"Among the modern democracies which are true democracies, Switzerland has the highest claim... It is the oldest, for it contains communities in which popular government dates farther back than it does anywhere else in the world; and it has pushed democratic doctrines farther, and worked them out more consistently, than any other European State. ...the method of Direct Popular Legislation, i.e., law-making by the citizens themselves and not through their representatives... opens a window into the soul of the multitude. Their thoughts and feelings are seen directly, not refracted through the medium of elected officials."