars
and OF the Popes. which held
'pre-eminence I'm this respect for many
ages. now yields to Geneva. which
since John Calvin's time. has been call
ed 'the Protestant Rome" writes Irv.
ing II. Bacon In the Detroi, Free Press.
Geneva Is 20 be the capital Of the
league OF nations. which Is but another
way OF saying the capital Of the world.
Thus the peace conference at Paris
has decided
In the middle OF the nineteenth cen
tury. when. under the quasi-iictator-
ship OF James Fazy. the radicals OF
the Swiss canton Geneva spent money
with almost reckless extravagance 20
develop and modernize the city. de la
Rive. a conservative. exclaimed:
They want 20 make Geneva the
smallest OF the great cities: on that
they would only allow her % remain
the greatest OF the small cities -
And now. seventy years after he
expressed this wish, n l. about 10 be
realized: for from now ON II Il there
that the parliament OF nations will hold
Its sessions and the roads from all
ends OF earth viii focus there.
The census Of 1911 gave Geneva IN
the neighborhood Of 10000 inhabl-
tnnts. divided almost evenly between
Protestants and Catholics. In point OF
languages the French preponderated
nearly seven 10 one as compared with
German
On Beautiful Lake Ieman.
The city Is the southwesternmOst
point of Switzerland. II f. on the pic
ituresque Lake Leman fcalled also Lake
lGeneva). and Is divided into halves.
the old and the new towns. by the
River RhOne. The number seven fig-
ures geographically In Geneva as n
does In Rome. The latter city has
seven hills: Geneva. seven bridges
' Geneva. however. Is OF but recent
date compared with Rome. II was lit
tie more than a village OF the Ailo-
broges. a Gallic tribe. when Rome was
mistress OF the world. Julius Caesar
took his stand there when he heard
that the Helvetians (the Swiss OF to-
,day) had decided to em,grate from
their own country. which they had
come 10 consider as too cramping for
their national growth.
''They shall not pass" was Caesars
lwatchword. And two-thirds OF the
Helvetian people perished In a futile
attempt 10 force their passage through
the Roman provinces. II was the be-
ginning Of the Gallo war. which lasted
nine years and became the fulcrum by
which Caesar raised himself 10 the po-
sition OF dictator Of virtually the whole
civilized world.
Birthplace Of Rousseau.
Few cities have produced so many |
iliustrious sons or been the arena for |
the activity OF so many great men "a
Geneva. Jean Jacques Rousseau was |
born there. And II Is no small coin
cidence that the city OF his birth should /
have been chosen as the capital Of a /
league OF nations OF a democratized /
world. For TO no other one man does J
democracy owe greater debt than 20
Rousseau. His pen was the fail
which first set thrones a-tottering.
Kingcraft began 10 decay beneath the
corroding assaults OF reason which he
leveied at the 'divine rights upon
which royal prerogatives were based
Lord Byron's noble tribute TO both
Geneva and Rousseau constitutes al
most the entire theme OF the third
canto OF his magnificent 'Childe
Harold"
The same great poet has also ceie-
brated the misfortunes Of another Gen
evan In the well-known poem Of The
Prisoner OF Chllion-"
ChiIlon Is a castle on top Of crag
which rises perpendicularly nearly l.
OOO feet above Lake Leman. Here.
early In the fifteenth century. Francois
de- downward. prior OF St Victor. was
Where Calvin Ruled.
In 1882 william Faveil. Protes-
tanf preacher from Dauphine. who had
just won vaud. q Swiss canton. 70
made his appearance nj
Geneva. His success was SO consider
able that ne established his home there
and, I'm the following year. Geneva en-
tered into closer religious relations
with the Swiss city OF Berne. which
had embraced Professionalism. Fribourg.
which remained loyal TO its old faith.
from the alliance with