Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-06-01

INSTITUTE DE FRANCE.
or more lights of learning. But perhaps of
all the great men assembled in Paris at
the first reunion of the congress none was
more highly honored than the famous Prof.
MommSen of Berlin, who probably scarcely
KNOWS that microbes or electric batteries
exist. He practically ruled the opening
proceedings by right of the profound
scholarship and philosophc grasp shown in
have gained him a worldwide reputat ion.
The welcome accorded to him in Paris was
remarkable object lesson in the interna-
tlonal courtesy and cooperation which the
new institution hopes to foment among
learned men. For Prof. Mommsen has sig
nalized himself all his life long by a bitter
hatred of France In the days of Napoleon
III he worked constantly in Paris, studying
In the superb Imperial Library, the only
collection in Europe which cont aimed the
MSS. he needed for his work. But though
profnse in personal gratitude to the en-
peror he never let slip an occasion of writ
Ing harshly of French manners and GUS
toms
Highly Technical Topics.
Into the proceedings of the congress there
Is no need to enter at length; as a matter
OF fact all that was not too highly techni-
cal was purely preliminary; constitution
adopted. rules framed, officers elected. But
there was one interesting question opened.
Inc congress of academies had determined
to tackle the difficult but urgent matter of
universal language. The need of some
means or written and spoken communica-
tlon between members of different races Is
belng felt more and more every day AS
trade becomes more and more extended
taxing IN every country in the world, the
language question becomes a formida BILE
d11hculty. A large American firm will in
the course of year. have to write and re-
eelVe letters In every dialect spoken wher-
Ever american goods are used. Instead of
having 10 employ a host of translators
waste vast quantity of priceless time and
IN the end do business unsatisfactorily il
"ould De INFINITELY better to have one rec
osniIeu business language, adopted in ev-
cry country and learned AS a matter of
course by every one who proposed either
DIS clerk or as principal. to enter com
llerce several experiments have of
course, oeen tried In this direction; per
maps the most promising was VIOLA puk Rl1t
Voiapuk is now dead as the traditional
door- mall. The reason is easily stated II
lacked authoritative sanction: and If was
reconstructed In this respect that being
purely fantastic, having no relation TO any
existing tongue it laid a heavy burden on
the memory. Relatively few people cared
10 learn difficult language when they wara
i,oi sure mat the day after they had ac-
pu!feo IL a new and better system might
not appear and be more generally adnnt.d
Artificial Language.
pathological committee of the Cons.ass
OF Academies will study the question i'm all
It's bearings, and expects in the conrse of a..
few years to have worked ont ar adontaa
from outside some artificial Language which
Will meet the conditions of universal suc-
cess. Such language will have to he ah-
soiutPN simple in construction with no
eiaporate rules; easy of pronunciation on
phoictic laws by every race likely to use
II; easily learned by being composed as far
as possible of root words common to the
greatest possible number of languages
These conditions are not so hard to meet
as u might seem Pronunciation and
grammatical rules are simply a matter of
universal agreement; for aiding the
memory by the use of roots common to
many languages, they can be found in the
Latln WORDS which abound in nearly every
Tongue. English is full of them; French
Spanish and Italian are almost exclusively
made up of them; German has a good
many. Already a language has been
FORMED on this principle; it is called Es-
pefanto; Is the creation Of Russian
scholar-and Count Tolstoi declares that
after only three hours study he learned
to read 1t as fiuently as his own tongue.
Any one that remembered his French roots
or had smattering OF Latin would GER
tainly master it in a week 1t NAV be that
Esperanto will be adopted by the united
academies. If it be, the congress will use
all Its vast International influence to get it
officially accepted by every country: per
haps even to have it made a compulsory
subject in public schools all over the world.
In that case every educated man and wo-
man of the next generation would be able
to communicate with all the educated peo-
pie he had to do with In any land. Trade
would be greatly facilitated, travelling
would become an unmixed joy OF course,
the universal tongue would not kill exist
Ing languages; that is impossible as 1t
would be regrettable; it would simply be
more or less perfect vehicle for the con-
veying of the ordinary affairs of life and
OF trade between representatives Of diff
ferent races. And that is as possible as it
is desirable. If the thing is to be achieved
In our time, it will probably be the work
of the Congress of Academies. And this
is only a fraction of the great work the
annual reunion Of savants proposes to it
self. 1t Is much to be hoped that at the
reassembly in London next year the United
States VIM take measures to be adequately
represented in body of such wide scope
and of such monumental Importance
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