past when there existed no sciences and
no industrial arts, when life was less crowded and when there were
fewer world languages. Even less than a hundred years ago a man was an
accomplished cosmopolitan if he knew French and his own mother tongue.
To-day he wants and ought to be conversant with French, German, and
Spanish, at the very least, besides English, and before long he will
have to tackle Russian and Japanese. As a matter of fact in some of the
European countries and in South America the school children actually
spend from 35 to 60 per cent of the school time in acquiring that sort
of an education, which is really not education at all but only a means
to an end.

The CHAIRMAN. What progress has Esperanto made in the United States?

Prof. CHRISTEN. In this matter the United States is behind all other
progressive countries. There have been many sporadic efforts made and
there are Esperanto groups in different places from New York and Boston
to Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Tacoma, etc., but as
a national movement it is not what it should be, and the difficulty
is, to far as I can make it out, the enormous size of the country. It
is difficult for a society, without very large funds, to carry on an
effective propaganda all over the country.

Then another difficulty is that Americans are not generally very much
given to what I should call ethical ideas of this kind, that offer no
immediate and sudden cash returns, until they really become a craze or
until a certain class, perhaps, takes them up. (4) Let us not forget
also that the American people are not so much in touch with the language
difficulty as are other countries, and they do not yet appreciate the
enormous use that Esperanto will be to them, for, in my opinion, no
white people will benefit more from Esperanto than will the American
people, chiefly because like all English-speaking nations they are very
poor linguists. Then it is becoming more and more acknowledged among
educational people that the English language is the only language that
can not be taught. It is well known that if you put educated people from
different countries together the Anglo-Saxon will invariably be the one
who understands his own language least. That is due to the peculiar
construction of the English language.

However, Esperanto would not be difficult for the American people
because it is so scientific, so logical, and entirely free of all
irregularities. Prof.