Switzerland
a federal republic of Central Europe; bounded N. by Alsace- Lorraine and Baden, from which it is separated for the most part by the (Rhine; N. E. by Württemberg and Bavaria, from which it is separated by the Lake of Constance; E. by Austria and the principality of Liechtenstein, from which it is separated by the Rhine and the Grisons Alps; S. by Italy and France, from which it is separated by the Alps and the Lake of Geneva; and W. and N. W. by France, from which it is separated in part by the Jura Mountains, the Doubs river and Lake Geneva; greatest length, 210 miles; greatest breadth 126 miles. It is composed of 25 cantons and demi-cantons, represented in the government by 189 deputies. The constitution of 1848, revised May 29, 1874, transformed the federation of States into a federal State. The largest largest cities are Geneva, Zürich, Basel, and Berne, the last being the capital (pop. 112,200); total area, 15,976 square miles; pop. about 3,940,000; revenues (1920) 281,400,000 francs. Physical Features. The characteristic physical features of Switzerland are its lofty mountain ranges, enormous glaciers, magnificent lakes, and romantic valleys. The loftiest mountain chains belong to the Alps, and are situated chiefly in the S. The central nucleus is Mount St. Gothard, which unites the principal watersheds of Europe, and sends its waters into four large basins, N. by the Rhine to the German Ocean, S. W. by the Rhone to the Mediterranean, S. E. by the Po to the Adriatic, and E. by the Danube to the Black Sea.
In like manner it forms a kind of starting point for the loftiest ranges of the Alps the Helvetian or Lepontine Alps to which it belongs itself; the Pennine Alps which include Mount Blanc, the culminating point of Europe, beyond the Swiss frontiers in Savoy; and the Rhætian Alps which stretch E. and N. E. across the canton of Grisons into Tyrol.
Besides the Alps, properly so called, the only range deserving of notice is that of the Jura, which is linked to the Alps by the small range, the Jorat.
Owing to the mountainous nature and the inland position of the country none of the rivers acquire such a size within its limits as to become of much navigable importance. The Rhine, formed by two head streams in the canton of Grisons, flows N. into the Lake of Constance, Constance, and thence W. to Schaffhausen, where it forms the celebrated falls of that name. begins. Its principal affluent in Switzerland is the Aar. The Rhone, rising in the Rhone glacier (Valais), flows N. W. into the Lake of Geneva. Immediately after issuing from the lake at the town of Geneva it receives the Arve, and about 10 miles below leaves the Swiss frontier.
The waters which the Po receives from Switzerland are carried to it by the Ticino; those which the Danube receives are carried to it by the Inn. The largest lakes, that of Geneva in the S. W. and of Constance in the N. E., as well as that of Maggiore on the S. side of the Alps, belong partly to other countries; but within the limits of Switzerland, and not far from its center, are Lake Neuchâtel, with Morat and Bienne in its vicinity, Thun, with its feeder, Brienz, Lucerne or Vierwaldstätter see, Sempach, Baldegg, Zug, Zürich, and Wallenstätter see. All these internal lakes belong to the basin of the Rhine.
Geology and Minerals. All the loft iest Alpine ranges have a nucleus of granite, on which gneiss and mica-slate recline generally at a high angle. Coalbearing strata are found in the cantons of Valais, Vaud, Freiburg, Bern, and Thurgau, and brown coal is obtained in St. Gall and Zürich. Iron is worked to advantage in several quarters, particularly among the strata connected with the Jura limestone. Rock and common salt are produced to some extent in the cantons of Vaud, Basel, and Aargau.
The only other minerals deserving of notice are alabaster and marble, widely diffused, and asphalt, in the Val-de- Travers, in the canton of Valais. Mineral springs occur in many quarters. Climate and Agriculture. Owing to differences of elevation the climate is extremely variable even in the same localities. Owing to the same cause, few countries in Europe even of larger extent can boast of a more varied vegetation than Switzerland. In regard to vegetation it has been divided into seven regions. The characteristic product of the first is the vine, which grows up to 1,700 or 1,800 feet above the sea-level.
The next is the hilly or lower mountain region, rising to the height of 2,800 feet, and characterized by the luxuriance of its walnut trees, with good crops of spelt and excellent meadows. The third or upper mountain region which has its limit at 4,000 feet, produces forest timber, more especially beech, an and has good crops of barley and oats, and excellent pastures. Above this, and up to the height of 5,500 feet, is the fourth or subalpine region, distinguished by its pine forests and maples; here no regular 6° 2 46 3 A 7° SWITZERLAND SCALE OF STATUTE MILES 25 30 10 20 SCALE OF KILOMETERS 20 30 40 50 EL 0 5 05 10 15 35 40 60 70 Important towns are shown in heavy face type Canals Capitals of Cantons R Railways Oignon Montbeliard E Montbozon Kigney Vestncom 7° Rougemont R C Clerval St.Hippolyte Pierre Fontaine A Ornang N o Levier Pontarlich la Riviere Nozeroy L.de J le Sent le Br le R Chaux-de-F Doubs le ES S St. Amarin 0 Gebweiler G Belfort Altkirch Doncourt Bonfole E amvant Saignelegier Noirmo es Bois B Breisach Freiburg Neu-Breisach Rhone-Rhine Canal Mulhausen Pfirt Neuenburg Rhin Basel ttg Laufen Jacob E Staufen 8° St. Blasien o SCHWAA Kandern Lorrach Dinkel B.
R Zell Rheinfelden Stein Liestal Frick レ Furtwangen Waldshut Klingna Neustadt R Löffingen Schleitheim Unt. Halla Zurzach o Schweningen Donaueschangen Danube M shausen hn Tuttlingen Engen Thaingen Schatten sen HAFFHAUSE Diessenhofen 9° Sigmaringen Pfullendorf A Stockach Ueberlinger Levier Unter See in Steckborn Gottlieben 10° Biberach Mengen Buchau Ueberlingen See Altshausen Schussen R ON • Waldsee O Memmingen لل Mindelhein Werlach R.
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Gonten Appenzell Bregenz zenbusen 20 30 SCALE OF KILOMETERS Isny Montbeliard Thal orrentruy Bonfolo Boncourt o Hinwil Lichtensteig St. Peterzell Brullisau Inner Rh Srafnschenbach Ricken Säntis. Sennwald Waldo Mellen L. of Zürich Wadenswil Farvagny le Grand Murten ppersw Menzingen ense Münster Hochdorfr Sempack S. Sempach Rothkreuz L. Zuy Willisau Eschenbach Kriegstetten Oberizell Aargau Huttwil LUCERNE Heimiswil Kirchberg Nidau L1884 en-d Fraubrunnen I Valangin Landeron Erlach Hindelbank, chAarberg Gran Paradiso S Jus Ponts Neuchatel Travers Boudry Lovaix Kerzers Arzinol Pic St.Martin Munchenbuchsee Wohlen B refin Lion Morat BERNE Muri Concise 1 of Neuchate Cudrefin Campiglia les Verzieres Fleurier Mt. Aubert Mt. Chasseron Ste.Croix Longitude Grandsono Tandoor Estavayer.
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Sarnen Kerius Isenthal UNTERWALDEN Seedorf Steffisburg Hokgant Diessbach Melchthal Erstfeld Schachen Silenen Lungern Titli Titlis URI Meiringen / Gadmen Amsteg Jungfrau Lauterbrunnen Interlaken Diessbach Rothenbach Schangnau Rudenz Steffisburg Hokgant Thun Rothberg Farvagny le Grand Ottenleuebad Roche aulruz Bulle Corbieres Scha Bimme R. Erlenbach Pk.
Echallens Carouge Cossonay VA Montendre Pampigny Bussigny Biere t.Georges Aubonne East Cergue GHI Prelexo Proging Coppet Vers Geutho eyri Chancy St Julien Annecy ng on Coligny Hermance Collonge nebe from la Roche Rue Meziares Cheseaux St. Martin Lausanne Lutry St.Sulpice OF GENEV Thenon le Biot Bonneville Arve Greenwich A Bouveret St. Gingelph Cluses R Sallanches Milan Annecy Isere Ugines, D Cole Champery Nd Sorenberg Lungern Brienz Merligen Habkern L.Brienz Unterseen Interlaken Grindelwald Wetterhorn Lauterbrunnen SSchreckhorn Sprezo Thun Diemtigen Leissiger Thal Reichenbach Frutigen a Kienthal Charmey Boltigen Simmen Zweisimmen Ober Simmen Tha Paquiero Gruyeres Semsales Mt. Moleson Chatel St. Denis Hundsrück Albeave Saanen Varallo Omegna Contreux Lauenen Montiovon Le delboden?
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ROSA Chatillon Foppiano TO Crodo Alrolo Olivone Quinto Aquila Osasco Leve Fusio Prato Вовсо Campo Domodossola Peccia Broglio Cevio Maggra ntragna Lake 2 Vrin Versam Arosa Kazis Fürstenau Lenz Platz Thusis ९ St. Martin Tiefencastel Zillis Vals Platz Andeer b Conter's P Splugen Tinzen Auss Ferrera Zervreila Hinterrhein Rheinwa ADULA St.Bernardin S. Bernardino Giarnico GROUP Mesoced Malvagila OBERO ald Spliigen Canicul Faido Castro Frasco Brione Biasca Osogna Cham Lostello/ NO 0 Gama Giúmaglid Lavertezzo Maggia Clara Carasso Maggiore Locarno Luino Roveredo 9. Bellinzona Gordela Giubiasco lagadino Taverne Colla Lugano Agno Pte. Tresa Bannio Ornavasso Laveno Pallanza St. Martin Varallo Scopa Gozzano Borgosesia Sesto Calende Dora Ballea Verres Donnas Biella E Momo 7° GIRAAN ALPS Campiglia Gran Paradiso B Longitude Ivrea 8° East Melide Besaz Stabia ovarese Ticino Busto Arsizio Galliate Cuggiono from Porlezza Isolato Wiesen Filisur Alverneu Bergün レ P. Vadret Albula P. de Err Pass Molins Samaden Scanf Ponte Sus ப G R Samp Muttler Schleins Schule Inn R.
Neu-Breisach Staufen Zernez (P.Tauru Searl d St.Blasien A Cierfs Sta. Maria ANG Freiburg 1 47 Ortler 2 Livigno PiLavicum Bormio St. Moritz Pontresin Cresta Bivio A Vicosoprano 1 Maloggia Silvaplana A P.Bernina Piciadello R H Buchs Posellavo Chiavenna Mt.Disgracia Como Menaggi ol Lake ugano Fake Maggio Mendrusio (Chiasso Como Asso Dorio Morbegno Bellano Lake of Lecco Carate Saronno sio na Vezza Campocolo no Tirano Mt.Adamello R. a. Sondrid 1 el Adda PSOFBERGAMO Viiminore Branzi Introbio Piazza Lecco L Horn 0 Verdello Monza Arbon (Boden See Lake of Constance Y Demo Breno Clusone Lovere Pisogue Lake of Iseo Sarnica Darfo Bagoling L. Idro O Chiari Milan Treviglio 9° Greenwich D 10° A Brescia Gargnano Lake of Garda D E SWITZERLAND crops are grown. The fifth or lower alpine region, terminating at 6,500 feet, is the proper region of alpine pastures.
In the sixth or upper alpine region the vegetation becomes more and more stunted, and the variation of the seasons is lost. The seventh or last region is that of perpetual snow. Many parts even of the lower regions of Switzerland are of a stony, sterile nature, but on every side the effects of persevering industry are apparent, and no spot that can be turned to good account is left unoccupied.
The area of the country is very equally divided among the population . There are nearly 300,000 peasant proprietors.
Nearly 30 per cent. of the soil is unproductive, and of the productive area about 36 per cent. is grass and meadows, 29 per cent. forests, 19 per cent. fruit, and 16 per cent. crops and gardens. The wheat production in 1919 was 105,900 tons from 130,233 acres; rye, 41,500 tons from 54,513 acres; oats, 42,000 tons from 57,014 acres; potatoes, 828,000 tons.
These are the principal crops. They are not sufficient, however, for the demands of the country and the greater part of the food crops are imported. The principal agricultural industries are the manufacture of cheese and condensed milk. Wine is produced in considerable quantity and tobacco is grown in some of the cantons. The forest area is about 3,300 square miles. It is carefully preserved and is under the jurisdiction of the Federal government. Manufactures. - Although Switzerland is chiefly an agricultural country, the manufactures are important. There important. were in 1918 9,137 factories. The manufacture of watches and clocks is one of the most important industries . There were exported in 1918 15,396,542 clocks.
The making of lace has long been one of the most extensive industries of the country. There are nearly 2,000 emestablishments , employing broidery nearly 10,000 embroidery machines. The brewing of beer is carried on on a considerable scale. There are over 100 breweries, producing nearly 20,000,000 gallons of beer annually.
Commerce. The imports in 1919 amounted to £134,821,000 and the exports to £118,718,080. The chief articles of import were cereals, cotton goods, silk goods, mineral substances. The chief articles of export were cotton goods, linen goods, woolen goods, machinery and clocks. The largest portion of imports were obtained from Germany, followed by France, Italy and the United Kingdom. France took the larger portion of exports, but was followed closely by Germany. The imports from the United SWITZERLAND States for the fiscal year 1920 amounted to $49,215,680, and the exports to the United States for the same period were valued at $46,394,211.
Transportation. There were in 1919 about 3,700 miles of railway. The cost of construction up to the end of 1918 was about £100,000,000. The state railways are being electrified. There are about 1,800 miles of telegraph line and about 12,294 miles of telephone line.
Education. There is no central educational administration. Each of the cantons has its own system and regulations. Primary instruction is free. In the northeastern cantons where the inhabitants are chiefly Protestant the proportion attending school to the whole population is as 1 to 5. In the half Protestant and half Roman Catholic cantons the proportion is as 1 to 7, and in the entirely Roman Catholic cantons it is as 1 to 9. There are prin rimary schools in every district and secondary schools from the ages of 12 to 15. There are about 5,000 primary schools with about 15,000 teachers and about 600,000 pupils.
The secondary schools number about 535, with about 50,000 pupils. In addition there are commercial schools, technical schools, agricultural schools, and schools for the blind, deaf, and feeble minded.
There are 7 universities, those of Basel, Zurich, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Fribourg, and Neuchatel .
Finance. The estimated revenue for the year 1920 was £11,256,000, and estimated expenditure £13,653,861. The chief sources of revenue are finance and customs, posts and railways, and invested capital. The chief expenditures are for posts and railways, interest on the debt, and the army. The public debt on January 1, 1, 1920, was £55,261,460, and the floating debt was £14,400,000, or a total of £69,661,460.
Army. The army of Switzerland is a national militia, service in which is compulsory and universal. Liability extends from the 20th to the end of the 48th year. The country is divided into 6 divisional districts and the field army consists of 6 divisions and 4 cavalry brigades. There is a staff organization for 3 army corps. The total peace strength is about 140,000. In addition there is a separate force for manning, and fortification, which guards the St. Gothard pass and the Rhone valley. This amounts to about 21,000 men. Landwehr comvalley. This amounts to about 21,000 men. prises 56 battalions and 36 squadrons.
In all about 200,000 men are available for mobilization.
Landwehr com- Government and Finance. - The cantons of Switzerland are united together SWITZERLAND as a Federal republic for mutual defense, but retain individual independence in regard to all matters of internal administration. The legislative power of the Confederation belongs to a Federal assembly, and the executive power to a Federal council. The Federal Assembly is composed of two divisions, the National Council and the Council of States. The National Council is elected every three years by the cantons-one member to each 20,000. Every lay Swiss citizen is eligible. The Council of States consists of two members from each canton. In addition to its legislative functions the Federal Assembly possesses the exclusive right of concluding treaties of alliance with other countries, declaring war and signing peace, sanctioning the cantonal constitutions, and taking measures regarding neutrality and intervention . The Federal Council consists of seven members elected for three years by the Federal Assembly, every citizen who has a vote for the National Council being eligible for becoming a member of the Federal Council. The seven members of the Federal Council act as chiefs of the seven administrative departments of the republic. The president and vice-president of the Federal Council are the chief magistrates of the republic. They are elected by the Federal Assembly for one year, and are not eligible for re-election till after the expiration of another year.
The Federal Tribunal, consisting of 16 members and 9 substitutes elected for six years by the Federal Assembly, decides in the last instance in all matters in dispute between the cantons or between the cantons and the confederation, and acts in general as a high court of appeal. It is divided into a civil and criminal court.
People. The Swiss are a mixed_people in race and language. German, French, Italian, and a corrupt kind of Latin called Rhætian or Roumansch, are spoken in different parts. German is spoken by the majority of inhabitants in 15 cantons, French in 5, Italian in 1 (Ticino), and Roumansch in 1 (the Grisens). History. After the conquest of Helvetia by Julius Cæsar, the Romans founded in it several flourishing cities which were afterward destroyed by the barbarians. On the decline of the Roman empire it successively formed a part of the kingdom of Burgundy and the dominions of the Merovingian and Carlovingian kings; while the E. part of Switzerland became first subject to the Allemanni, and subsequently it was wholly included in the German Empire under Conrad II. in 1037. The house of Hapsburg had, SWITZERLAND from an early period, the supremacy over all the E. part of Switzerland, and it preserved its ascendency till about 1307, when Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden entered into a confederacy for mutual aid against Austria, which compact was confirmed after the defeat of Leopold, Duke of Austria, at the battle of Morgarten in 1315. From 1332 to 1353, Lucerne, Zurich, Glarus, Zug, and Berne joined the confederation. Aargau was conquered from Austria in 1415; the abbey and town of St. Gall joined the other cantons in 1451-1454; Thurgau was annexed in 1460; Freiburg and Solothurn admitted in 1481; the Grisons in 1497; Basel and Schaffhausen in 1501; and Appenzell in 1513. About this time Ticino was conquered from the Milanese, and Vaud taken from Savoy by the Bernese in 1560. The remaining cantons were not finally united to the confederation till the time of Napoleon; and the compact, by which all were placed on a perfect equality, only dates from the peace of 1814. Following the political and religious troubles which culminated in the adoption of the liberal constitution of 1848, Neuchatel declared itself independent of the King ng of Prussia in his title of Prince Neuchatel. The canton was declared a republic, with a constitution similar to that of the other Swiss states.
The king protested, but in vain, and in 1857 he finally relinquished his claim. In May, 1874, another revision of the constitution was adopted. It makes civil marriages compulsory, establishes complete liberty of creed, prohibits the appointment of new bishoprics except under Federal approval, excludes Jesuits, forbids new convents, and authorizes the government to expel dangerous foreigners, etc. In 1891 the 600th anniversary of Swiss nationality was celebrated. In 1898 the government began the purchase of the national railways and all the five great railway systems of the country had become state property by 1909. In 1911 the National Assembly passed a measure providing for workingmen's insurance against accident and sickness. This was ratified by a referendum in the following year.
Switzerland during the World War occupied an extremely difficult position in that it was altogether surrounded by belligerent states and also because the sympathies of the people were divided in accordance with their racial characteris tics. French Switzerland sympathized strongly with France and German Switzerland with Germany. Following the mobilization of the Swiss army the French-speaking Swiss were called upon to defend the German border and the German-speaking, the French. The SWITZERLAND Swiss government had taken complete measures to protect her neutrality, and every foot of her frontier was protected by mines or by barbed wire Switzerland has always been a haven for political refugees and in the first weeks of the war she was called upon to shelter thousands from all nationalities from the belligerent countries, and throughout the war her territory was thronged with those who had escaped from the countries at war. Her utmost efforts were directed toward alleviating the sufferings of those refugees who were in need. During the progress of the war the country was under great expense for the mobilization of her army. It was at the same time necessary to raise large amounts to assist the destitute and to exercise supervision over the agents of the belligerent countries who used the Swiss cities as headquarters for intrigue and propaganda. In addition to these difficulties the tourist trade on which Switzerland was largely dependent for her prosperity, was entirely cut off. The great hotels in the latter years of the war became the rest homes for the wounded of the different armies , but the income derived from this source was small compared with what it would have been in times of peace. The necessity of keeping the army mobilized and other extraordinary expenditures resulted in economic disturbances throughout the country. Special taxes were levied and in the middle of 1915 the war had already cost Switzerland over $ 50,000,000.
Early in 1917 rumors that Germany contemplated the invasion of Switzerland resulted in an increase in the mobilized forces of the country. During the war Switzerland acted as a clearing house for the exchange of disabled prisoners.
Thousands of these were sent from the various prison camps to be interned in Switzerland for various periods of time, after which they were in most cases repatriated. By a plebiscite held on May 16, 1920, the Swiss people declared their adherence to the League of Nations by a majority of almost 90,000 votes . Geneva was chosen to be the meeting place of the League, and the first regular session was held in November and December, 1920.