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Show SAD PLIGHT OF SWITZERLAND Head of Swiss Delegation Appeals Ap-peals to America for Means of Existence. BETWEEN TWO FIRES United States Has Power to Utterly Ruin Little Country in Midst of War. PHILADELPHIA, Pa., Sept 1-1. Little Switzerland's plight in the midst of tho great war and her dependence upon America for her means of existence, exist-ence, wore pictured hero tonight by Prof. William EL Rappard, of the University Uni-versity of Geneva, a member of tho Swiss economic delegation to the United Uni-ted States. Prof. Rappard declared his people's sympathy with tho champions cham-pions of democracy against autocracy, as becomes tho citizens of the oldest republic of tho world, but that neutrality neu-trality was a fundamental element In their national life and their word not "a scrap of paper." "Since 1914," ho said, "Switzerland has become entirely dependent oh the allies in general and on the United Stites in particular for many essential commodities, tho most important of which is grain. On the other hand, Switzerland has become equally dependent de-pendent on tho central powers in general gen-eral and on Germany in particular for equally essential commodities, the most important of which are coal, iron, chemical fertilizers and potatoes. That the central powers should not supply us gratuitously with coal and iron is as "natural as It Is natural that the allies al-lies should not allow us to pay for them with the foodstuffs they export to us. "Tho allies have recognized that our economic relations with the central powers have been limited as far as is compatible with tho necessity of our national existence. In order to live we must have some cereal foodstuffs from the allies and export some products prod-ucts of our growing industry to the central powers that is the price exacted exact-ed for the coal and iron which no one but they can furnish us. To deny us the right to Import or to make it dependent de-pendent upon refusal to export would therefore be to deny us the right to live. "In her efforts to hold and to gain the sympathies of Switzerland, Germany Ger-many has used two tools, one intellectual intellec-tual and the other economic. The first has failed her, a bad cause poorly defended, de-fended, such is the Swiss opinion of tho German propaganda. With the other tool Germany has been much more effective. Burning German Coal. "In spite of our contrary sympathies, or perhaps on account of theni she has been generous towards us. Burning exclusively German coal, the SwibD peoplle suffered less from last winter's cold than the German people themselves: them-selves: Last year three-fourths of our potatoes were furnished us by Germany. Ger-many. Our own crop had failed and this spring, when we were in dire need of potato seed, Germany, in spite of her own shortage, supplied us liberally. liber-ally. "When the rumors of the threatening threaten-ing American embargo on food for neutrals neu-trals reached Europe, rumors which provoked still more rejoicing in Berlin Ber-lin than anxiety in Berne, It was intimated in-timated that if tho allies failed us, wo might rely on Germany even for our cereal foodstuffs. "In her present situation there are few economic sacrifices which Germany Ger-many would not make If they wero fruitful of political advantage. Fortunately For-tunately the allies have also treated us fairly thus far. The allurements of unlimited German generosity have therefore not been too effective. But they are dangerous and they might become be-come fatal for our people If we were not certain of your people's and of your government's sympathetic interest inter-est and support. U. S. Can Rule or Ruin. "The United States has it in its power to serve Switzerland or to ruin her. For America to serve Switzerland in tho present crisis is to clear the way for a realization of the American peace idea, by convincing the most hardened of German skeptics and cynics cyn-ics of its absolute sincerity and of its moderation. For America to let Switzerland Swit-zerland perish or to allow her to be served 'through the shrewd and calculating calcu-lating generosity of the German autocracy autoc-racy would be to abandon the most nncient and the firmest foothold of liberal lib-eral and federative democracy on the continent of Europe. Could anything more hopelessly obscure the fundamental fundamen-tal issues of this war, undertaken by the United States and races, of which Switzerland is perhaps the most perfect per-fect prototype in the world? "And on the other hand could anything any-thing moro gloriously and moro persuasively per-suasively show tho German people the true Intention of the American government gov-ernment and tho true obstacle to lasting last-ing peace than a fair and generous treatment of that country which at their doors, Is for friends and foes of democracy alike, the very embodiment of the democratic idea? "A public statement of this policy and of Its justification from the American Amer-ican point of view coming from this country and re-echoed into Germany through tho thousand channels of our press, would bo moro than a convincing convinc-ing argument It would bo a demonstration. demon-stration. Wo know that America will help Switzerland because wo know that it Is America's wish and will that the government of the people, by the people and for the people perish not from tho earth of Europe, but that it livo and reign over all mankind." |