What's it supposed to be?
Where did it come from?
It looks like a code practice oscillator with adjustable tone.
Electron theory vs conventional current flow has nothing to do with anything beyond the physics level. Always use conventional current flow!
The switch itself isn't 'variable capacitance', it simply changes the oscillator capacitance (I believe).
It's entirely possible that when the circuit oscillates, the average base voltage rises up somewhat. I would expect to see an AC signal so if you are measuring DC, you might want to look at AC only on your meter.