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Show WAR COSTS SWISS .ANIMMENSESUM. j Loss of Tourists' Business Means $45,030,000 a Year j ' to Little Nation. I i UPHOLDS ITS NEUTRALITY All Belligerents Contribute to System of Compensation for Maintenance Country Really Struggling for Existence. Genovn. War lias killed the tourist business in ibis country, where the entertainment en-tertainment of foreign lsltor wim the liriin i 1 1: 1 1 mid most profitable national na-tional IniltiMl v.v. It Is estimated that the Brn--s reerlpt-s from tourist business busi-ness In Switzerland nuiounted In 11)111 to over . 1.1,000,000, of which almost I $10,000,000 represented tho net pmllt of this Industry, In which the capital Invested exceeded $1:00,000,000. Tho L',000 hotels specially built for the uc-coiiiuiodatlun uc-coiiiuiodatlun of foreign l.sltors, containing con-taining more tliiin IfiO.OOO beds mid employing about 00,000 servants, are now mostly closed or empty. It Is true that some of them hnve been used for prisoners of wnr hospitalized In Switzerland, out the profit thus mnde Is only nominal. The loss of tourist business Is by no means the only one suffered by Switzerland. Swit-zerland. While other neutral countries coun-tries prospered owing to tho war, I Switzerland, surrounded by belligerent belliger-ent nations Germany on the north, Austrln on tho enst, Italy on the south and France on the west and coin- ' pelled to keep her army on a war foot- ' Ing to defend her neutrality and watch ! her frontiers, paid the penalty of her special geographical position. Rut besides Increased military expenditure J which the war rendered Indispensable, Switzerland, despite her neutrality, Is ' exclusively dependent on her neighbors for food. Without their help she will starve, and she needs help both from tho allies and the central empires. Help for Switzerland. Both groups of belligerents admitted that the case of Switzerland was essentially es-sentially tin exceptional one, and nfter laborious negotiations they consented to the adoption of the so-called system of compensations. This system Is far from perfect, as besides benefiting Switzerland It benefits her neighbors as well, but not to tho same extent. It follows that the allies and the ccntrnl empires complain that their goods lire being re-exported to the enemy, nml botli are continually blaming the Swiss government of partiality and threatening threaten-ing to break off commercial relations. Switzerland only exports natural products to tho central empires, principally prin-cipally llvo stock, milk, butter and cheese, and she gets In return coal, Iron, artificial manure, sulphate of aluminum, benzol, zinc, straw, chemical chem-ical dyes and potatoes. Swiss exports to Germany and Austrln are supposed to compensate the Imports from these two countries, and In order to prevent thnt (roods of nllv nriirln shoulil hit ox- ported to enemy countries, the Society of Swiss Surveillance, generally known as S. S. S., has been formed under the nusplces of the nllles to control Swiss exportation to the central empires. The nllles export wheat to Switzerland, Switzer-land, or rather allow It to bo exported from neutral countries, and grant special spe-cial facilities for Its being landed nnd discharged at Cette lit Franco and conveyed to destination. Illce, corn, sugar and other foodstuffs, ns well as raw mnterlnls, nro nlso exported by tho nllles to Switzerland, which compensates com-pensates them by exporting In return re-turn machinery and semimanufactured materials which servo for tho war. Allies Gain by Deal. It la a fact, however, that Switzerland Switzer-land is getting moro from Germany and Austria than what sho Is giving them, while her compensation to the allies is considerably less than what she gets. Besides, while Swiss exports to tho allies nro not absolutely Indispensable, Indis-pensable, those to the central empires, representing exclusively foodstuffs, are Undoubtedly prolonging tho military reslstnnco of the enemy nnd counteracting counter-acting the effect of the allies' blockade. block-ade. It Is suspected that Germany and Austria nro compensating Switzerland Hbcrnlly for contraband which, desplto tho control of the S. S. S.. still flour-ii.1.03 flour-ii.1.03 and thai even allied goods, such for lnstnnco as rubber, find their wny to Germany and Austria. Tho Swiss government denies that contraband In favor of tho central empires Is tolerated. tol-erated. Every effort Is dono to repress re-press It nnd generally wlUi success, although al-though It Is Impossible to stop It altogether. alto-gether. Tho excess of Austro-German exports Is explained by the fact that since the allies cannot supply Switzerland Switzer-land with coal nnd minerals, which nro Indispensable for Swiss Industries which otherwlso would bo pnralyzed and widespread unemployment nnd destitution would follow, every effort Is mndo not to diminish Swiss exports to tho central empires which benefit tho country considerably moro than those to allied countries. If cattlo wero not exported to Germany Ger-many for Instance cattlo raising would not bo profitable In Switzerland owing to the high cost of fodder and tho rural population would suffer. Tho sumo may be said of milk, fresh and condensed, and cheese, which besides aro nlso exported to allied countries. , jf. ... . 3aM |