1916

Karl

If the French-Swiss are hypersensitive in regard to the war, their German fellowcountrymen may well be considered too placid. These German-Swiss showed no particular reaction on the invasion of Belgium or the destruction of Rheims, two acts in particular which set la Suisse romande aflame. A dangerous lack of susceptibility, it seemed, even to their own leaders. Spitteler, the doyen of Swiss bards, and Professor Vetter, a brilliant German-Swiss classicist, among others, have come out in eloquent appeals for a higher national sense as against German domination of their public opinion. Spitteler, though he could count, as he admitted, the number of his French friends on the fingers of one hand, declared it his obligation to make a conscious effort to understand the French cause. "GermanSwiss seem to have forgotten that a frontier exists. Since they are talking so much about parentage, are we not equally related to the French? We must not forget the service France has been to us as the standardbearer of a higher democratic culture. We must not forget that England, for whom certain Swiss express a hatred equal to that of the Germans, has always proved herself our most trustworthy ally." These patriots feel that their neutrality carries with it an obligation to recognize a national indebtedness for cultural impetus to France and England as well as to Germany.

The Swiss press shows clearly the evolution in public opinion since the beginning of war. German-Swiss at first were convinced of the invincibility of German arms. "They will be in Paris within three weeks," was common Bierhalle opinion. The press swelled with accounts of brilliant German exploits. The Russians were barbaric hordes; the French, poor victims of unscrupulous Albion. Germany simply could not lose. The war would soon be over. These German-Swiss papers more than echoed German opinion. At the same time, the French-Swiss swung to the opposite pole in a glorification of France. But German-Swiss ardor cooled when the people saw the predicted brilliant conclusion more and more distant. Had the Allies launched their campaign by a series of victories, most German-Swiss would have reconciled themselves to a German defeat. In general, to-day they would fear a complete German victory but would mourn Germany's defeat. Above all, they want peace; peace without and peace within. Deluged in Ger

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man propaganda, they soon discounted all of it, and "dass Mann uns ruhig lässt" was all they asked. An example of this change came to the writer's attention in a local Swiss sheet, one of a large Catholic group solid in support of the German cause. The editor published several articles appreciative of French democracy. When asked how he, as an exception to his Catholic colleagues, happened to take the trouble to explain French ideals, he waved his hand toward a pile of local German-Swiss papers and mentioned the name of half a dozen now showing a tolerant interest in the Allied cause. He asserted that the German-Swiss had not ground for ill feeling toward either French or English. The broad German dialect in which this little Swiss editor justified his feeling for France made his attitude even more striking.

Present-day relations between Germany and German-Swiss vary according to classes. Certain upper-class families of Bern and Basel are intermarried with German families, and naturally feel a real bond of sympathy. Then there are extensive German interests in Switzerland which command and deserve the loyalty of their Swiss correspondents. Swiss peasants along the border and the South Germans opposite speak the same dialect and share the same simple Catholic faith. They market, have fairs and other daily intercourse with each other. But in the industrial classes there is a distinct antiGerman feeling. It is much the hostility of the French midi factory hand who sees his Italian competitor "taking the bread from his mouth. They call these Germans Schwoben, a word with a rather unpleasant connotation. The cultural attraction of German-Swiss to Germany, however, is more powerful than any of these, a thought domination which explains largely why there has never been a distinctly national GermanSwiss artistic movement beyond the limited domain of domestic art.

take the Swiss papers as a true expression of public opinion. However, here, though in a lesser degree perhaps than in the GermanSwiss cantons, there is an interesting effort made toward a common understanding.

In the press, as in other branches of community activity, an effort has been made for better understanding. Prior to the war and too freely to-day the French-Swiss press was fed from Paris and the German-Swiss press from Berlin and Frankfort. Practically nothing in Switzerland was translated from papers of one language into those of the other two. To remedy this a national press bureau was organized at Bern by the New Helvetical Society, which now supplies Swiss papers with the best in all three languages. In its first year, 1915, it inspired in a legitimate way over two thousand editorials, and in its second year twice this number. The editors themselves have given their hearty co-operation. Its most positive result has been to reduce the field of free propaganda from outside.

Foremost among the forces making for national solidarity has been the disruptive force of war itself. It is axiomatic that force from without hastens consolidation within. Necessity for common economic action to ward off the hunger threatened by closed frontiers has drawn the people together. All classes have shown a willingness to have a part in solving these national problems.

One of the leading organizations with a national non-partisan mission is the New Helvetical Society, with a membership which has increased from a group of twelve to over eighteen hundred. Its purpose is "to safeguard the national patrimony, to work to the extent of its strength to fortify national sentiment, and to prepare the way for the nobler Switzerland of the future." More than this, the New Helvetical Society strives to develop a sense of common tolerance between different parts of the country. I mentioned the purchase of a large illustrated weekly formerly syndicated by Germans as one of the first steps in this direction. This led to the organization of the National Press Association. A commercial pact has also been made between Swiss merchants to give over their windows one week in the year exclusively to the exposition of Swiss goods.

The army is the ideal school for the creation of patriotic sentiment. Many SwissGerman regiments are now quartered in the Ticino, in the fertile valleys of la Suisse romande, and along the shores of Lake Ge

neva. There has been a general exchange of courtesies. Young French-Swiss are charmed by the homely hospitality of their German-Swiss neighbors. Numerous books published of notes from the field show naïve surprise at the good will of their fellow-countrymen, and as impressions are full of common sense and honest appreciation. A series of lectures, prepared largely by de Reynold, has also been published for the general information of the men. In chatting with a large number of recruits the writer was impressed by the general knowledge this training has given even some of the rawest mountaineers.

Education is now being directed along more national lines. In the French schools where provincialism was greatest German is now a required subject, designed to facilitate intercourse of students from different cantons. French has long been a required language in the German-Swiss schools. My esteemed friend Dr. Bouvier, of Geneva, is one of the organizers and president of a society of university professors exclusively of Swiss nationality. This is another of several organizations which propose to combat every subversive foreign influence. As a commentary on a lack of national sense, it may be noted that some professors declined an invitation to join because of the exclusion of their foreign colleagues. General co-operation has, however, made the society a considerable force in counteracting a tendency to cosmopolitan weakness.

Universities present the same problems of outside influence. Foreign professors on the Swiss faculties are numerous. This is partly due to the disproportionate number of universities to the size of the country, and the necessity for looking outside for technical experts in certain branches. Basel, for example, has a faculty of forty-three, twenty of whom are German or Austrian. The technical school of Zurich has also a half-foreign staff. War declared, it became evident that some were not mobilized in order to serve as propagandists for their country. One extraordinary individual, when Spitteler made his appeal for understanding of the French and English as well as German causes, asked the opinion of his class about this declaration. Those who approved he attempted to expel. But in all fairness it must be said of the majority that they have kept aloof from such subversive propaganda as their governments may have demanded of them.

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The writer has been impressed, from talking with Swiss in all parts, by their sincere desire to further better understanding. There are differences in ideals and interests which make conflicts inevitable, but there is also a growing feeling that, while Switzerland must receive much from the outside world, she also has something to protect and something to give. A letter to the writer from a Swiss among the foremost in this new nationalist movement contained this passage: "What superiority have we to excuse our pride in a selfish neutrality? What is our justification in remaining aloof in the midst of such suffering and struggle? Does not our civilization call us to enter and fight for the right? But where is the right? We cannot agree.'

But there is another appeal, and to this the Swiss have responded generously-the cry of humanity. It has been a field for common Swiss co-operation and has helped for better co-operation within the country. Whether French, German, or Italian, all were received with equal generosity. After

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the Belgians came the Serbs. All found shelter and a home. Swiss surgeons have died on many battlefields. Efforts to stamp out typhus in Serbia called for a sacrifice of other Swiss lives. Then in both directions there passed trains of severely wounded. Cripples, both French and German, have described to me, with tears in their eyes, the warm-hearted greeting they received from the Swiss at every station. One of the vividest memories the writer carried away from his last visit to Switzerland was the sight of a train-load of French wounded leaving Bern for France. The men had arms filled with gifts and flowers. Though pale and broken, their faces were radiant. They hung out of the windows and shouted in French to the sympathetic crowds, many of whom could reply only in German. The train disappeared in the distance before the last cheer died away: "Vive la Suisse!" The Cross of Geneva is an appropriate national emblem for the rôle of humanitarian Switzerland in this great war.

C

YOMING from a country of peace, prosperity, and tranquillity, I was roused to admiration of the women of Germany. In all the warring countries it is the woman who bears the greatest burden, the anguish, the misery, and the heartache. It was an inspiration to me to see how wonderfully the women of Germany-the Hausfrau, the factory worker, the social leader, the artist, and the peasant woman-have responded to the nation's need. The uplifting influence of my daily experiences among them will live with me as the richest possession gained by my ten weeks in the Fatherland.

Great numbers of the vacancies left by husbands, brothers, and sons have been takenand Government officials always impressed me how ably-by the women, many of whom had lived a life of ease and luxury. The great

problem of feminism in Germany, which had, on account of the great number of women workers, become vexatious to the Government, the war bids fair to solve. The gaps the men will leave the women will fill. Woman's status as a worker and as a citizen appears to have been permanently established. Minor governmental offices, positions as clerks, secretaries, letter-carriers, executives in commercial institutions, streetcar conductors, and, in some cities, motormen-these are a few of the various jobs that, by reason of the war, the German women fill to-day.

The natural occupations of woman, nursing and teaching, with which we in America usually associate her, have now, of course, called her in greater numbers; and, wonderful to relate, she is replacing the male teachers in the lower and middle grades of some

gymnasiums. The number of young girls to be trained as kindergartners, to take care of the soldiers' children when the wives must do the husbands' work, is steadily increasing.

I saw one of the new kindergartens. It was in an ordinary house, surrounded by a little garden. The principal was a trained nurse. She had the care of twenty-five children. These were divided into four classes according to their age, from two to six years, and each class had a room by itself, with little tables and tiny chairs. The principal had four young girls, who had left the public schools at fourteen or fifteen years of age, whom she was training to become efficient children's maids. They were taught to clean the house properly, to wash the children, to sew and repair children's clothes, and something about the modern preparation of children's food. After one year's course they receive a diploma. At the same time this woman taught two kindergartners the practical work that follows graduation from the theoretical courses. They played with the children, taught them all kinds of games and how to devise their own games. The children were particularly encouraged to invent new toys. The collection of toys, some novel and showing inventive power, surprised me. Germany hopes to establish many such small kindergartens.

A startling revelation was the power to organize which women, coming from the humdrum life of their housewifely surroundings, evinced. Frauenvereine (women's societies) for relief work are to be found in every city and town in the Empire, and it is impossible to estimate their manifold beneficent activities.

I should like to tell the story of what one Hausfrau accomplished. Not to have any unnecessary waste, the German Government had ordered a week in which all cast-off clothing, blankets, and rugs were to be collected. The Reichswollensammlung (Imperial Wool Collection) had taken place all over Germany, and the Government had gathered a tremendous quantity. After this official harvest a woman of Hamburg, Frau Dettmer, concluded that the people had not given up all their cast-offs, and she instituted a private collection. She began among her neighbors and friends, and was so successful that the city authorities fostered her scheme on a large scale. When I saw her collection of wool, I found it established in a large warehouse several stories high. She had dis

tricted the city, and one day each month detailed Boy Scouts to collect every piece of wool or cotton and all old shoes that people would give. They were put into furniture vans and driven to the disinfecting establishment. Then they were warehoused, usually filling one of the large halls up to the ceiling.

Here a great sorting of material ensued; woolens were separated from cottons, men's suits from women's dresses; all men's clothing resorted, the worst from the better and the best. Most of the best suits were speedily made serviceable; from the better, bad parts were cut off and smaller suits made for boys; from the worst, good pieces were cut out and. with other material fashioned into hospital shoes, quilts, and covers. The same was done with the women's dresses. What could not be thus used was sent to the mill. for shoddy. Old boots were repaired, small boots and shoes were made of big boots. The day I was there a thousand pairs of cast-off boots capable of, doing good service were made ready for sale.

A professional bootmaker, tailor, and dressmaker were hard at work, with more than a hundred women, boys, and girls helping. And such cheery workers-singing, talking, and laughing! We were loth to pass from the room. In the master cobbler we found a reincarnation of Hans Sachs, who, as he sat before his booted block, worked away and sang his orders to his boy apprentices.

All the clothes finished in this establishment are sold to the women and children of the soldiers and to the incapacitated from the front. At one of the Verkaufsstellen (salesplaces) I was informed that one volunteer, a woman, had created a sales record of fourteen thousand marks.

The keynote of every internal effort and the reason for its success is the German's obedience-bred in the soul of boy and girlthe natural respect for superiority where it exists, and the passionate desire to serve his country to the utmost of his ability.

The spirit of ancient Greece, where the individual sank his personality for the common good, has been revivified in Germany. The national idea of "one for all " has never more splendidly proved itself than in this great crisis in Germany. The citizen yields his individuality and takes and fills his place in the general scheme. An idler does not exist; each

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is a cog in the machine. System, order, efficiency! Whether it be in Government, in industry, in agriculture, in the food problem (its distribution to the poor, to the men at the front, to the hospitals, to the widows at home, to the orphan), in the care of the prisoners, or in the management of public utilities, everywhere order prevails. Everywhere discipline carries out the plan, for the individual realizes that he thus best serves the state, his city, his neighbor, and himself.

The war has compelled co-operation in many things that might well strain a less selfdisciplined people to the breaking point. What has cost Germany's enemies months— aye, a year and more-to learn, she was able to command almost instantly. She offers humanity a lesson in real preparedness, civil as well as martial; and her preparedness, animated by the national will, is the message of one mind to the limbs of one body. We in America may well study Germanywhatever the outcome of the war-for nothing less than this proved miracle has kept the armed world thus far outside her borders.

Countless war kitchens are maintained throughout the Empire. To me, as an American, they were intensely interesting. Here the poor were fed. I visited many of them. Large restaurants, huge halls, and the basements of theaters were used. Immense kettles were filled with potatoes, vegetables, and meat, and boiled to a soup. In tubs containing several gallons this soup was carried into the dining-hall, where it was ladled out into quart bowls. The people, who stood in line, received a quart for a five-cent ticket, which they ate sitting down on benches and chairs before long tables. Some brought pails and took several quarts home. I helped dish out the soup several times, but did not work as continuously as the other ladies, because the people fascinated me. Every one seemed to relish his meal; looked contented. I singled out from my customers a humpback and his little son, perhaps eight or nine years old. The father bought four quarts, which he received in two bowls and a pail, into which I managed to put a large piece of several ribs, with considerable meat and fat. The boy finished his quart first. Then the father gave him part of his. When this was

gone, he poured some of the soup from the pail into his boy's bowl and gave him the titbit of the dinner. The meat and the fat the little fellow scraped off the ribs with his spoon,

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but there was some left which he could not get. Nevertheless he scraped and scraped. Finally I said to him, "Take hold of the bone with your fingers and see what you can do." The boy looked round to see whether he was watched, and then took hold with one hand. As this did not help him much, he was persuaded at last, very reluctantly, to use both hands and had a glorious time, while the father beamed on him, his whole figure glowing in satisfaction at the little fellow's appetite. I asked myself, "How is it possible for such a little body to store away such quantities of food? And it must be delicious." When I tried to buy a quart to taste and see how long it would satisfy me, I was refused; I had failed to get my ticket the day before. (It is in this way that the kitchen knows for how many people to cook, so that no one goes hungry.) They gave me, however, a small cupful without any meat in it. I found it. palatable, and I believe a quart, if I could eat as much at one time, would have satisfied me for a half a day. Workingmen sometimes eat two quarts at a meal.

Every city has several places where the people can get food in this way, and the serving of the food is invariably done by young girls and women of the upper classes. Besides these Kriegskuechen there are places where for ten cents you get a somewhat richer soup, served in a plate, which you may have filled several times. Sometimes you even get a dessert of cooked fruit.

III

We in America have been led to believe that there is discord in Germany, and particularly that the Socialists are the stumblingblock in the Government's conduct of the war and its affairs at home. With the exception of Liebknecht and a few of his followers, the Sozial-Demokraten are heart and soul for the cause. The scant attention that Liebknecht's perversive orations receive in the Reichstag and among the people assuredly does not merit the scare-heads of our dailies at home.

The loyalty of the Socialists was strongly illustrated to me when I was invited to see one of their so-called Konsumvereine (cooperative stores), called " Produktion." It was conceived by common workmen, founded by them, and is run by them. By buying at the source and selling without the help of the middleman they reduce the "high cost of living." These Konsumvereine enable the