New Britain herald., 1928-02-21

such prominent political leaders as
 Richard Golden and John Bright and Sir Charles Napier.
 His mission in this first visit to esta blish in as many centers as pos sible his League of Universal Broth 1 erhood' His first appearance be- fore a London audience was a try ing experience. however. It was in the great hall of commerce. The acoustics were poor. Many could i not hear him. Very shortly there were motions for adjournment. cat calls, .jeers. But in spite of all these difficulties, Mir. Burritt's pa tience won the day. Of this parti- cular experience, we note this entry in his journals:
 "I summoned all my physical power to the effort, and spoke for two hours, as I had never done be- fore in my life. When I came to the pledge, however. successive bursts of applause intercepted me. Four times assayed to read the last clause of the constitution 'T want to read you now the pledge which Mir. Burritt wrote, a pledge taken by all members of his league for universal brotherhood. Listen, and take in-if you can- ! the measure of the manhood that l was his:
 "I do hereby associate myself with all persons. of whatsoever country, color. or condition, who have signed or shall hereafter sign i this pledge, in a league of universal brotherhood, whose object shall be. to employ all legitimate and moral means for the abolition Of all war. and all the spirit and manifestations of war throughout the world; for the abolition of all restrictions upon ! international correspondence and friendly intercourse. and of what ever else tends to make enemies Of nations, or prevents their fusion into one peaceful brotherhood; for the abolition Of all institutions and cus- toms, which do not recognize and respect the image of God and hu- man brother in every man, Of what ever cline, color or condition of hu- manity.'
 'rhe more one stops to ponder on that pledge. the more he is con- vinced of the true nobility of MT. Burritt's spirit and ideal. If he had
 never written another word, this pledge alone would be enough to place him forever among the men of
 vision and prophetic power. True, this pledge of his league proposed in 1S4S was impracticable of i'm
 mediate realization. Far more so then, than it is today, when for eight long years the League of Ma tions in Geneva has been making itself felt as a political reality. Father 0f Ocean Pes,ny Postage "As a distinct result of Mir. Bur ritt's interest in international affairs. we all enjoy the privilege today or ocean penny postage. One has to | read between the lines Of history in the cn"'y 18th century to under stand that excessive posta, rates be- tween America and Europe const'- tuted not only hardship for many people, and especially the poor with i friends and relatives in the 'auld country but also a stumbling block in the way Of better understanding between the nations of the world. Fifty and 70 years ago, the cost ot mailing a Jingle letter from Amerlca 10 England-or vice versa-"as lo to .5 cents. Today mall goes out or New Britain daily to all parts or the British Empire. usually for two cents. and never for more than tive cents to any part of the kno"n world. There isn't single fore'gn- born citizen of this city or this land. who sends money home to Scotland or Ireland or France or Poland of Italy or any other country Of the world, but what he owes. though all unconsciously a personal debt ot gratitude to this idealist. Elihu Bur ritt, who worked with tireless zeal to make this two cent or penny postage rate possibility.
 And the second result of MT. Burritt's efforts IS like unto the first It was his unique contribution to the relief of suffering Ireland in the po- tato famine of 1s47. For two weeks in that bitter winter. he went about from village to village, from hovel to- hovel. that he might know just how appalling was the misery which called for quick relief. We are told that his trip of investigation ended in his own illness. But he was down only to rise again. His pen was con- stantly busy sending off appeals and articles descriptive of the dire needs of the Irish to the American papers. In very short order. his words reached the heart of his own people at home. Boston sent out to Ireland so years ago a relief ship loaded under the command of 2. volunteer. Captain R. B. Forbes. And you may , be very sure that Mir. Burritt was at hand at Queenstown to meet that relief ship at the dock. What ie more. he took care to supervise the distribution of its cargo. Thus with out personal riches, without any of ficial power, did the tender and will ing heart of this wise and gentle man bring about an act of lnterna- tjopal frjepdshjp and the untold re- lief of awful misery
 But the third and last result of Mir Burrltt's fife and efforts as g. Christian iuternationalist is the most interesting and important Of them all. I speak. of course. of the actual achievement Of series of IT E