The latest issues of the "Centralblatt des Zofingervereins" manifest a free spirit. The issue for May, 1917, contains a frankly internationalist article by Jules Humbert-Droz entitled _National Defence_. Special mention must be made of a broad-minded lecture, _Socialism and the War_, delivered in February, 1917, by Ernest Gloor of Lausanne at the spring festival in Yverdon, and published in the "Centralblatt" for April and May. I must also refer to Gloor's lecture _What is our Country?_, delivered at Grütli in the canton of Lausanne. Another noteworthy lecture is that of Serge Bonhôte, delivered at Grütli in the canton of Neuchâtel, entitled _Fatherland_, and heralding the days to come. These lectures were respectively published in December, 1916, and January, 1917. I should have liked to give extracts from various appreciative articles upon _The Russian Revolution_. Above all, I should like to quote, from the April issue, Max Gerber's enthusiastic welcome to the revolution. But space is limited, and the best way of expounding the ideas of these young people will be to summarise a detailed discussion in which they have recently been engaged concerning _The Imperialism of the Great Powers and the Role of Switzerland_. The topic was suggested to the sections by Julius Schmidhauser of Zurich, "cand. jur.," president of the central section. Schmidhauser has edited the report of these discussions, bringing to the task a broad and tolerant synthetic spirit. The work is all the more remarkable seeing that it was penned during an arduous term of military service, when the man who signs himself "cand. jur." (law student) was playing the part of infantry lieutenant. I shall merely follow his report, and shall allow the young men to speak for themselves. (Issues of March, April, and May, 1917). The discussion comprises a preamble and six parts: =Preamble: How shall we envisage the Problem?= =I. The Essence of Imperialism;= =II. The Imperialism of the Great Powers to-day;= =III. Can Imperialism be Justified?= =IV. Opposition between the genuinely Swiss Outlook= =and the Imperialist Outlook.= =V. The Mission of Switzerland;= =VI. The new Education.= =Preamble: How shall we envisage the Problem?= A. FROM THE REALIST OUTLOOK? _a._ Can we explain imperialism as a historical product? This method is too easy-going; it is slothful and dangerous. "Should man be the creation of history? No; he should be its creator."--The condemnation of historical fatalism.