Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-05-13
USE
OF ESPERANTO
Letter From Prominent Sur
Qeon of Cornell University.


The following opinion as to the
usefulness of Esperanto in the med
ical profession is written by Dr.. H.
B. Besemer, of Ithaca, N. Y, a
prominent surgeon and a graduate
| of Cornell University. 1t speaks for
itself, showing what use learned men
are making of the international lam
guage:
1--WE physicians as a class like to
think we are the one progressive
class. In the middle ages they burn
ed a disproportionate number of US,
today they are roasting us perhaps
to a larger per cent. than necessary.
However, we keep right on, invent
ing things without patent, devoting
ourselves to Investigations without
pay, and experimenting on ourselves
as we'll as our patients for the COM
mon good of humanity.
For those reasons you will find
a large per cent. of us studying and
using Esperanto, which is an ideal
language, a simple language, a phil
osophic language-all Of which
things all other languages lack. AS
we physicians have always and uni
formly studied two to four other
languages the simplicity, 1ogicalness
and tdeality of Esperanto appeals to
us as one more great and good thing
for the coming together of knowl-
edge of the races and the dissemina-
ton of important facts for the COM
mon good.
The ideal Medical Journal is now
being published in Esperanto and is
circulated over the civilized earth, 1t
is small, 1t does not bother with the
detailed mess of trash that one gets
In a single language journal. 1t coa-
tains epoch making or important ar
ticles, and I read 1t thoroughly and
carefully knowing that l am getting
the latest worlds information while
the single language journals often
lie on the desk unopened for weeks.
as there a striking piece OF work,
or important new fact, 1t is at once
translated from the originals into
Esperanto and I read 1t almost at
once.
Then to be more practical, I have
found Esperanto almost invaluable
in the Office. There are dozens Of
things that one hates to speak of in
English, or in German or French, for
in English everyone understands, and
in trying to use French or German
| nv OlS ul1Sl SLdlOo" q Y
weeks study by the office nurse, and
we have a language that fills all
needs, we can say what we please, I
can give directions and ask questions
and no one is offended. And a
calling down In Esperanto sounds
much better before people than one
In English.
more than ell; above all other
reasons for the necessity of the study
of Esperanto is this-languages, all
languages that I have studied are not
really languages, but combinations
of idioms or slang. Any given word
does not mean what it means, but
means what it happens to mean con-
nected with the other words 1t hap
pens to be connected with. There
is an idiom in English, another in
French, another in German, another
in Spanish for the same Idea. Es-
peranto has ONE word for one mean
ing and ONE meaning for n word.
There are no idioms +. What seems
to be Esperanto idioms are plain re-
marks in plain language, ransla
lions Of idioms from other languages.
This suits the scientific mind.
"This Is as 1t should be.
eve physicians are dealing with
plain facts, bare facts, absolutely
material facts-we want a language
that can express them without am
biguity, without slang, without
idioms and without confusion.
"Thus an article written in Ger
man translated into French and then
into English, you have the probable
ity of FOUR possible errors in every
sentence, the same article translated
into Esperanto has the possibility
only that the translator did not un-
derstand his own tongue to begin
with.
This Is strlkingly illustrated In
the clearness with which one reads
new treatments and new theories OF
wound attention, and the almost alb
ing an Esperanto translation Of
some philosophic work, say on
'Monade,' because the Esperanto says
what 1t means, and presumably the
original French didn't know WHAT
1t was saying. So, a clear idea or
article becomes clearer in Esperanto
for translation, a diffuse of mystic
or illogical article in an original lam
guage becomes totally Incompetent
sible In Esperanto, and this test Is
final to the, scientific mind. Core
lated with this idea, in another; you
cannot argue by analogy in Esper-
anto. That greatest of all fallacies
and greatest Of mixers of intellt-
gence, analogy Is ruled out, and thus
again the scientific mind Is relieved
of much trash and trouble.
"They ask me If l think Esperan-
to will ever really become univer-
sall' I say I hope SC. / don't know.
But I do know that SOME language
will have to become universal very
soon, and I know Of no better II
II know Of no other language that
is even fit to be mentioned as a
possible competitor to Esperanto"
'Cascarets' End All