On September 13, 1921, the Swiss Social-Democratic party filed an initiative petition for an amendment to the consitution, signed by 87,535 citizens, the required number being 50,000. The amendment thus proposed provided for the levy of a tax or special assessment upon property holdings in excess of 80,000 francs, the rates on personal holdings rising from 8 per cent upon the first 50,000 francs to 60 per cent upon amounts over 3,000,000 francs. Cantons and communes were to receive each 20 per cent of the amount yielded by the tax within their borders, the remaining 60 per cent going to the federation. The purpose of the tax, as officially stated, was to enable the public authorities to meet the obligations imposed by their social policies, particularly in such matters as old age, invalidity, and other forms of social insurance.

Following the lead of other recently created nations of Europe, Latvia has promulgated a constitution. This new republic came into the world of nations on November 18,1918, when it proclaimed its independence, although its government was not formally recognized by the United States until July 27, 1922. One year previous to this, on September 22, 1921, Latvia became a member of the League of Nations. After the independence of Latvia had been proclaimed, a constituent assembly was convened, and it was this body which drew up the new constitution. It was adopted February 15, 1922, and became law on June 30. Elections under the new organic law were held October 7 and 8, and the newly elected parliament met November 7 of the same year.

It would not be difficult to find in the political development of the Czechoslovak nation instances of the influence of American political principles, and a careful study of the subject would soon produce large results. This is quite natural in the case of a nation which is counted among those having the highest intellectual development in Europe, which has an old political tradition but at the same time has been badly oppressed by the Habsburg régime, and which is a nation sending every year a comparatively large number of emigrants and political refugees to America, a large proportion of whom continue to carry on a lively intercourse with their fatherland and even return in after years to their homes in the old country.