INTER " - w IT AMERICAN ESPERANTO MAGAZINE AUEMKO "Lando da libaraco, lando da astontaco, mi v/n aalutasl. Lando, pri kiv ravis kaj mm ankorau ravaa multajaufarant* of kaj aankulpaj parsakufUcj, mi vin salutaa! Ml klinas min antaŭ vi, kaj mi astas fatica, ka la aorta par mas is at mi, vl» vidi, kaj spin almanav dam kalka tampo vian liharan, da naniu monopoligltan aaren, L. L. Zamanhof All RIKA ESPERANTISTO Oficiala Organo dc la ESPERANTO -ASOCIO de NORD-AMERIKO MAY-JUNE, 1952 Thirty-five Cents AMERICAN ESPERANTO MAGAZINE (Amerika Esperantisto) G. ALAN CONNOR, Editor Vol. 66 114 West 16th Street Nos. 5-6 New York 11 N. Y. Associate Editors: Dr. William Solzbacher, Doris Tappan Connor, Dr. Norman McQuown, Dr. S. Zamenhof, V. Rev. Gabriel N. Pausback, Myron R. Mychajliw. Sustaining Board: Portia Anderson, Dr. Luella K. Beecher, John M. Brewer, J. F. Clewe, Preston Davis, Jr., Ernest G. Dodge, Harold Ewen, Dr. G.P. Ferree, Dr. F.W. Breth, George Hirsch, H. F. Keller, Tony Nabby, R. C. Palmer, Russell Rausch, D. B. Richardson, Douglas Scott, Mazah Schulz, Bertha F. Sloan, Harold S. Sloan, Dr. William Solzbacher,Francis H. Sumner, Adeline Vigelis, Flora Wyman, Anonymous. Office Assistants: Lola Mae Muse, H. S. Harris. SELECTED MYSTERY STORIES IN ESPERANTO Suspense - Murder - Fantastic Fiction i ■ A Abismoj, Jean Forge, fantastic adventure, 150 pp... $1.15 ^^| A/no en la Jaro Dekmil, Elola, fantastic fict.,cloth.. 1.50 ■ Ferio kun la Morto, Lindqvist, easy murder mystery. .80 Mr. Tot Aĉetas Mil Okulojn, Jean Forge, excellent intrigue... 1.65 'La Nekonata Konato, Boatman, exciting detective story, bound 1.25 La VT/a Mono, Bulthuis, strange happenings in Holland, cloth 2.00 Diablet* en la Botel', Robert Louis Stevenson, magic & adv.. .35 La QormantoVekiqas, H.G.Wells,excel, fantastic fiction, bd. 1.35 La Jusnaskito, de Bengoa, fantastic doings, from the Spanish .20 La Morea Perlo, Simson, exciting murder mystery, 223 pp..... .90 Morfo de Trajno, Crofts, good detective story of war-time, cloth 1.50 Murdo en la Orienta Ekspreso, Agatha Christie, excel, thriller .50 Princino de Marso, Edgar Rice Burroughs, adventure on Mars. .50 La Radianta Lotuso, Degreef, mystery in tombs of Egypt, 193pp. 1.00 Saltego Trans Jarmiloj, Jean Forge, a trip back to old Rome... 1.15 Ses Noveloj, Edgar Allen Poe, 6 stories of mystery & humor... .50 Sub la Vitra Kupolo, v. Weddingen, murder mystery, 160 pp.... .90 Esperanto Book Service of America 114 VI. 16 St., New York 11, N. Y. Jarabono eksterlande por kalendara jaro: $1,50 aŭ egalvaloro. Make Checks Payable to Esperanto Association of North America Active Membership in E.AJN.A. — $5.00 per Year AMERIKA ESPERANTISTO Vol. 66 ___________________MAY-JUNE 1932___________________Nos. 5-6 ESPERANTO AND WESTERN DEFENSE 7 HE possible use of Esperanto in the armed forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was discussed by Captain K, Scott Simpson, of Great Britain's Middlesex Regiment, in The United Services and Empire Review, We reprint some extracts from his article: "In any Western European Army, direct communication between the various nationals participating will be vitally important. Interpreters will have to be considered relics of a bygone age. Translators will always be required, but it is now imperative that all Services in all countries con- cerned in Western defense should be able to communicate with one another quickly and accurately. The advantages of direct communication at con- ferences, over wireless, and in the ordinary routine of daily speech are such as to need no further elaboration. "The international language must be practicable and neutral, its gram- mar simple, and its spelling phonetic... "Such a language is Esperanto... Its practicability has been amply demonstrated... Its being a 'constructed' language, and therefore neutral, is the greatest argument in its favor, since it cannot offend national sus- ceptibilities. It is additional to the national tongue, and as such requires Government action to fully attain its object. In many countries children grow up bi-lingual. Why not in all? A lead by two or three Powers would give the inspiration and guidance needed. "In Western defense Esperanto would be of the greatest value in es- tablishing common doctrine in military schools and technical establish- ments. Instead of dozens of such, with varying theories,, one establish- ment could teach a common doctrine with textbooks in a common language. "In simplicity Esperanto is far in advance of any 'natural' language. The alphabet is phonetic, accent is standard. Any national can pronounce Esperanto, and,remarkably,colored races learn it easily... "All national languages are too difficult for the average soldier to learn in a reasonable time... Esperanto calls for some effort, but it can be learned in one-fifth of the time needed for a national language by or- dinary methods. By the direct method, akin to the Berlitz system, an in- tensive course of one month will give a good grounding and enable any student to read, write and speak it, particularly the latter. It can be learned by the busy staff officer or senior commander with but little time for language study... "The full adoption of Esperanto as an auxiliary language in the forces of NATO requires the cooperation of the nations concerned. This will not be easy, but neither was the introduction, almost universal now, of the metric system. "'Sweet are the uses of adversity', and out of the fear of a third world war there may emerge the use of a common auxiliary tongue to contribute towards international understanding." 33 ESPERANTO IN ACTION The Swedish Government granted a subsidy of 4,000 kroner to the Swedish Esperanto Institute for an international study course on "Con- temporary Sweden" to be held at the Bohusgarden People's College, near Gbteborg, from July 27 to August 2, 1952. All lectures and discussions will be in Esperanto. At the NATO Conference in Lisbon information about Esperanto in English, French, German and Portuguese was presented to the delegates from the various NATO countries on behalf of the Portuguese Esperanto Association. The material was distributed through the Portuguese Gov- ernment's National Information Secretariat. In Switzerland, Esperanto is now taught at the Hitzkirch Teachers College. In Brazil the national Esperanto organization receives an annual sub- sidy from the Federal Government. In addition, various state governments and cities give the Esperanto movement their moral and financial support. Recently, for instance, the city of Recife voted a subsidy of 30,000 cru- zeiros to the Thirteenth Brazilian Esperanto Congress held in that city. The State Legislature of Rio Grande do Norte passed a law authorizing a subsidy of 3,000 cruzeiros as a contribution to the travel expense of delegates from the state to the Recife Esperanto Congress. At University College, London, England, Professor J.C. Flugel, the famous psychologist, lectured May 13 in Esperanto on Paradoksoj de la Luktopor Psika Ekvilibro (Paradoxes in the Struggle for a Psychic Equi- librium), under the auspices of the British Association for Esperanto in Science (BESA), of which he is the President. In Turkey, an Esperanto textbook by Hasan Kocaman, recently pub- lished at Istanbul, has aroused widespread interest in the inter language. The Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), which has used Esperanto in its publicity for several years, has issued another folder in Esperanto, in connection with this year's Universal Esperanto Congress in Oslo. Tallulah Bankhead spoke one sentence in Esperanto recently, when she spoke with Doris Tappan Connor and G. Alan Connor on the Barry Gray radio program. "How do you say in Esperanto 'I love you'?", she asked. When Mr. Connor translated Mi amas vin, Miss Bankhead replied: "Oh no, you say Mi adoras vin!" The Norwegian Prime Minister, Oscar Torp, and the Mayor of Oslo, Olav Bull, have become members of the Honorary Committee of the 37th Universal Esperanto Congress, to be held at Oslo from August 2 to 9. 34 IT HAPPENED IN PRAGUE William Solzbacher " \U^ ^^^ ^ THE END. The possibility that our Esperanto periodi- ™ cals may be misused abroad for enemy propaganda has caused that the Czechoslovak Esperantists may no longer have their own press'" With these words (in Czech) Adolf Malik, Communist President of the Czechoslovak Esperanto Association, announced in a front page article of Esperantista that, on orders from the Prague Government, the three periodicals Esperantista (Prague), Esperanto-Servo (Prague) and Esper- antisto Slovaka (Turciansky Sv. Martin) are discontinuing publication. The Czechoslovak Esperanto Association still exists and will en- deavor to maintain contact with its members through mimeographed circu- lars, but many of its clubs have already voted to dissolve or to merge with such Communist organizations as the "cultural clubs" of the Revo- lutionary Labor Union Federation. In fact, it seems that the end of the periodicals means the end of an organized Esperanto movement in a coun- try once considered one of the principal strongholds of Esperanto. It is not difficult to imagine the bitter laughter with which undoubt- edly most Czechoslovak Esperantists read Comrade Malik's revealing ex- planations in Esperantista's swansong: "The disappearance of our jour- nal Esperantista and of other Esperanto periodicals forces us to take a good look at past events and to make a brief survey of how we have strug- gled with our Esperanto press against war, for peace, and for that new longing which began in the great Russian October Revolution of 1917. "If we evaluate the achievements of our Esperanto press, we may say that we have worked well, and that we can work even better, if given a chance... The fact that we cannot have our own press any more means that the fight for understanding among the nations and for world peace reaches its supreme phase, work in the mass organizations... In this new work in the mass organizations, especially in the field of strengthening friendship with the Soviet world, we wish the former readers of our Es- peranto press good luck." Proper analysis of existing evidence, including a considerable num- ber of letters received from inside Czechoslovakia, would seem to indi- cate that the ban on the Esperanto press is due to the Communist re- gime's complete failure to restrict the use of Esperanto to pro-Communist activities. A large number of Czech and Slovak Esperantists evidently have continued to regard the Interlanguage primarily as a means of keep- ing in touch with the free world. Members of the Esperanto movement in the West, therefore, will view the Prague events with mixed feelings. On the one hand, we are sad be- cause once again in an important country the fruits of long endeavors are being destroyed by totalitarian tyranny. On the other hand, we are happy and proud to know that many of our friends in Czechoslovakia, who worked with us for understanding and cooperation through the world inter- language, for human freedom and human rights, have remained loyal to their principles in the face of overwhelming odds. The Esperanto movement in Czechoslovakia has had a long and glori- ous history. Before World War I, both Czechs and Slovaks used Esper- 35 anto to inform the outside world about their fight for freedom and inde- pendence. In 1911 the Czech National Council, the most important organ of this fight, issued a booklet in Esperanto. Even earlier, in 1908, an Esperanto publication about the suffering of the Slovaks in Hungary, by H. K. Bouŝka, aroused interest in the Slovak cause. At the time of the first Czechoslovak Republic, from 1918 to 1939, its Esperanto movement was one of the most flourishing in the world. On December 11, 1920, the Czechoslovak Government, represented by For- eign Minister Edvard Beneŝ, was one of twelve governments which, in the first Assembly of the League of Nations, introduced a resolution fa- voring the teaching of Esperanto in the schools. In 1921, the Thirteenth Universal Esperanto Congress was held in Prague. Attended by 2,561 delegates from all over the world and by representatives of 30 govern- ments and an official observer of the League of Nations, it was one of the most brilliant ever held. The radio station of the country's second largest city, Brno, became known throughout Europe as La Verda Stacio because of its high class dramatic programs in Esperanto, presented by a troupe of talented professional actors and singers called TRAKT (Teatro- kaj Radio-Aktoroj) who learned Esperanto in 1932 and demon- strated in a striking manner its outstanding qualities for radio use. Under the Nazi occupation, the Czechoslovak Esperanto movement went underground. After World War II, it was resurrected with greater strength than ever before. Esperanto was taught in a number of schools and colleges. From September 1945 to September 1950, the Government's Shortwave Radio Station in Prague broadcast news programs twice a day in Esperanto. When signatures were collected for the Esperanto Petition to the United Nations (which was presented at Lake Success in August 1950), Czechoslovakia contributed 39,366 individual signatures and the support of 13 organizations with a combined membership of 1,161,788. Signers included the Prime Minister, a former Prime Minister, half a doz- en Cabinet Ministers and former Cabinet Ministers, a former Speaker of Parliament, 31 Members of Parliament, a former Mayor of Prague, the Catholic Archbishop of Prague and other religious dignitaries, prominent diplomats, writers, journalists, university professors, and judges. In the years immediately following the country's liberation from the Nazis, Communists played an important, but not a dominant, role in the Czechoslovak Esperanto movement. That was the time when the Commun- ists shared power with four other parties in the Prague government, not precisely on a basis of equal rights, but nevertheless under arrangements which seemed to leave the door open for democratic developments. A cer- tain amount of Communist propaganda in the Esperanto movement was considered by many as an inevitable nuisance which they had to put up with temporarily, but which one did not have to take too seriously. The subsequent course of events caused even Communists in the Czechoslovak Esperanto movement to become disgusted. For a while Communists and pro-Communists advocated the use of Esperanto for dir- ect contacts through correspondence and travel between workers in Czechoslovakia and in the Soviet Union, the "glorious fatherland of all toilers". Moscow, however, turned a deaf ear to all such plans. The idea that a worker in Prague might exchange information and opinions with a 36 worker in Moscow, without party supervision, apparently was regarded as extremely dangerous. The man in Prague might find out that Moscow is not quite the paradise the Communist press says it is. On the other hand, his counterpart in Moscow might discover that in Prague, until recently under "the iron heel of capitalism", the living standards of the working class are considerably higher than in the capital of the proletarian world. Efforts to use Esperanto as an in- strument of closer relations among ci- tizens of different "people's democra- cies" did not fare any better. A large Danubian Esperanto Conference was held at Budapest in the fall of 1948. At that time the New York Herald Tri- bune and Time magazine printed sen- sationalized reports about "the Com- munists using Esperanto in the Dan- ube basin". In reality the Budapest Conference did not produce any lasting results. Moscow apparently was not interested in letting Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Hungarians, Rumanians and Bul- garians get together without Russian supervision, even if they are, or claim to be, Communists. Nowadays the road from Prague to Warsaw and Budapest goes via Moscow. There are many indications that the Kremlin intends to keep it that way. In recent years people in Czechoslovakia demonstrated a remarkable interest in the interlanguage. Esperanto classes and conferences were attended by record crowds. Esperanto books sold like hot cakes, when- ever they were available, in spite of all kinds of government restrictions. Large numbers of persons applied for passports to attend Esperanto Con- gresses, but such applications were always turned down. The Commun- ist bosses apparently suspected that much of this interest in Esperanto was an effort to establish contacts with people outside the iron curtain. Leaders and members of the Esperanto movement in the United States were at times swamped with letters from Czechoslovakia asking for cop- ies of the American Esperanto Magazine and for other literature — in Es- peranto and English. Copies of the Esperanto edition of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were in great demand, and quite a number of Czechoslovaks hinted in their Esperanto letters to Americans that they were hoping against tremendous odds that some day they would enjoy some of those rights. The latest decisions of the red regime in Prague indicate that the ability of common people to speak to common people everywhere by means of a neutral and easy-to-learn Interlanguage endangers the kind of isolation without which a totalitarian regime cannot expect to remain in power. This should be a lesson to those who believe in freedom and human rights. By using Esperanto to an ever growing extent as a means of direct communication with people everywhere, they can help to main- tain a free exchange of news and opinions and can render a real service to the cause of liberty throughout the world. 37 ESPERANTO EVERYWHERE A monument honoring Dr. L.L.Zamenhof, author of Esperanto, will be unveiled on Station Square in Worl, Austria, July 27, 1952. This work of art was hewn in Carrara marble by the sculptor Th. Ohnesorge. The hon- orary Committee for the occasion includes the Austrian Chancellor, the Minister of Education, the Mayor of Vienna, the Governor of the Tyrol, the Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna and other public leaders. The 7952 Edition of the New International Year Book, published by the Funk & Wagnalls Company in New York, contains a detailed article on Esperanto, summarizing the manifold uses and growing importance of the interlanguage in 1951. This is the fourth time that the Year Book con- tains such an article by Dr. William Solzbacher, President of EANA. At the Eighth Australian Esperanto Congress, held at Sydney in Jan- uary 1952, refugees from iron curtain countries such as Poland, Latvia, and Bulgaria reported how Esperanto had helped them to make friends in Australia and accelerate their adjustment to new surroundings. Father Sigismund, a Polish Capuchin friar, preached a sermon in Esperanto in St. Patrick's Church. He told members of the Congress how during the war, in the Dachau concentration camp, he had joined with prisoners of 14 dif- ferent nationalities in organizing an underground Esperanto group. The Mayor of Vienna, Austria, Herr Franz Jonas, who recently toured the United States and attended the Conference of American Mayors, has been an active member of the Esperanto movement for many years. He once was the editor of an Esperanto periodical. During his election cam- paign, he made one of his campaign speeches in Esperanto. The U.S. Congressional Record of May 6, 1952, mentioned the Esper- anto Association of North America in an article by our member, Maximiano Villareal, inserted by Congressman Samuel W. Yorty of Los Angeles. The article (on the Anniversary of Magellan's Voyage to the Philippines) was reprinted from the Philippine Star Press, of Los Angeles. The Board of Education of Munich, Germany, issued a memorandum to all teachers, drawing attention to special Esperanto classes for educa- tors sponsored by the German Esperanto Association, and recommending enrollment. The memorandum pointed out that the Universal Esperanto Congress held at Munich in August 1951 had fully demonstrated the use- fulness of Esperanto. Brazil's "University of the Air", sponsored by the Ministry of Educa- tion and Public Health in Rio de Janeiro, features an Esperanto class taught by Senhor Nelson Pereira de Sousa. The Vatican daily newspaper, "Osservaiore Romano",published a de- tailed article by the Reverend G.M. Roschini, O.S.M., on the attitude of Pope Pius X towards Esperanto. A biography of Pius X, written in Es- peranto by Dr. Adolf Halbedl, of Austria, was recently published in Italy. The Pope, whose beatification the Catholic Church celebrated last year, was a great friend of Esperanto. 38 Sacramento—Palm Bordered Boulevai REPORT OF PROGRESS ON E.A.N.A. CONGRESS SACRAMENTO, CALIF. There has been a good response to bulletins sent out to the members about the coming Congress, to be held June 27-30, 1952, in Sacramento, California. Senator Dillinger, Presi- dent of the Sacramento Esperanto Club, has sent out invitations to prac- tically all Esperantists along the Pacific Coast. And many members are writing to purchase Congress Tickets to help support this event. Jos. R. Scherer, President of the Los Angeles Club, former President of SANA, reports a good delegation coming from his area. And Dr. P. L. Pratley, Canada's UEA Representative, reports that he has just returned to Montreal from Vancouver, B.C., where a number of Esperantists are planning to attend the-Congress. Then there are scattered reports from points between these two lively Esperanto centers, showing great inter- est in this opportunity for a grand EANA Congress for Pacific Coast mem- bers. The motto is: "See you at the Sacramento Congress!" Here is an outline of some of the outstanding features: Friday eve (June 27): Dinner at one of Sacramento's most beautiful Chinese restaurants, choice of Chinese or American food. Separate me2 zanine section for Esperantists. "Get-Together Party". Saturday 9:30 a.m.: Official opening of Congress. Welcome by Sena- tor Dillinger and City Representatives. President Solzbacher's Address. Local Club Reports. Report of the General Secretary. Saturday 2:00 p.m.: Other Annual Reports. Discussion. Appointment of Congress Committees. Election Saturday 6:30 p.m.: Annual Banquet, Camellia Room— across from Sutter's Fort. Then proceed to Clunie Club- house at 8:30 p.m. for an evening of gaiety and entertain- ment. Esperanto Playlet, Folk Dancing, Community Sing- ing in Esperanto, games and stunts. Then refreshments! Sunday a.m. & p.m.: After early church services, a won- derful drive over winding mountain roads to Coloma.Grand picnic at site of first gold strike, then return to Sacramento in time to prepare for evening event. Sunday night: Public Meeting in one of the church halls, Demonstration of Esperanto for the public. Monday 9:30 a.m.: Unfinished business. Report of Res- olutions Committee. Official close of Congress. (Mondaj afternoon for visiting and entertainment.) Have you sent in your $3 for Congress Ticket, as a Par ticipant-by-Mail, to help support the 1952 Congress? 39 THE NEW ESPERANTO DISK FREE TO ACTIVE MEMBERS By the time youreceive this issue of AE, you should all have received a special bulletin from the Central Office announcing plans for distributing this New Esperanto Disk. This disk will step up your fluency and improve your pronunciation. It is ingeniously arranged so that you can actually "converse" with the disk —a complete Guide accompanies each one. It should be in every Esperantist's promotion kit, as a concise and entertaining "demonstration" of Esperanto for non-Esperantists. The Board of Directors of EANA has set a new rate for Active mem- bership at $5 per year. EANA is making this special offer to encourage every member in the Minimum category to become Active members at the new rate. Special lower rates will be announced for students, armed for- ces, veterans, etc. But we believe all members, where possible, will be more than happy to raise their dues to the Active category to aid their EANA. Prices of everything have more than doubled in recent years, and your EANA asks your support of the new plan. Therefore, as a special premium for this year", the Association is of- fering the New Esperanto Disk with each renewal or payment in the new categories of membership. The plan provides all members with an oppor- tunity to receive the disk if they wish: (1) Those who have already paid $5 or more up to January 1953 will receive the disk at no further cost to them, except for the 25£ to help with packing and mailing. (2) Members whose renewals are now due or due before the end of 1952, will be sent the disk with their renewals of $5 or more for another year. Each such renewal will be a full year from present renewal date. If you are in this category, just send $5 or more (dependent on new membership category desired) plus 25£ for packing and mailing. (3) Members who have already renewed their memberships to January 1953 or beyond, at the old Minimum rate, need send only $2 more, plus 25; p is.. NEW CONNOR COURSE IN ESPERANTO Correspondence Course with Vinylite Records Instruction by Doris Tappcm Connor New! Modern! The "Connor Course" is unique, — it provides real-life disk conversations plus the personal instruction of Doris Tappan Connor. The one and only record course, in any language, that gives everything in the way of learning aids. NOW, you can learn Esperanto like a "native"— better,quicker, and easier. It's fun to learn this real-life way! You converse with the disk and confer with the instructor. The "Connor Course" is compiled by experts. "Vinylite" recordings by Mr. and Mrs. Connor. All designed so you can master Esperanto. The. complete "Connor Course" includes the following: (1) A lively text, "Esperanto: The World Inter language." (2) Eight complete "Vinylite" double-sided 10"records. (3) A practical and easy-to-follow "Study Guide" (82 pp.) (4) Personalized instruction and guidance of Mrs. Connor. (5) Supply of answer paper and printed return envelopes. (6) An interesting card game, to develop your vocabulary. (7) And finally, an official "Certificate of Achievement". FOR INDIVIDUAL STUDY: The complete "Connor Course", as described above, will be sent postpaid for only $36. FOR GROUP STUDY: Buy one complete master course at $36. Each additional member pays only $6 more for Textbook and complete Study Guide for his own use. Full money-back guarantee. So, place your order NOW: Esperanto, 114 W. 16th St., New York 11, N. Y. 1 i I I i i m m. m I I i •'■■:■> 1 ■mmmmmmmm:»::<&mmmm;-m^^