THE ST73TOAY OREGOXIA3C PORTLAND. JULY 21, 1913.
SWISS MOUNTAINS AND LAKES PARADISE FOR TOURISTS
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ITH the building of a vast net
work oj electric railroads, reach
ins to the highest places in the
Alps, travel in Switzerland Is each year
becoming more agreeable to the Amer
ican used to being rushed across the
continent, in palatial hotels on wheels.
Ten years ago the higher villages
and many of the more Isolated spots of
Interest could be reached only by a ride
on a mall coach. These usually have
four or six horses and travel up and
down grades, behind the plunging
horses, is none too safe, and at best is
none too comfortable for the timid wo
man of our country.
They are driven by experienced men
and accidents are rare, but when one
does occur, death to one or more is
nearly always the . result. In many
places the routes are duplicated so that
travelers have the choice of taking one
of the mountain railways or have the
excitement of a ride on the stage.
Stages Art Not Out of Date.
These stages are not a thing of the
past and a good many places of inter
est can be reached only by this means.
However, to those who desire other
modes of travel, the railroads furnish
plenty of opportunity to see the rugged
Alpine country.
in many ways the railroads of that
country excel ours for eight-seeing. In
the Bernese Oberland, the observation
cars hare a gallery running entirely
around the car so that the view may
be seen In all directions. I
One of the prettiest sections now be
ing tapped by an electric railroad is the
Grimsel Pass region. To reach this
place at present a long journey by
either private carriage or postal stage
Is necessary. Travelers from this coun
try usually prefer to take the private
vehicle so that stops may be made
along the road. -
ow Route la Scenic.
When the new road Is completed, this
section w ill be one of the big drawing
cards, for from along Its survey the
grandest part of the Alps will be seen,
Leading from Bern, this will be one
great panorama. The first place of
great interest will be Thun on the
shores of the lake of the same name.
At Thun many of the passengers will
enjoy a trip on the lake by the fast
steamers reaching Interlaken almost as
soon as the train will.
The trip is well worth while, for
along the shores are a number of pretty
villages nestling urtder the shadow of
the high ranges which rise thousands
of feet from the surface of the lake.
Interlaken Is worth a number of
davs. It has some of the finest hotels
In the country and is beautifully located
between the shores of Lake Thun and
Srlenx. One of Its most popular at
tractions $i the. Kur Saal, a little pa-,
vllion where concerts, presented by tal
ented artists, are held every evening
during the tourist season. .
To get across the Brienzer See the
boat must again be taken, and the view
Is wonderful. This would be missed to
a great extent from the train which
will soon skirt the shores.
The first place of interest after leaving-
Interlaken which catches the eye
is Isletwald. a little Island upon which
a wealthy Englishman has built a beau
tiful Summer home. All that Is visible
from the lakeside Is the top of a few
spires, the whole being surrounded by
a lusty growth of pines.
Behind is the village of the same
name. It presents nothing further than
a few rather ancient houses, with stoae
covered roofs.
The next stop on the south side of
the lake Is at Giesbach, a ' roaring,
tumbling ladder of water, containing
seven distinct falls. The roar the
Waters make can be heard for miles. A
short distance from the water's edge
stands one of the finest hotels In that
section of the country. It commands
a magnificent view of the lakes and of
the mountains across the lake.
Across from this point Is Brlenz, the
home of the woodcarvers. Here the
principal occupation consists of maklnfr
objects of wood for the decoration of
homes and curios.
School for Artists at Brlenx.
There Is a college for Instruction in
sculpture and carving. During the Sum
mer it has few attendants because the
cows in the higher stretches demand
the attention of the young men-but In
Winter is is filled, all assiduously
shaping blocks of hardwood Into ob
jects of nature. At any time it is worth
a visit, for many wonderful- pieces of
their product are shown.
Above this town Is the Rothorn. If
this place is once visited, the impres
sion will be lasting and the sight of
the Alps from that prominent place
will never be forgotten. It is reached
by a steam railroad, : permitting the
round trip to be made in a day. One
of the main attractions is a view of
the Alps at sunset and sunrise so the
majority of the visitors stay over -night
and get up at 3 o'clock In the morn
ing to see the wonderful effects of the
rose tinges of morning on the snow
capped mountains.
First they appear as mighty billows
on a troubled sea, the valleys and
rifts appearing as the trough. The
valleys are nearly always filled with
a light mist but because of the light
from above, it appears like a sea of
dense fog.
Color Scheme Changes.
As the color rises In the sky the
scene is turned Into a sea of blood,
the slanting rays of the sun throw
ing a ruddy glow over the whole. With
the sun climbing the first ascent the
color of the shining mountains change
to the color of California gold then to
the yellow gold of Alaska and finally
the color drops and the mountains rise
on all sides in their mantle of pure
white.
Soon the Alpen horn is heard re
verberating from the hollows below, a
sign that the sun has reached the huts
of the- mountainers on the steep slopes
of the peak. The bells of the cattle
can be heard, faintly but clearly, a
sign that the cattle too have been
awakened by the first light. This is
declared to be one of the most wonder
ful sights of the whole trip. The effects
in the clear high air, resemble the
electrical display accompanying a
musical production. : .
Meliinaren la Interesting Point.
Further up the valley from Brlens
is Melringen, a place which affords
a number of interesting side trips, the
Rosenlaui being a paradise all Its own.
This place is reached by half, a day's
ride on horseback. Melringen itself
Is surrounded by a number of high
waterfalls which lull the weary
traveler Into a pleasant sleep. It has
one curiosity which' cannot be seen
anywhere else. There is a cut made
through a mountain by the Aare, the
main. river of that valley. The walls
for the most part are but four or five
feet apart arid rise from 100 to 200 feet
perpendicularly from the surface of
the water. A hanging walk has been
built through the place so that the
wonder can be viewed.
After this Is passed the Grimsel Pass
begins to take form. It is a sheer
climb of 12 or 15 miles, along a road
fenced on one side by a wall of granite
and on the other presenting a drop
of BO feet to the Aare.
At or near the summit is the Grimsel
Hotel, a building made to resist fierce
storms. It Is built of granite, made
to form a wall about five feet thick.
On the other side of the Pass Is the
Wallls Thai a beautiful valley down
which the Rhone wends Its way. The
electric road through here will be
finished in another year and will prob
ably be one of the most popular
stretches with the travelers.
Aside from the mountains Switzer
land presentB its lakes which will
always bring visitors. Geneva with Its
manv historical places and the Castle
of Chillon is something which no
tourist thinks he can afford to miss.
Lucerne with Its bridges and spired
castles always has a full quota of
Summer residents and transients. It
has famous schools In engineering and
many Americans make this their home
while getting an education abroad.
Lugano is near the Italian border and
at night Its water front with the slowly
gliding gondolas presents a sigh
equalled only by Venice.
The cry "See America First" will
probably stop a few of the host of
travelers to Europe but the majority
will only have their appetite for
scenery whetted to the point where
nothing but Europe will satisfy.
GAYNOR GETS FRESH AMMUNITION
TO FIGHT ON EDUCATION BOARD
Mayor, Determined to Rid City of Present School Directors, Piles Up Statistics Showing System Not Economic.
Para for Drunkards Gets Little Patronage Pew of Fashionable Set Pass Hot Months in Europe.
BY LLOYD F. LOKERGAN.
NEW YORK, July 20. (Special.)
Mayor Gaynor, who Is determined
to get rid of the present Board of
Education, has secured fresh ammuni
tion for his fight as the result of the In
vestigation of school conditions made
by the board of estimate.
The preliminary report made by the
committee having the matter In charge,
shows deep-rooted evils in the present
educational system. The Mayor re
joices, because It furnishes . him an
excuse to take the subject to the next
Legislature, and demand that the pres
ent "Inefficient'' unpaid board be re
moved, and that a number of men draw
ing salaries take their places. Fur
thermore. It Is Gaynor's idea that the
powers of Superintendent Maxwell, now
autocratic, be materially curtailed.
The investigation came as the result
of the chaotic conditions discovered by
the board of estimate when it took up
the question of budget appropriations
for the School Board last Fall.
According to the investigators, mil
lions of dollars are wasted annually
For example. It Is pointed out that In
the matter of heating and lighting
alone, there is an annual waste of 1630,
9? 49. Another important Item is the
carrying charges for vacant property
purchased for school sites, which
amounts to ISfO.000 a year, or as the
Investigators say, "an Investment of
S3.800.000. which would give 10 large
school buildings, or accommodating
20.000 additional pupil, or two such
buildings could be built each year from
the carrying charges alone."
It Is also pointed out that the Board
of Education seems unable to properly
handle the problem of housing pupils.
At the present time there are, or rather
were at the close of the scnool year
64.000 children on part time. On the
other hand there were 955.000 empty
seats In the schools last season.
A number of experts have made a close
study of the educational work, and
while they are not ready to report In
detail, it has been announced that they
have found grave errors exist. Particu
larly Is this so in the matter of compul
sory education, which Is called ."ex
pensive and inefficient." The truancy
reports are declared by the investiga
tors to be inadequate, and it Is stated
thousands of children are annually lost
sight of, while the appropriation for
the education and maintenance of tru
ants amounts 'to 1262.780 a year, and
more is demanded.
The investigators find no basis for
the report that the city is niggardly in
the matter of supplying funds for edu
cation, adding "much more money is
supplied -than is needed. The Board of
Education has made a practice of ask
ing for funds which would appeal to
the sentiment of the community; and
when it gets the money has often ap
plied it to other purposes, not even
named In Its estimates."
The general impression is that the
board of estimate, regardless of party
lines, will ltne up with the Mayor for
radical reform in the present slipshod
educational methods.
The board of inebrlty has been in
existence for many months, and the
members gravely meet weekly, but for
some reason or another, they seem un
able to get a real start, and the "farm
colony'' where drunkards were to be
cured, seems to be as far away as ever.
In fact the site has not yet been picked
out
Many anxious inquiries have been
made at the City Hall, not from drunk
ards, It is true, but from their friends.
It has been pointed out that In Greater
New York there are 13,000 licensed sa
loons, and naturally they produce a
good many drunkards. Under the pres
ent system, the only thing that can be
done with them Is to send them to
Blackwell's Island as vagrants, or com
mit them to a city hospital (Bellevue in
Manhattan, and Kings County Hospital
in Brooklyn.) The trouble with this
latter course is that the hospitals can
only keep the patients until they
"straighten up," which means from
half & day to two weeks.
For the wealthy there are sanitar
iums and private hospitals where alco
holic patients can be treated, but the
city will do nothing for the poor
"drunks" until the Board of Inebriety
acts. Many drunkards and drug fiends
wander, the streets, or drag out a mis
erableexistence at home because their
relatives shrink from the disgrace of
sending the unfortunates to Blackwell's
Island when they have committed no
crime. -
The Thaw case, which has been drag
ging its weary - way before Justice
Keogh at White Plains, has again dem
onstrated the vaiuelesanoss of "expert
testimony." Justice Keogh, who is a
hard-headed individual, with plenty of
common sense, stipulated at the outset
that each was limited to throe expert
witnesses, well knowing that otherwise
he might be called upon to pass weary
months listening to totally contradic
tory testimony. Whereupon a trio of
physicians, recognized as leaders in
the matter of dealing with the men
tally afflicted, took the stand and swore
that Thaw's case was absolutely hope
less,, he would never re-gain his reason.
They were followed by three other doc
tors, equally prominent, who announced
in so many words that Thaw was as
bright as a button.
Of course the first three men receive
large retainers from the state, while
the second trio were lavishly rewarded
by the Thaw family. The chances are
that Justice Keogh will courteously
disregard everything the experts say,
and decide the matter from an every
day layman's standpoint Still he will
be compelled to uphold one branch o
experts, so half of the doctors will be
happy anyway.
Lawyers generally admit that "ex
perts" have little effect upon a jury.
They are regarded as working solely
for their fees, and are placed upon the
same plane as lawyers. Usually when
a wealthy man is on trial, the expert
testimony simply amounts to a
"matching up" of forces, for It seems
to be easy to obtain doctors to swear
to either side of a case if the fees are
large enough.
Fewer of the fashionable set are go
ing abroad this year than usual. Hints
of this have come from the other side,
voiced by unhappy hotel keepers, but
the report Is made a certainty by a
perusal of the Summer Social Register,
Just issued. This shows a marked in
crease over last year in the number of
families Summering by the seashore, a
considerable decrease In the foreign de
partures, and an Increase in arrivals
from abroad. The new volume shows
that 7413 families, are inland, 3173 by
the seashore, 808 to be found at bank
ers' addresses only, and 140 on their
private yachts.
Delegates to two international con
gresses, which are to hold their ses
sions In New York, will after their
business is over make extensive tours
that Will take them all the way to the
Pacific Coast.
Leading geographers from the prin
cipal European countries are to gather
here on August 16 to help the Amer
ican Geographical Society of New
York celebrate the sixtieth anniver
sary of its founding and the occupation
of the new building at Broadway and
One Hundred and Fifty-sixth street
August 22 the entire party will start
on a. tour of the United States and not
return to New York until October 17.
They will visit Niagara Falls; the iruit
xnnnirv of Washington, the Roosevelt
dam in Arizona, and almost every other
point in the United States that a geo
KraDher would like to see. The trip
is to be directed by Professor William
Davis, of Harvard. The American
membership Includes professors of geo
graphy In universities and several ex
nprts in aDDlied sciences.
The eightli International Congress of
Applied Chemistry will open in asn
ington, September 4, and close In New
York, September 13. Between 3000 and
4000 chemists from all over the world
will participate. September 16 the
whole party will leave New York on a
trip which will extend to California,
New Mexico, New Orleans and North
Carolina. They are due back In New
York on October 26.
PRESBYTERIANS HIT BILL
Reformed Chnroh In Ireland Files
Protest on Home Rule Act.
DUBLIN, July 20. (Special.) The
annual synod of the Reformed Presby
terian Church of Ireland at Belfasj is
sued a protest against the home rule
bill,, which it states is not. in its ori
gin, a spontaneous and prudently con
sidered effort of sane statesmanship.
On the contrary, the bill is wrung from
statesmen who have forfeited all right
to respect themselves by taking their
orders from known enemies of the
Protestant . Reformation and of the
Protestant liberties of the British Em
pire. It is a bill, says the protest, that
aims at Romanizing every institution,
educational or other, and the supremacy
of the Romish priesthood. The bill dis
plays singularly callous and cynical
criminality on the part of its authors,
who know well the character of the
party to whom they propose to give vir
tually supreme power In Ireland. The
synod protested with special emphasis
against the utterly unchristian disre
gard by Liberals of the Interests of
fellow Protestants In Ireland In their
virtual establishment and endowment
of Romanism by the state.
CRITICISM BRINGS FINE
Odessa Xewspaper Dares to Say Too
Much Is Spent on Xavy.
ODESSA. July 20. (Special.) The
"Pravda" has been mulcted In a fine
of 8250 for a mildly adverse article
on the 'new naval budget of 502,000,000
rubles. The strongest observation In
the Incriminated editorial was that in
Russia's present economic condition the
outlay was unwarranted, and that there
was no pressing political necessity fot
the creation of so enormously power
ful a fleet as that proposed for the
Baltic.
The same and much stronger com
ments on the naval budget were made
by many speakers in the course of the
Duma debate on the new naval pro
gramme. The leading orators of thi
Constitutional Democrat party declared
that a Baltic fleet of the dimensions
proposed was a useless luxury for Rus
sia, whose first and last line of de
fense was tbe army.
Boulder Wrecks Hotel.
GENEVA, July 20. (Special A
strange accident happened Friday on
the Daucille Pass, near Geneva, In the
Jura Alps. A huge boulder fell from a
mountain and after crashing through
a wood bounded across the terrace of
the Hotel de la Couronne, smashing
the windows and doors, and entered the
restaurant, where some tables laid out
for lunch were smashed. Four or five
American people were staying at the
hotel.