Palatka daily news. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1919-1994, 1919-11-24
BY Henry Wood,
UNITED Press Staff Correspondent


ing from a very bad case of "neu-
tral-itis" and not entirely without
reason.
Where most countries in the world
figure the that one thing they have
got to defend above anything else is
their national honor, poor Switzer-
land is up against the double job not
only of defending her national hon
or, but her national neutrality as
we'll.
While it might be little unjust to
Switzerland to say that in a pinch
wherein she would have to make the
choice that she would defend her neu-
trality above her honor, yet the rath-
er bitter facts in the case are that she
could get along without her honor a
great deal better than she could with
out her neutrality. In fact, without
her neutrality her national existence
could no longer be insured and as a
consequence there would be no ma
tional honor to defend.
And it is the decidedly ticklish job
which she is having now to keep her
neutrality from being violated-not
by herself, but by her unwelcome
guests that is causing her severe
case of "neutral-itis."
Guaranteed Neutrality Her Salvation
1t was Switzerland's neutrality,
guaranteed by all the great powers Of
Europe that kept Switzerland out of
the recent war, and out of all the
European wars that have preceded it
for a century or two or three past
However this guaranteed neutrali-
ty on the part of Switzerland involves
reciprocal obligations of neutrality |
on the part of Switzerland, and while |
if there was no one to be considered
but just Switzerland herself she could
be counted upon to sacrifice her ma
tional honor and everything else
rather than violate her neutrality, the
trouble just now is that Switzerland
is chock full of dethroned royalty,
overturned statesmen, new brands of
Bolsheviki, and political exiles gener-
ally, all of whom are just itching to
put across something in a political
way that would further their own in
terests, but which, having been con-
cocted on Swiss soil, might be re-
garded by other interested powers as
a breach of neutrality by Switzerland.
While it is to be doubted in the ex-
IRENE degree if any European power
as constituted at the present time
would ever dream of holding poor
Switzerland responsible for any little
deals which her present unwelcome
guests might frame up, nevertheless
neutrality means so much to Swift
erland that she has highly develop
ed if not exaggerated idea of what's
what, and what ought to be in the
neutrality line, and she doesn't pro-
pose to let anyone get her into troub-
lie in any way if she can prevent it.
Taking All Precautions
AS a consequence, Switzerland is
taking her precautions-and her pre-
cautions are almost as amusing for an
outsider as they are serious for her.
First of all, before Switzerland
opened her arms to receive-with
overlooking hospitality -not-the
dethroned royalty of Europe such as
Emperor Charles, King Constantine,
and numerous German royal person.
ages whose names and titles are hard
ly known to any but themselves, to
say nothing of fleeing statesmen and I
political exiles, Switzerland exacted s
from them all solemn promise that +
during the period they might enjoy S
ner hospitality they would cease from G
al political plotting, all propaganda t
n their own behalf, all agitation and a
Ill activity that might cause the most
sensitive European mind to interpret h
rs permitting a violation of Swiss n
neutrality.
AS most of the fleeing individuals t
1t that time had no place else to go t
hey promptly gave the promise and e
we're permitted to take up a much be- "
,ruged refuge in Switzerland. How "
.ver, hope springs eternal in the hui a
nan breast, especially in the chests of Il
ings, emperors, politicians, states Il
men and diplomats out of jobs, and II
he whole lot had barely saved their
kins by getting sheltered behind
;wiss neutrality than they began to h
evise ways and means for getting c,
ack to their former jobs or some HI
hing equally as good. al
While, of course, there is no way. of u