650 Years

Above a fjordlike arm of Lake Lucerne one night last week a little group of serious-faced Swiss gathered round an unlit bonfire. Just at midnight three men with torches shouldered through the dark crowd, lit the fire. Then in rapid succession other men lit torches from the fire, ran with them into the night.

Thus last week the free Swiss acted out the ceremony that gave them their freedom. Six hundred and fifty years before, representatives of the three "forest cantons" of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden had gathered in the same glade to light a fire symbolizing their confederation against the house of Habsburg. To celebrate their independence day the Swiss every year build huge leaping bonfires instead of shooting off fireworks.

Since 1291 the Swiss have ruled themselves, except for a brief period during the French Revolution. Last week, as the runners scattered to light fires in each of Switzerland's 22 cantons, Switzerland, although squeezed.by Hitler's economic ring, if not the master of her destiny, is still her own boss, is still in love with freedom, still can mobilize 525,000 troops and reserves and 750,000 trained, sharpshooting men willing to fight for it.

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