THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE.

Taihape Daily Times, 18 July 1919, Page 2

THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE.

| A short time ago -Mr John Galsfnurtliy, the ._‘4i.5.i.51l n'.=\x..st' u... 1;.-iu_y\\'1'ight, was the principal speaker T;-,;' the u1‘::101'i'_"; dinner of the _.\mel-i----‘cu:. :\.t-mleniy of Arts and Letters, ‘lluitl in I\'”ew York James Russell Lowell centenary cele-K-bxation. i The event brought together perhaps the most notub’.e gathering of British (‘mi:~J;iia.n, Aust.ral'l”an,—. an-(1 American men of letters and arts in the history of "the country. Taking for his theme the wox-Id’s feeling" for the English tongue, which he described as perhaps the noblest x-Nfele of public thought thnt ever -=_v\-i.<t.ed.."’ Mr lGfl‘lS\\'Ol‘flh)' jsertod -that one of the greiltest results of the war had been “the promotion of our common tongue to the position of the ImiV(‘l‘S:ll language.” “The importance of the Englishspeaking peoples is new such,” he said."‘that the educated man in every country will pel't'orce, us it were,- acquire a‘ knowleclge of our speech. The second la.ng‘uage prolilem in my ju.clgnle»nt. has been solVed.. Numbers of geograpliioal and political nce’<lmlt,< have decided a“ question v.'l2ic.h I ‘think Will never seriousliy h‘ re-opened unless'nladness descends on us -and we speakers of English 5-fr‘-*-‘ among ourselves. That fate I. 9.‘ least. czmnot see haunting‘ the tutmfe. ’ "