arate. The justice of the peace sits in
a case first as arbitrator, and not until he fails in that capacity does
he assume the chair of magistrate. His decision is final in cases
involving sums up to a certain amount, varying in different localities.
Two other grades of court are maintained in the canton, one sitting for
a judicial subdivision called a district, and a higher court for the
whole canton. Members of the district tribunal, consisting of five or
seven members, are commonly elected by the people, their terms varying,
with eight years as the longest. The judges of the cantonal courts as a
rule are chosen by the Grand Council; their number seven to thirteen;
their terms one to eight years. The cantonal court is the court of last
resort. The Federal Tribunal, which consists of nine judges and nine
alternates, elected for six years, tries cases between canton and canton
or individual and canton. For this bench practically all Swiss citizens
are eligible. The entire judicial system seems designed for the speedy
trial of cases and the discouragement of litigation.

No court in Switzerland, not even the Federal Tribunal, can reverse the
decisions of the Federal Assembly (congress). This can be done only by
the people.

The election by the Assembly of the Federal Tribunal--as well as of the
federal executive--has met with strong opposition. Before long both
bodies may be elected by popular vote.

Swiss jurors are elected by the people and hold office six years. In
French and German Switzerland, there is one such juror for every
thousand inhabitants, and in Italian Switzerland one for every five
hundred. To a Swiss it would seem as odd to select jurors haphazard as
to so select judges.

In most of the manufacturing cantons, councils of prud'hommes are
elected by the people. The various industries and professions are
classified in ten groups, each of which chooses a council of prud'hommes
composed of fifteen employers and fifteen employes. Each council is
divided into a bureau of conciliation, a tribunal of prud'hommes, and a
chamber of appeals, cases going on appeal from one board to another in
the order named. These councils have jurisdiction only in the trades,
their sessions relating chiefly to payment for services and contracts of
apprenticeship.

_A Democratic Army._

In surveying the simple political machinery of Switzerland, the
inquirer, remembering the fate of so many republics, may be led to ask
as