WE'RE WORRYIN( THE SWISS

By Terence McQueen "WHAT about Mr. Macmillan? Is he really on the way out?" British tourists in Switzerland last week were being asked this question fre quently. Mr. Macmillan's cabinet "purge" has set many Swiss thinking.
His declining popularity is seen as a real threat to Britain's entry into the Common Market, and many Swiss regard this as regrettable. Britain, they feel, has an important contribution to make to the family-of-Europe ideal, and Mr. Macmillan, they believe, has the qualities to lead Britain into this union. Talking about the man and his character, rather than his politics, they see in Mr. Macmillan many admirable Christian qualities. One Swiss talking of these, referred me to an article by the astute American journalist John Gunther.
Gunther wrote that after a twotms talk with Macmillan, he asked the question he had asked many eminent men: namely, what he believed in most. "The Prime Minister might have replied Britain, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Anglo-American alliance, change. power, the people, or himself", wrote Gunther, "What he answered was:
God."
Said my Swiss friend: "Don't you think that is a very telling reply?"
NEWSPAPERS TNTEREST in English affairs .I. and English personalities is most noticeable in Switzerland today. The English daily newspapers which are freely available at railway station kiosks, even at many of the smaller stations serving towns of 5,000 inhabitants, are bought not only by English tourists. Quite a few Swiss people take them regularly. "The Times", however, is no longer regarded as the voice of Britain. Swiss people I met talked more about the "Daily Telegraph". Another oft-quoted English newspaper was the "Sunday Times". a special airmail edition of which is available in the most unexpected places complete with the colour supplement.
Marvelling at a recent report that one in ten of the world's population now use English as their primary language, a muchtravelled Catholic Swiss journalist said with a chuckle: "When we get to the moon, I'm sure we'll find they speak English up there". He pointed out that at one Catholic church in Lucerne (St. Peter's) there is a sermon in English every Sunday.
Another colleague, referring to the welcome given to English visi tors, pointed to the array of r outside hotels and guest hou "Look, two Union Jacks th The flag of Ireland, too. Q international, eh?"
Inquiries about Ireland crop up whenever the converse' centred on unspoiled holi haunts: How easy was it to there from England? Was it almost 100 per cent Catholic?
Switzerland's Catholic p( lation was 41.6 per 12 years ago, when the t population was 5,429,061. N with the total population torn the 54 million mark, Cathc are estimated to number abou' per cent—Italian and Aust immigrants having contribi much to this increase.
CATHOLIC PRES:
WHEN I enquired al Switzerland's Cath Press I was told there were Catholic dailies, but several these are run primarily by, or the Conservative Catholic P and are not Catholic papers of kind we arc used to in Friel: Tpehdeayn t ee mPpahratys s oorng a politics respectability and good cove of sport. None of them have 1. circulations by British stand?
but their influence is great their readership loyal.
The biggest. Vaterland, has reached a circulation of 33,01 the highest since it was four a hundred years ago. It has cently built a magnificent storey block of editorial of Lucerne, with adjoining works three storeys high. It ha own rotary press, seven lino machines for setting up the r in type, and four Telex and 1 printer machines for receiving to-the-minute news from age: such as Reuters and U.P carries a volume of first-class vertisements—many of them ted in two and three colours ensure full and fast coverage the General Council, it has missioned five special corres dents in Rome.
In all this streamlining, I ever, Vaterland is the excer rather than the rule among S Catholic papers, for many of I have circulations of only ten eleven thousand and produc difficulties are therefore for able at times.
KIPA
TT was to help these papers 1. a unique organisation c the Catholic League for the 1 was started in Switzerland ; years ago, with Catholic lay paying in an annual subscrit Contd. on page 6, col. 2