Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1894-03-10
HISTORY OF vOLAPUK
PROGRESS or THE UNIVERSAL LAM
ouAoE DURING TEN YEARS.

ST*-~ 1tFit%S &tt NEf<f48<
Reeeised st First with Ridieul~. rsday
u Commands the Respect of AchoInrs
All Over lhe wori6--Iss neesxnlxfen
In Many ceunsrfes Has ne~n Rapid.
Al the peace congress In Rome much of
what the English speaking orators had 70
my was lost upon their hearers and II Roea
without saying that language common
TO all would have very much facilitated
matters. In n thousand other different
directions the utility OF . cosmopolitan
tongue can be easily made apparent. The
reader who follows the current activities
OF the day will need to tax his memory
hut slightly TO satisfy himself that the
consideration Of all great subjects social.
| political. scientific and re'igIous--is inter-
| national Within n comparatively short
| time have been held international con-
gresrssss Of the geographers at washington.
| the geoloxists at Washington. the hygien-
| lists 1T London, the postal union 1t Vienna,
the humanitarians mt Brussels. the Young
Mems Christian association at Amsterdam,
the Congregationalists at London. the
Methodists at Washington and the Wom-
ems Christian Temperance union At Boston.
To each Of these congresses came people
from every civilized country, and probably
no want was more distinctly felt than that
Of n common medium Of exchange Of
thought. Not only Is there TO he need Of
an international language, hut that need
In already existent. The need has been ex-
istent ever since international relations
have been existeuf, nnd while the interna-
tionHl relations OF the world were commit
ted to the mediation Of the few who were
the iepo~itaries OF learning Latin served
the need, and later French supplautet
Latin ~ the language Of diplomacy. and
TO some extent the language OF commerce,
science and art.
Yet in all this labor Of the centuries
there has been presumption In favor Of
ultimate success. and the latter half Of the
Nineteenth century has seen many dream
Of the ages realized, even to Puck's once
mythical girtliing Of the earth. Has II
likewise seen the birth Of n practical world
language whose universal use IL to be ~
certain and as useful sss shorthand or tel
egraphyf The champions Of voiapuk can
claim all this for It. let US zee on what
their claim Is bascd.
xolapuk IN not an arbitrary name. u In
derived from vol. world, and puk, Ian
guage. and signifies language Of the world.
While II has passed It's thirteenth birth
day. Il WAS NOT sudden conception Of its
author. but the slow and laborious out
come OF years Of weary study. More, than
fifty languages and dialects were studied
and examined by the patient worker who
, devised this language. Through thirty
years he resolutely pnrsned his work, seek-
lug the simplest forms Of infection and
construction. familiarizing himself with
those sounds which were common to the
many languages OF civilization, appropFi.
ating such roots as were general among
: native tongues. devising system OF pre-
| fixes aud sufiixes best suited to afford tho
largest expansion of vocabulary on the
,, smallest basis OF roots. aiming always nc
simplicity and expressiveness through
means as largely appropriative and ~ iit-
tie revolutionary as possible.
The accumulative material for his Lam
guage was vast. it's nature WINS varied, it,
= condition chaotic. The process of selec-
/ tion. rejection and assortment was labori-
Gus. One after another plans were mapped
out and found to be incongruous. Assort-
nsent and reassortmenf failed TO produce
an orderly system, hut the work was never
;. relinquished and order came ut last
% The system framed 1t was still withheld
from the world until its author had pre-
J. pared large vocabulary covering the
u principal fundamental symbols for express
sion OF ideas Then he announced bis lam
guage, presenting af once its grammar and
a vocabulary and challenging the worlds
criticism. This he did In the spring Of
: 1879 The world was ready for him a. 1t
has been always ready for s'those OF whom
i, the world was not worthy"-ready with
n ridicule, with abuse, with lampoonIng,
a with sneer with that worst % reflections,
:. voiceless ignoring. Then volapnk lapsed
y into temporary forgetfuiness, and was
70 without a following during two or three
e years. Therefore. In considering the nc
n
"a date the beginning of language TO ten years
q ago. and represent here what II has to
show for the ten years Of its existence.
The first approval which volapuk re-
q ceiyed WAS In Vienna, Austria. where .
. body OF learned men associated themselves
J, In club for its study and promotion. II
speedily spread TO France and was there
championed by the government director OF
technical instruction In the schools OF Par
h. Presently IL cropped out In 81. Peters
burg under the guidance Of the supervisor
Of English instruction In the Russian
schools. Its welcome TO the Scandinavian
trinity OF nations was next given. and then
adown the western shores Of Europe Il
found home In Holland and Belgium.
II entered Germany and conquered the
prejndices of all the Continent nor sfaid
It's victorious march until Turkey and
Syria and far away China and Japan rec
| oRnizfd the blessings 1t had 60 o1fcr aud
eagerly appropriated them.
England signaiized its appreciation Of
the language by Offering rs les enthusiasts
| adhegrnss the renowned Max Mueller and
Alexander John Ellis, while In several
schools the language has long been an nd
vertl~cd study In their curriculum. The
United States and Cannda have long since
given 20 yolapuk the recognition Of pro
gresSiye scholars. several of whom have
edited works Ia this invented tongue, and
In Australia It has Journal wholly do
voted 20 iss interests Indeed, 10 ompla.
/ sixe che approval OF Eoinpuk which ths
English speaking world has affcriied .
! mar be noted that the London Pathological
! society a. long ago az i691 declined the
| eyertures OF tbs Americnn rhiiesophicn1
! society TO join In . congre~ ~ consifer
''the perfecting Of = universal lanzuaaez
on the declared and published groand thae
! there already exists universal isnxuHEss
Foiapuk. which has large number q ID
hervnts In all eounfries q the warid 40
which Il completely slAborrSed g ErHm-
. | mar aud socakulaff-s
: nut unk 0nls haa FoiApak grained <l<e
' approval 81 numerous Intelligent fotiox<zx
| ali over tks world. Il has also t&<eelI.1<4
: itself everywheza in practical wv xn6Fs
| are forxr-seFeu periodicals puttizae4 =
this language n China. &1ztz@llA 49,
drn. Denmark, Holland. NelE1uxrs kxHM3
. ! spaIn. Italy. Anstrt4> knEAna Hna ses