THE SWISS AND THEIR POLITICS 37
as George Washington should ever come to be so completely ruled by money. He gave vent to these expressions before he knew anything about my sentiments. When he found that I too had some fears about the power of money in American politics he seemed surprised and pleased. He hoped that these dangers might be effectively brought before the people and the lawmakers in America, so that free institutions might be pre- served in the Great Republic.
I have been surprised at the cool and matter-of-fact way in which the Swiss, through their governmental agencies, assume control of industrial operations which Americans regard as belonging to private enterprise. The Swiss were among the first to adopt the government telegraph. This suited them so well that when the telephone had fully demonstrated its useful- ness, without any special debate or fuss about the matter, they made the telephone an integral part of the postal-telegraphic system. For about $9 one has the use of a telephone for a year, with connections in all parts of the city and country. They have a parcels post which corresponds to our express business. It cost me 5 cents to send by mail my manuscript on the English Government from one end of Switzerland to the other. For a like service in the United States mail I think I have paid 75 cents. It is only recently that measures have been adopted looking to the government ownership of all the rail- ways of Switzerland, and I have been completely dumfounded at the apparent lack of interest in the subject. There is no debate, no newspaper discussion. You introduce the subject to an intelligent, patriotic citizen who ought to be profoundly stirred by such a revolutionary measure ; and he would show that he was fully aware of the fact that in a few years the gov- ernment would own the railways, while yet there seemed to him nothing in the event worthy of special remark. The govern- ment has recently taken charge of the manufacture and sale of matches. I think the government monopoly of the sale of alco- holic drinks has excited more debate. But the point of interest has been the suppression of drunkenness rather than
