ESPERANTO

Hokitika Guardian, 1 October 1920, Page 4

ESPERANTO

A NEW IDEA FOR A NEW WORLD,

(Contributed by llevulo)

Lord and Lady Westland—man about town, debutante, matron, bookworm, business man and plain “Henry Dubb” —I know you all have sufficient faith in your own several wisdom to know a good thing when you see it. It is strange, is it not, that everyone will admit the truth of a compliment: we are all so wise in theory. But, what is the “good thing?” The “good thing” is Esperanto. Very good, but what is Esperanto? Not so fast, in, quisitive reader, the answer is as easy to give as it is hard to understand, unless, as I previously hinted, you are very wise. And, if you are wise at all, you yourself will be able tosanswer the question before you will he five minutes older. Let us understand each other. The greatest, need in our new world is not any particular brand of politics or economies; is not higher wages or the abolishment of the profiteer; is not proportional representation, or national defence or the suppression of the white slave traffic. All these things are the resultants of certain, constant conditions. But none or any of these is the vital need of the future. The vital need is international understanding, which comes before the statesman’s dream of a League of Nations. It is the only way to abolish war, and to maintain a permanent future peace. It is the only way to prevent the aggression of any nation or group of nations against the pence of the world. There are a hundred laudable ways of establishing international harmony. Every politician, economist and pliilantrophist has each his own nostrum. You have yours, and I have mine. Let us not disagree. Wo can at least agree in one particular; namely, that no progress is possible until we can find an international medium ’of understanding. We have failed because we have had no such medium. The difference of language was the insuperable barrier. We could not understand because, beyond race, national ideals etc., we were strangers even when we met in con-I gross and conference and tribunal. I The first milestone on the road to I international understanding was passed thirty-three years ago, by Dr Lamenliof, of Warsaw, Poland, He gave an artificial language to the world, that is | a medium of international understand- • ing. That language was Esperanto, j As I intend with the indulgence of the editor, to appear weekly in this ' column, I have no present intention of j abusing the patience of the friendly j render. But for the benefit of those 1 who are wise enough to be interested, 1 . will quote a few pregnant extracts from a lecture delivered in Edinburgh, 1919, by Professor Saroica. K.0.L., L.L.D., Pli. D., D. Litt., D. Jur. “The future of the League of Nations and the future of Esperanto arc intimately bound together. We can witness all over Central find Eastern Europe, in literal fact, the battle of languages. Where we intended to secure understanding we have twenty or more nations who refuse to understand one another simply because they insist on speaking a different language. The French language, even although the Peace Conference took place in Paris and Versailles, lias ceased to be the one sole language of diplomacy. There is English and there are nine or ten other claims. I have had to study about eighteen languages, both ancient and modern, and I can state that as an instrument of literary expression, Esperanto lias very few rivals amongst so-called historical, natural, or national languages. I can only say to its faithful and enthusiastic followers, in all confidence, “Go on, go forward 1 You are doing a good work. You are promoting international understanding. You are helping to remove at least one of the most efficient causes which make for war.” 1