LII
FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR 1897
From my collections of letters · Signing of the Anglo-American arbitration treaty · The ratification fails by three votes · Insurrection in Crete · The concert of the powers · Outbreak of the Turko-Grecian War · Extracts from diary · The letter “to all good men” from Fortress Montjuich · Letter from Prince Scipione Borghese · Our literary labors · My audience with Emperor Franz Joseph I · Text of the petition submitted
Here let a few specimens from my collections of letters be reproduced. Some weeks before the annual meeting of my Union, which took place early in January, 1897, I applied to various personages, asking for communications to be read; and I received numerous replies, among them the following:
Political Department of the Swiss Confederation, Bern
December 10, 1896
My dear Madam:
Your letter of the fifth instant was duly received, and I thank you most sincerely for the congratulations therein conveyed from the Austrian Society of the Friends of Peace to the Swiss government.
The Parliament indeed follows with genuine interest the philanthropic endeavors to spare the civilized world the horrors of war, and it joins with great sympathy in the demonstrations that aim to make nations comprehend the priceless advantage of peace.
In expressing to you the best wishes for the complete success of your general assembly, permit me, my dear Madam, once more to thank you heartily and to assure you of my distinguished consideration.
The President of the Swiss Confederation