CORRESPONDENCE
A LETTER FROM SWITZERLAND
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—Switzerland was formerly called the " Playground of Europe," but it is fast becoming the playground of the
world. At one mountain hotel recently no less than seventeen different nationalities were represented, and in spite of the temptation afforded by the French exchange on the one side, and the Italian on the other, though, no doubt, Switzerland suffers, yet the irresistible charm which no other country can exactly supply draws its crowds to her mountains and lakes.
This summer, however, the French and the Italians have not come. Italy has adopted the cry, " Spend your money at home," and is refusing passports to those who wish to cross the passes or to traverse the tunnels. The English are largely kept at home on account of industrial troubles
and scarcity of money, and- the Swiss hotels have certainly suffered heavily during the spring and the early summer. We do not hear much of strikes in Switzerland. Stoppages are comparatively few, but they do occur occasionally, and at Zurich a strike of carpenters has only just been settled by the capitulation of the strikers after having lasted since March. The Swiss like to live at peace with themselves and the world. Was ever any little nation composed of so many different elements, divided by language and religion, so entirely united and so at peace at home ?
This is the season for gymnastic displays, and any nation many times greater than this might be proud of the parade of muscles and manliness which has recently been seen at Lausanne. Nor are such exhibitions confined to one canton, but are to be witnessed throughout the whole length and breadth of the Federation.
Not many years ago the Val Cluoza and adjacent land was formed by private enterprise into a National Park. Hunting, fishing, plant and flower collecting and the capture of wild animals in any form was strictly forbidden. New species were introduced and keepers were appointed to take from time to time a census of the wild animals. Their figures were interesting. Last year the number of deer had increased from 12 to 95 ; of roebuck from 60 to 190 ; of chamois from 1,000 to 1,250 ; of grouse from 10 to 60 ; and of partridges from 120 to 310. The Swiss National Park contains 40 royal eagles, some 350 marmots and about 20 ibexes.
The wireless station at Lausanne is the result of wonderful enterprise, and is quite up to date. The city stands at an altitude of 1,800 feet above the sea, and was one of the first Continental stations to introduce broadcasting in 192:3. It has recently been fitted with all the latest improvements in wireless plant, and is equal to the best English stations. There is a pleasant waiting-room in which the telephones installed do not ring but show lights, and there is a studio hermetically closed to deaden all outside sound. In the amplifying room a Marconi set of ten lamps has been placed. The station has a range of 1,000 kilometres, and, thanks to the unique central situation of the town, the station can be heard all over the Continent.
The enterprise of the hotel proprietors is commendable, and each season sees some new development at almost every mountain resort, and new resorts arc constantly coming into notoriety every year. In the race for superiority between the German and French-speaking Swiss, the Suisse Romande does not mean to be left behind, and one hears of new golf links, swimming pools and tennis courts which are the last word in scientific construction springing up like mushrooms even at an altitude of 4,000 or 5,000 feet. Montreux is advertising a sand beach for the children and for bathing, shortly to be constructed.; Villars means to outrival French bathing resorts, and golf at a height of 4,000 feet has a new thrill. Mr. E. F. Benson and many others have written of the Swiss winter. Mr. G. Flemwell is unsurpassed in his description by pen and brush of its springtime.- It is strange that we still have to wait for the writer and the artist to depict the glories of the Alpine autumn. At no time of the year, perhaps, is the sun more cheering, the air more bracing, and the wonderful vista of colour more inspiring than in the autumn. Those who seek health, indeed, are learning to come out with their children not, as formerly, in November or later, but in September and October, and to spend both autumn and winter at an altitude which ensures permanent benefit and a life-long heritage of health to themselves and their offspring. People have to be early nowadays if they wish to find accommodation available for the winter sports season. Some hotels are already booked up for Christmas and the New Year season, though enthusiasts are learning by degrees that the best period for winter sports is late January and all February rather than at an earlier date. —I am, Sir, &c., YOUR CORRESPONDENT IN SWITZERLAND.
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