The Washington times., 1918-10-30

Mr.. Chauncey G. Snow, Of the Unlteo States ouLS.u
Of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, tells you that tms
country is to expand commercially young people must
now apply themselves earnestly ITO the acquisition Of
ii man. trying to sell you something, couldn't
sneak your own language how much would you buy?
When the statesmen Of the United States 60 to other
oountries-to South America where Spanish and Portu
ruese are spoken to As-how can they expect TO be
uccessfu In business or compete with statesmen that
understand the language and customs OF those expected
to buy.
- Boersaner ablest writer finance and business IN
thu United States familiar with the markets and the
trade of the world tells to what an extent the Germans
we're indebted for their extraordinary trade expansion
before the war the fact that their young people, pre-
pairing for business life, were taugt foreign languages
Mr. Boersisner says: ''What the Germans achieved
abroad by their linguistic application is now common intOr
nation
It was one of their most effective weapons in trade
penetraon They did not stop at Russian Spanish and
Portuguese English French and Italian they know as
matter Of course but acquired also Chinese Japanese and
Turkish"
Il win be some time probably before Chinese Japanese
and Turkish viii be studied to any extent in this country
The father who teaches his boy French and Spanish
he do more does for the boys mind what he would
do for the boy hands he gave him new set Of tools.
You wouldn't send the boy to work In the forest with
out sharp ak he is fit to work in the business and
Of the world outside Of our own country unless
equipped with the weapons Of language used where he
must 60.
Learning languages is not difficult especially when you
The main thing is real application and the opportunity
to HEAR the language spoken.
In thousands of rich families you may hear young chill
dren speaking nuenty French, Italian and one other
language These languages learned without effort In
early childhood because the children educated and
anty surrounded by governesses servants speaking the
languages.
The average citizen cannot afford for his children
such facilities Hard work. intelligent teaching in the
public schools must make up for it.
There win never be any "volapuk" or other univer-
sal language. language grows like child or tree
English probably win tend more and more to become
the language Of business all the world French will
be learned in the future in the past by those will
ing to be looked upon uneducated men and women.
But for the immediate future il you teach your boy
Spanish and he has good business head, you may be
that he viii be able to make his way and establish
his fortune In South America in Mexico Spanish for
United States business purposes the most important
language at this moment.
The learning Of new language is valuable, quite
apart from business To know a new language
is to know new literature, to enter a new world Of
thought.
new language has within itself history Of one
great branch Of the human race You cannot know the
thought and power Of humanity unless you know the Ian
guages.
II The man who can read Homer in Greek Horace in
Latin, Dante in Italian Moiere in French Cervantes in
Spanish Goethe in German and Shakespeare in English
lives mentally three times much and three times as
long as he whose mind is limited to language. The
languages are the brains flying machine.