_The contents of this section are supplied by the Hon. Sec. of the
London Esperanto Club, who invites all Esperantists to send monthly
reports of the spread of the International Language in their
districts. Communications must reach 14, Norfolk Street, London,
W.C., before the 8th of each month._[95]
A meeting of the Committee of the London Esperanto Club was held at
100, Gracechurch Street, on Monday, 15th August, Mr. O'Connor in the
chair. The chief business of the meeting was the transfer of the hon.
secretaryship of the Club from Mr. H. Bolingbroke Mudie to Miss
Lawrence. Mr. Mudie, who has given all his leisure time for nearly
two years to the work of spreading Esperanto, made a brief statement
as to the position of the Club, expressing his regret that he was
unable to devote the necessary time to the work. In future he would
be compelled to devote his leisure to The Esperantist and to
general propaganda. He handed over to the treasurer the books and the
balance of money due to the Club, amounting to £41 odd, and
submitted a balance sheet showing that the total outstanding
indebtedness of the Club would not amount to much more than £10,
which was more than covered by debts due to the Club. The Club, in
addition, holds a valuable stock of books for sale.
Mr. W. T. Stead, in moving a resolution accepting with regret the
resignation of Mr. Mudie, expressed the feeling of all present in
declaring that such a resolution would be incomplete without a rider
declaring how grateful they were for the invaluable services which
Mr. Mudie had rendered them ever since the formation of the Club. But
for his zeal, industry, and intelligence the Club would never have
attained its present flourishing position, nor would the prospects of
Esperanto be anything like so good in England as they fortunately
were that day. Only those who had been closely associated with Mr.
Mudie could appreciate the labour and time which he had devoted to
the work. Mr. Mudie had not only been secretary, but he had
practically been treasurer, and so well had he discharged his
stewardship that as hon. treasurer he (Mr. Stead) for the first time
in his life had the pleasure of receiving a balance instead of being
called upon to defray a deficit. (Applause).
Miss Schafer seconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously.
Mr. Mudie responded.
_Esperanto in Belgium._
Messrs. Rhodes and Ellis, the President and Secretary of the
Keighley Society, have just returned from a circular tour round the
Esperantist cities in Belgium, visiting in turn Antwerp, Brussels,
Louvain, Malines, Ghent, Bruges, Courtrai, and Liège. Notwithstanding
the fact that their visit took place at a time when the activity
of Esperantists is at its lowest ebb on account of the holiday
season, there were abundant evidences of the progress of Esperanto
in that most populous, busy, commercial country. Special meetings
were arranged in their honour in Antwerp, Brussels, and Louvain.
The last-named town, which has a population of about 45,000, has
three sections of a Society that numbers more than 200, of whom
the greater proportion can speak Esperanto with considerable
facility. A means of continuing the interest of the elementary
students after their first course is worth adopting more generally.
The students are divided into small groups, and each group maintains
its "ever-circulator," the contributions being commented upon by
the individual members, and finally corrected by So Mathys, the
energetic secretary of the society. The contributors retain their
anonymity. At Brussels Mr. Law, of Battersea, was present, and this
unexpected _rencontre_ added a pleasant surprise. Here another
proof of the utility of Esperanto was forthcoming, for So Caneff, a
Bulgarian, told the meeting his experiences. He left Philipopolis to
become a student of Political Economy at the Brussels University,
knowing only two words of French, "moi, Bulgare," and was labelled
like a parcel of goods with the address of his destination. Arriving
at Brussels, So Blanjean taught him French _by means of
Esperanto_, and since then he has attended his course as a student
and duly passed his examination. So Jamin, the chief Editor of the
_Belga Sonorilo_, was the life and soul of the two meetings
which took place in the Belgian capital. His coadjutor, So Seynaeve,
was, however, unable to be present on account of his having arranged
to take part in the Dover-Calais celebration; but he was seen at
Courtrai on his return, and was full of enthusiasm on account of the
successful consummation of that notable reunion. It seems that the
spread of Esperanto in Belgium, except in the case of a few sporadic
instances, is due to a series of letters which appeared in _Le
Petit Bleu_ from the pen of Lieut. Lemaire. At Antwerp one of the
members has placed on the market, as a means of propaganda,
cigarettes bearing the name and the green star of Esperanto as their
special badge. At Ghent the group is almost entirely composed of
University students, and on account of the vacation no meeting
could be arranged, but So Cogen detailed the progress of the
movement in his city. The old-world beauties of Bruges were inspected
under the guidance of Lieut. Lenken, and a short call was made on
So Witteryck, the publisher of _Belga Sonorilo_ and the writer of
an amusing book, _Kelkaj Esperantaj Floroj_, a booklet which is a
very good substitute for the _Humoraĵoj_, now out of print.
The Secretary of the Liège Group is a Russian, who has conversed in
Esperanto with Dr. Zamenhof himself. Amongst other things he
explained how Dr. Zamenhof himself pronounces Esperanto. The
phoneticism of Esperanto, he says, is not over-rigid, but allows a
certain margin of variation in the case of the vowels.
The letter "o" is pronounced as in the North of England, the
excessive roundness of the South country pronunciation being avoided.
The "a" is also an open vowel, not always so open as the "a" in
father, but never so close as the "a" in the pronunciation which the
London Board School children make use of in the word "cat." "Estas"
is pronounced as an Englishman would pronounce it if he had never
heard of Esperanto; not quite so pedantically as "aystahs."
A separate paragraph is necessary for the Ladies' Section of the
Louvain Group. They are full of enthusiasm, preparing papers and
reports as required by their zealous secretary, and arranging musical
programmes and recitations for the social gathering which follows the
educational course with a devotion and willing obedience which is
simply amazing. These are the mothers of the future Esperantists, and
if their example could only be followed in England, "Esperanto, the
second language for all," would soon be no longer a watchword, but an
accomplished fact.
Altogether, the visit proved too short, encouraging and hopeful as it
undoubtedly was. Most of the Esperantists were young, guided and
controlled by the elders, and manifesting a force that sooner or
later is bound to produce a telling effect.
_The "Spectator" on Esperanto._
The extent to which Esperanto is making way in Great Britain is often
but imperfectly realised even by Esperantists. But every month
affords fresh evidence of the steady progress which Esperanto is
making among the more thoughtful and influential classes. The
_Spectator_ of Aug. 13th contained a long article on "The Want
of an International Language," the significance of which it would be
difficult to over-estimate. For the _Spectator_, as Mr. H. W.
Nevinson remarks in the current number of the _North American
Review_, represents "the British spirit at the very best." "It
is," he continues, "a newspaper which is the source of true culture
to the thoughtful middle classes, and is by them justly regarded as
moderate and reasonable in its judgment. It is the highest literary
authority in the English newspaper world, and it has declared itself
emphatically in favour of Esperanto."
Taking as its text the discussion of the subject of an International
language at the meeting of the French Association for the advancement
of Science at Grenoble, the _Spectator_ examines and dismisses
as impracticable the various national alternative languages such as
Latin, English, French, and Spanish. It then pronounces judgment in
favour of an artificial language, and Esperanto especially, in the
following terms:--
"By far the most promising is Esperanto. It is remarkably easy to
learn, owing to its irreducible minimum of grammar and its extreme
simplicity of vocabulary. As far as we have examined it, we see no
reason why this really simple and scientific language should not
afford to the tourist and the merchant exactly what they need for
communication with foreigners. If Esperanto proves equal to its
claims, and is universally adopted as the second language to be
taught in the schools of the world, a great stumbling block to free
communication between alien races will be removed."
_Group Reports._
There are not many such at this time of the year. Dover, the most
active just now, is fully reported elsewhere. Very sad news comes
from Newcastle. Professor Gurney, the President, lost his life whilst
mountaineering at Arolla. His loss will be all the more deeply
deplored because in Great Britain so few university men of high
standing have hitherto evinced so quick a perception of the
advantages of Esperanto as has been shown by the heads of the French
universities and the professors. In Brighton the gatherings are most
successful; until a suitable location has been found Mr. Lambert
receives the Esperantists at 8 o'clock on Saturdays at 59, St.
Aubyns, Hove, and their full intention is to increase their
membership largely and speedily.
The Plymouth Circle meets at the Ruskin Institute. Last season the
classes were held only once a fortnight; the arrangements for the
autumn are not yet complete.
The Forest Gate Group meetings will re-open on September 15th at the
house of the President, Dr. V. G. Batteson, 39, Woodgrange Road.
A Photographic-Esperantist Group has also been founded in London.
Information can be received from the Secretary, Sro S. Maitland,
22, Maclise Road, West Kensington. The next meeting will be on
September 8th.