NATIONS WHO SUFFER FROM EMBARGO.
There are five neutral countries whose positions were anything but enviable during the war, and it is perhaps worth interpolating a little something about them at this particular point. Norway, Sweden, Holland, Denmark and Switzerland were the neutrals at the time the embargo was placed on foodstuffs.
Switzerland, as all the world knows, is one of the most picturesque countries in Europe, and is a republic in the west central part of the continent, bounded on the north by Baden, Wurtemburg and Bavaria; on the east by the Tyrol, on the south by Italy and on the west by France. There is no national tongue, three languages being spoken within the boundaries of the republic. Where it comes in contact with the French frontier, the French language is largely spoken; while Italian is the language spoken in the southern part, where it is bounded by Italy. In the northern section the German language is spoken. The country has an area of 15,992 square miles.
In the main, Switzerland is mountainous, the chief valley being that of the Rhone, in the southern part. The most level tracts are in the northwestern section, where there are a number of mountain-locked valleys. Mountain slopes comprise about two-fifths of the area of the country, and practically all of the rivers are rapid and unnavigable. The forests are extensive and consist of large trees. Cereals, along with hemp, flax and tobacco, are raised, and the pasture lands are fertile and abundant. Hence, the dairy products, as well as hides and tallow, are produced in profusion. Fruits of the hardier varieties grow well and profitably.
A FEDERAL UNION.
The republic consists of twenty-two States or Cantons which form a Federal Union, although each is virtually independent in matters of politics. The Swiss Constitution, remodelled in 1848, vests the ruling executive and legislative authority in a Diet of two houses—a State Council and a National Council. The former consists of 44 members—two from each Canton—and corresponds in its functional action with the United States Senate. The National Council is the more purely representative body, and is composed of 128 members elected triennially by popular suffrage. Both chambers combine and form what is called the Federal Assembly.
The chief executive power is exercised by the so-called Federal Council, or Bundesgericht, which is elected triennially. Its governing officers are the President and Vice President of the republic. International and inter-cantonal questions are discussed before and adjudicated by the Bundesgericht, which serves as a high court of appeal. The army consists of 142,999 regulars and 91,809 landwehr; total, 231,808 men of all arms. Every adult citizen is de facto liable to military service, and military drill and discipline are taught in all the schools. The Protestant faith forms the ruling form of religion in 15 of the cantons, Roman Catholicism prevailing in the rest. Education is well diffused by numerous colleges and schools of a high grade; and its upper branches are cared for at the three universities of Berne, Basle and Zurich.
Denmark, whose home possessions comprise 14,789 square miles, is, by the way, barely one-half the size of Scotland. It consists of a peninsular portion called Jutland, and an extensive archipelago lying east of it. It has a number of territorial possessions in the Atlantic ocean, among them the islands of Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe islands in the north.
GERMAN AMBITION FRUSTRATED.
One of its possessions in the West Indies was purchased by the United States almost at the time America entered the war, and created a situation which was not calculated to inspire the friendship of Germany for the little country, since it was intimated that Germany would liked to have had the island for a base. The islands cost the United States about $25,000,000. Including the colonial possessions, the total area of the Danish possessions is 80,000 square miles, the population being 2,726,000 persons.