Evening star., 1922-07-16
by THos. n. MARSHALL.
Fsrnser vice President Of the
United States.

United States.
LAUSANNE. July 8.
Happy 10 that people whose past
10 secure. whose present 10 safe
and whose future is hopeful.
Therefore, happy 10 Switzerland.
Both her past and her present are
great object lessons to those OF
uS who believe that democracy
should rule the world.
In dfsproof Of popular. theories
that blood il thicker than water,
: that it 10 idle to dream over OF
removing from the political life Of
4 people the virus Of race and tra-
dition and that the boundaries of
nations are nxed along othnolo-
gtcai lines I cite Switzerland.
Safely set in the heart Of the
Alps. she is 4 united republic. with
q population part French, part
Italian and part German.
The great war proved that It
was possible for men to have some
ideal higher than the ideal which
had been transmitted through his
blood. 1t showed the existence Of
z supreme ideal in which men Of
divers races could believe and for
which they were willing to stand.
although their standing for II
should cost them the glorious ira
ditlons which had come to them
through their veins
~ 90 not know how much the
Frenchman Of Switzerland sym
pathi1ed with France, how much
the Italian with Italy or the Ger
man with Germany, but 1 do know
that SO great were the love and
generation Of all them for the
swiss republic that they, though
IN the very center of the world
conflict, kept faith with the re-
This Oldest of modern democ-
racies revals no evidence Of de-
cay: Recalling the usual fate Of
nations. one is amazed to flnd a
people as devoted to their gov
eminent and as loyal to it's prin-
cipies and as Jealous for liberty As
was Tell himself.
The causes Of this. however ara
not hidden from one seeking them.
The philosophic mind of the Swiss
Is responsible. They early learned
tnat there is a limit to the possi-
piiities OF people, and they real
ICED that a people who seek a null
titude OF things rarely finds any
thing that Is enduring. In the fast
nesses of their mountains they
grew content with the biblical
curse OF earning their bread by the
sweat OF their brows. They knew
that without mineral wealth and
without fertile valleys it was vain
TO hope to become opulent.
wise enough to understand that
II they were to loom large in the
they would have to enlarge their
territory. they also were wise
enough to foresee that by enlarR-
ing their territory they were like
ly to introduce elements into the
economic and political life Of their
country which might spell decay
as well as prosperity. So at the
refused to receive into the confed-
eracy a part Of Austria that con-
tanned fertile fields which they
were told would bring them boun-
teous harvests. They feared a
propaganda Of discomfort.
The Swiss dt0prOve the belief
that a people cannot stand still
that they must go forward or
backward. This may be true IL
only commercial development is
sought. but surely 1t is not true IL
national virility from generation
to generation. century to century.
is the ideal of the people. Success
full commercial activities increase
wealth, but with this increase IL
apt to come q pandering to lux
ury.
i + +
Switzerland discloses that
people can live contented and
happy lives without luxury. She
proves to the world that life is
more than meat and body Is more
than raiment. Whoever comes here
leaves with an admiration for the
people. their mode Of life ana
their government. How came this
all to pass? IL 1t true that liberty
dwells in the mountains? Do re-
publican institutions thrive best
In rarefield air and upon sterile soil?
Ny talks with the people con-
1,tncA ma that the stability of