Photo by Wehrli 



LAUTKRBRUNNKN AND THE SPRAY BROOK, SWITZERLAND 



The road in the foreground is typical of the magnificent highways which enable the 

 Swiss to maneuver their troops to the greatest possible advantage, and which should be an 

 object lesson to American highway builders. 



going up for drill, his uniform is a rail- 

 road pass, and while he acts as a soldier 

 he need not put his hand in his pocket to 

 draw out money for any necessary ex- 

 pense. He is entitled to no pension ; but 

 if, in the course of his military duty, he 

 has become incapacitated, so that he is 

 unable to earn his livelihood in an ordi- 

 nary calling, the State will respond with 

 such assistance as may be reasonable. 

 Moreover, the same consideration is ex- 

 tended to his widow and family should 

 he be killed in the course of duty to his 

 country. 



In war times or during maneuvers 

 every citizen is expected to provide food 

 and lodging for such soldiers as his dwell- 

 ing and means permit him to shelter. 

 Should he prefer not to have soldiers bil- 

 leted at his house, he is obliged to pay 

 into the army treasury a sum sufficient 

 to provide lodging for them elsewhere. 



Every householder in Switzerland is in- 

 formed of the number of men and horses 

 he is expected to receive, and when the 

 annual maneuvers are held in his district 

 he makes preparations accordingly. By 

 this system the army train is made com- 

 paratively light, and the mobility of the 

 force is greatly increased as a result ; for 

 it is only on rare occasions that the 

 troops go under canvas, being billeted, 

 whenever possible, with the inhabitants 

 of near-by towns. 



Though surrounded on all sides by 

 belligerent millions, whose interests might 

 be served by asking her to step out of 

 their path, Switzerland today stands an 

 island of peace in a sea of war, because 

 she has been prepared to maintain her 

 neutrality and her freedom, or at least to 

 exact such a price for them that none 

 of the nations at war can afford to pay 

 for their violation. 



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