Russian anarchists were apparently not thought so dangerous, their great
occupation being to invent new ways and means of smuggling newspapers
into Russia; but they disliked the police supervision to which they were
subjected, and very generally quitted Switzerland of their own accord
for London or Paris. The anarchist organ, the _Revolté_, was removed at
the same time to Paris, but its place in Geneva was taken by a new
paper--_L'Egalitaire_. In 1888 the police were ordered to report all
socialist meetings held in the country, and all arrivals or departures
of "foreigners whose means of subsistence was unknown, and whose
presence might, for other reasons, become dangerous to the safety of the
country"; and as this further turn of the screw was believed to be made
on the instigation of Germany, it provoked considerable opposition, one
result of which was the formation of the new Swiss socialist party.
This party, however, is not an affair of any magnitude, and does not
appear very likely to become so; for the working men of Switzerland have
the public power in their own hands already, and they have their own
organizations besides to look after their interests; and while they are
by no means averse to the use of the powers of the State, they are
disposed to move with inquiry and caution, and to see every step of
their way before running into speculative schemes of foreign origin.
Their political position satisfies them, because they know they are too
strong for Government to neglect their wishes, because some labour laws
have already been passed for their protection, and because the
authorities always show themselves ready to entertain any new proposals
for the same object, as, for example, they did in May, 1890, by
summoning an International Congress at Berne to discuss the length of
the working day and other conditions of labour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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