The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1913-11-06
Lanquaue Problem Will Be Solved
by immigration.
High Dutch Is the One Used In Writ
ing by Preachers and Parliamen-
tarians But Has No Popular
ity With the People.

London.-The Bears have always
been one of the most conservative of
people. Good colonists, they bullied
and enslaved the natives with ruth
less harshness, and then at the ap-
proach of the British rather than mix
with them they sullenly trekked back
ward into the hinterland.
1t is this dourness which, now that
the two nations are inevitably and I'M
deniably joint proprietors of the coun-
try, in alliance with the flash and
parish patriotism of the Hertzog
school, stands strongly against the
supremacy of the English language in
British South Africa.
Botha is far seeing and a tolerant
man. While he speaks Dutch in par
lament and in elections, he can and
does speak fiuently in the English
tongue. and is never averse to carry
on a conversation through that me-
dunn.
Hertzog, on the contrary, never
loses an opportunity to stir up en-
thusiasm for the Dutch tongue. All
official documents, likewise all menu
cards and programs, are printed in
both languages. But the general in
finitely prefers a document written
in bad Dutch than one penned in per-
feet English.
Il is among the back veldters," or
the old farming classes of the plains,
that the Dutch language holds chief
sway, and it is there that Hertzog is
most in favor. In the big towns Eng
lish has clear preponderance, and
Britishers in Johannesburg would re-
pudiate with scorn the suggestion that
the Dutch language was advancing
toward supremacy. While it has to
be noted that the Dutch spoken among
language, the language of church and
state, but what is called Natal" a
sort of corruption, it must be remem-
bered as a significant fact that while
the top dressing of society adheres
proudly to the English language, the
backbone is every whit as enthusiast
tic, and in more logged fashion, for
the Dutch.
High Dutch is the written language,
sthe preachers language, the parlia-
mentary language, but it has no popu-
larity whatsoever among the people.
In schooi British children are now
being taught a serviceable mixture of
high and low. One generation may
speak one tongue, the next both and
the next again will be able to con-
verse only in one.
You will meet among the govern
ment officials Mr.. MacCallum, obvi-
ously of Scottish descent, and even
suggesting it in his physiognomy, who
will converse pleasantly with you in
Dutch, but soon become confused and
fuddled if you greet him in English.
Then, again there is the phenomenon
of Mr.. Davies, say, who will speak
Dutch to Boer even although he is
perfectly we'll aware that the Boer
would speak English. This may be
complimentary to the English tongue,
but it is scarcely likely to prove so
serviceable to it as General Hartzog's
fervid admiration for Dutch does to
that tongue.
1t is well known in what contempt
the Kafiirs are held by Beers and Brit
ish-it is matter which Ambrose
Pratt emphasizes very strongly in his
recent work on '"The Real South Afri-
ca" And here there is another signifi-
cant fact to be noted-English is new
er spoken to the Kaffirs
There is an interesting analogy to
this problem in our own history.
When the @Normansr conquered the
Saxons and settled in England It might
have been expected that the French
language and not the Anglo-Saxon