^Jr^P information center ESPERANTO LEAGUE for NORTH AMERICA Vol.II No.4 NEWSLETTER October 1966 GIANT ESPERANTO PETITION PRESENTED TO UNITED NATIONS BY U.E.A. PRESIDENT A petition to the United Nations, signed by 920,954 individ- uals In 74 countries and by 3843 organizations with 71 million members, was presented at the U.N. Secretariat on October 6 by the President of the Unlversala Esperanto-Asocio, Dr. Ivo La- Penng as head of a delegation. Asserting thst "the multiplicity of languages represents one of the most serious obstacles to the development of internation- al cooperation,?" the petition proposes that the U.N. "solve the language problem by real and effective aid to the propaga- tion of Esperanto, the neutral international language/1 and by recommending to its member states that they "Further the teaching of the language and encourage its use in international relations between the peoples of the world." Many Government V.I .P's Sip.n Among 114 high government officials who signed are: Franz Jo- nas, President of Austria; the Vice Presidents of the French Sen- ate and National Assembly; Trygve Lie, Secretary General of the United Nations 1946-53; Dr. Walter Hallstein, President of the World Common Market; Brock Chisholm, Director General of the World Health Organization 1948-58; Sir Walter Nash, ex-Prime Minister of New Zealand; and 43 cabinet ministers from 16 countries, in- cluding Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, West Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway and Uruguay. The 1,347 members of parliaments who signed include 9 United States Congressmen: Brown and Edwards (Cal.), Pucinski (111.), Fraser (Minn.), Krebs and Patten (N.J.), Balpern and Rosenthal. (N.Y.), Rhodes and Vlgorito (Pa.). The university world furnished nearly 8,000 names, ranging from science academy members and philologists to research work- ers. Other categories include 6,600 authors, artists and jour- nalists; 58,000 doctors, lawyers, merchants and industrialists; 51,675 teachers in secondary and elemtary schools; 366,214 white collar and industrial workers; 27,446 farmers and farm laborers. Organizations supporting the petition include labor unions, political parties, humane societies, welfare organizations, youth and sports groups, auto and tourist associations, producer and consumer cooperatives. «-«!i^? &^^--^m mm WiUsSBSHm In the delegation with President Lapenna to present the pro- posal were: Miss K.H. Vermass,director of the U.E.A. central of- fice in Rotterdam; Francis Helmuth, president of the Esperanto League for North America; Mark Starr, director of the Esperanto Information Center; Eskil Svane of the U.E.A., Denmark; and Alex- ander Schwarz, representing the E.E.A. Youth Section. Receiving the documents on behalf of U Thant, Secretary General of the Uni- ted Nations, was C.V. Narasimhan, Undersecretary for General As- sembly affairs and Chef de Cabinet of the United Nations. Getting Those Signatures The petition presentation marks the culmination of many months 2 4+ĈS Work by thousands of Esperantlsts all ever the world who ralthfully made the rounds of meetings and acquaintances, solicit- ing- signatures. To single out any Individuals for praise is to slight many others, but according to E.I.C. records, those who ob- tained the most names in the United States were Dr. Julius Balbin ° a ??,Yor£ wh0 sot more than 1000» D011 Stephens of Arden, Del., and Allan Boschen of Pittsfleld, Mass. -o- New york-Californla Phone Hookup The Southern California Esperanto. Congress on October 22- 23 featured an across-the continent telephone hookup on which President Ivo Lapenna of the Universala Esperanto Asoclo spoke from New Your to 125 listeners from 21 communities. The mayor of Covina, Oscar Yaeger,' Philip Ackley, principal of Tri-Community Adult Education; Joseph Scherer, an Esperanto world traveler; and Francis Helmuth, president of ELNA, also addressed the sessions. The conference, arranged by the Esper- anto Society of San Gabriel Valley, was held in Covina. U.E.A. Delegation with C.V. Narasimhan, U.N. Chef de Cabinet. Left to right—Francis Holmuth, Alexander Sohwartz, Dr. Ivo Lapenna, Mr. Narasimhan, Mark Starr, Miss M.H. Vermaas, Eskil Svane, John Lewine» -2- * ORDER YOUR CHRISTMAS CARDS HOW1. * * Original design by Edwin Hooley. Traditional tree with * * message. "Paco Sur Tero." Multllith offset, black shading * * on one-fold green embossed paper; fits standard envelope. * * Ten for #1.00, postpaid in U.S. Order from Mrs. AKX3 * £ WHITTEKER, 6122 Portland Ave., West Linn, Ore. 97068. # * This is a project of the Portland Esperanto Society. * 150 Children in Summer School "The children didn't want to stop the lessons. They begged every day for homework. Many parents visited the class and con- gratulated us." Did you get that sort of report from your children who at- tended summer classes? Probably not, unless they happened to be in the four Esperanto classes in which Doris Vallon and Bet- sy Brandenburg taught 150 4th-to-7th grade children in the San Mateo, Calif., public schools. With pictures, wordcards, tapes and earphones, the children saw the words, heard them, and then pronounced them so that they were soon able to use their new vocabulary easily and correctly. One result ts a course which other teachers can use. Another was poems written by the children for "Grains in the Wind," a collection of children's writings in Esperanto from all over the world. -0- Report on Portland A debate on "Is it wise to travel to the moon?" was the Oc- tober menu for the Portland, Ore., Esperanto Club meeting. Tom Davidson and Anne Whitteker were the team leaders. Short talks on "Esperanto and I" were given at the Septem- ber meeting by a business man, a housewife, a scientist, a 7th grader and a traveler. Meetings are held in the recital room of the Day Music Company. (For details of Portland's Christmas card project, see offer In this Newsletter.) At the State Fair, children's books and Esperanto letters from many lands were displayed. When Con and Mary Murray came to Portland, the Oregonlan had a big feature story on their round-the-world trip and they were interviewed on KOIN-TV. -0- Fall and Winter Classes It looks like a banner year for Esperanto classes, but de- tails are being deferred until the next Newsletter because of the space devoted in this one to the U.N. Petition presenta- tion and Pxssident Lapenna'3 first visit to the United States. -3- ««iHiiifl^^ Together, a Methodist monthly magazine (201 8th Ave., Nash- ville, Tenn.) had a long eulogistic article, "Dr. /.amenhof s Amazing Language," by Stanley Jacobs in its October issue. Con- rad Fisher, ELNA secretary, reports receiving 250 requests for information within two weeks of the article. "A Language for Everybody" - Esperanto Comes Into Its Own" was the title of a feature story by Ed Arnow in the San Fran- cisco Chronicle for September 11. Dr. James Liebe rman had an excellent letter In the Washing- ton Post, commenting on William Benton's proposal that the na- tions of the world should be invited to learn English - A pro- posal which led the Post, while giving the idea general appro- val, to hope that this would move the natives of the U.S.A. to study the—language too. -o- Governor Edmund (S. Brown of California sent a message to the Southern Calif. Esperanto Conference which read in part: "Your promotion of the use of Esperanto as an international auxiliary language in order to increase understanding around the world is a most interesting and worthwhile endeavor. As our world «sntinues to shrink due to the ever-increasing effici- ency of our technology, it is vital that all nationalities be- come better acquainted and obtain a greater degree of understand- ing. As you exchange ideas on how to promote the spread of the teaching of Esperanto and on how to generate unity among your en- ,thuiasts, I commend you for your efforts in bringing the people of the world closer together." Among the messages received at E-I.C. in connection with the petition presentation to the U.N. were the following: From Congressman Donald M. Fraser, Fifth Dlst., Minnesota— "The theme of your meeting, the advantages of Esperanto in international cooperation, is a significant one. The time is fast approaching when an international language will beoome im- perative, and I cheer your efforts in that direction." From Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York: "World peace and understandings must come with language bonds and I congratulate you on your efforts to promote these goals." Earlier, Senator Kennedy had written in a letter, "It may well be that a neutral language might provide a better means of com- munication between the different nations of the world. Esperanto has long been a major contender as this medium. I hope you will keep me Informed of your work on this problem." -o- In Springfield, 111., a Mid-Western Conference brought toge- ther Esperantists from Illinois (including 14 from Chicago), St. Louis, Madison, Wis., central Ohio, Indiana and Arkansas on the weekend of October 15-16. PAGES FROM THE DIARY OP E.I.C, Fresh Strong Winds From England Hit Eastern Seaboard - Dr. and Mrs. Lapenna Arrive on Queen Mary Wed., Sept. 21.—Neither an early dawn arrival at New York harbor nor driving winds and buck- ets of rain could dampen the spi- rits of the arriving visitors or their reception committee. Dr. and Mrs. Ivo Lapenna were greeted on board ship before it passed the Verraza'no bridge and photo- graphed, thanks to the know-how of Dewey Frezzolini, newest mem- ber of E.I.C.'s executive board. The magnetic vitality of Dr. Lapenna (who is not only presi- dent of the Universal Esperanto Asspciatlon and honorary director of its Research and Documenta- tion Center but also Assistant Professor of International and Comparative Law at the London School of Economics) was readily apparent to Mark Starr and Mar- got G-erson, chairman and secretary of the Esperanto Information Center, who had lunch with him and his charming wife. Wed.. Sept. 28.—Dr. Lapenna was the main speaker at a public meeting last night. Publicized by two ads In the Sunday Times and 1200 mailed leaflets, the meeting was well attended despite a torrential rain. The audience was greatly impressed by his speech dealing with the language problem in international rela- tions and his closing remarks in Esperanto. Humphrey Tonkin, John Lewlne and Mark Starr also spoke briefly. Wed., Oct. 5.—A cocktail party in honor of the Lapennas was given by Mr. and Mrs. Jasha Levi, long-time friends from the time Dr. Lapenna was Professor of International Law at Zagreb Univer- sity in Yugoslavia. The party provided a background for informal talks with Journalists about the presentation of the Esperanto proposal to the United Rations tomorrow. ... 5 p.m.—Dr. La- genna Just returned from a very lively and informative interview taped at Station WNYC for broadcast at 7 and 8 a.m. tomorrow. This was arranged by Francis Helmuth, ELNA president, who came to New York October 3 and has been a contant worker at E.I.C. ev- er since. Dr. Lapenna's morning was spent at a press conference at E.I.C. where he was interviewed and photographed by a reporter from Transmondo Pictures and one from Reuters who had had a cable from his London office for an interview with the president of U.E.A. Thurs.. Oct. 6.—The big day is over and the huge volume of 300 photo-copied pages of representative signatures, together -5- with a memorandum in five languages dealing with the language problem and the present position of Esperanto in the world, and various other important documents are in the hands of C. V. Na- rasimhan, Under Secretary for General Assembly Affairs and Chef de Cabinet of the United Nations. As head of the delegation presenting the Proposal (See Page 1) Dr. Lapenna also pointed out that due to the work of the U.E.A. and its affiliates, approximately 50 million people all over the world were informed about the United Nations and specifically about the International Cooperation Year. Two sets of books were presented, one for the Secretary Gener- al, U. Thant, and one for Mr. Narasimhan, including Dante's "Dia Komedlo,"^ "Memorllbro pri la Zamenhof-Jaro," "Malsata Stono" by Rablhdranath fagore, and "Zamehhof" by Marjorie Boulton. Frl., Oct. 7. Dr. Lapenna addressed a large gathering of the New York Esperanto Society at Sloane House, together with Miss M. H. Vermaas, director of the U.E.A. central office in Rotter- dam, who had flown to New York for the U.N. presentation. Before her return, Miss Vermaas visited Washington and Nlagra Falls. Jh Canada she spoke with Esperantists in Toronto. 6tb.ee Lapenna Engagements Dr. Lapenna came to the United States under a grant by an Amer- ican foundation to do professional studies in his special field of law. He attended a seminar at Columbia University and spent some time at Yale, Harvard and Washington universities. He ad- dressed a student assembly at Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pa., and met with the Washington, D.C., Esperantists. -o- Hear All About It» Would you like to have a firsthand account from the Murrays— Mary and Conn—of their year's trip around the world on behalf of Esperanto? It Just might be (to use one of Mary's favorite phrases)that early in 1967 they will travel back from California to New York with stopovers for meetings with Esperanto groups at which Mary would talk and Conn would show color pictures from all parts of the world. There would be no lecture fee, but the local group would be expected to provide hospitality and a pro rated sum for travel fiYflOwaOG Wrt /lQi*4 in^ +n Til own rtny> V\© mn /3 n mw+4 1 *•'© ViOw/a o rtmo 4 vi _ v«.^wt4u w u • JLlW UtoiiUiuS ĴJJ.a.L±a VsdjU L/V5 UlC* U, Cr UUUJ.X ITS lie*. »« £3 W lli *- iu dlcation of the number and location ŭf possible lecture dates. If you are interested in having the Murrays address your lo- cal club or a public meeting in your area, write to Mrs. Margot Gerson, Secretary, Esperanto Information Center, 156 5th Ave., New York 10010, N.Y. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + * EVERYBODY TALKS ENGLISH - AND HOW'. . „ - • ■ --- —— ^. This gem is from the back of a restaurant menu in + Thailand, quoted in the Saturday Review of October 8: + + Have the map with Thai and English for your-tourist + + of Cholburi. We have cars at your service all the time. + + If you reach to Smarnmit Restaurant already. If you + + wish to meet someone or want to-go somewhere or buy + + somethings. We pleasure to advice to you always. + + If your car have objects, we have the mender for + + you. If you want the food already make to your resi- + + dent. We pleasure to bring to your resident or if you 4 + want the food go with you for travel, we have the box + ♦ prepare fo* you all the time. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Preliminary Information on Flights to Israel For World Esperanto Congress in Tel-Aviv. August 2-9, 1967 Cost of 2-way flight, New York--Tel-Aviv, $535. A choice of departure and return dates for this group price will appear in the next Newsletter. Since on flights to Israel special regula- tions apply, delegates do not have to go in one group but can join existing groups. East-bound flights go direct to Israel but on the way back stop-overs may be made at various points.in Eu- rope. West coast travelers can leave in minimum groups of 10 from Los Angeles or San Francisco to New York for a round-trip excursion fare of $217.65 as compared to $290.20 regular fare. (A slight extra charge for those joining from Portland or Seattle.) The same arrangement is available from Chicago for $65.55 as compared to §85. Passengers from Montreal and Boston can fly to New York free of charge to meet the flights here. In all cases, departure must be made by a minimum of 10 people, but return can be individual. See the next Newsletter for details of possible itineraries and information on hotel accommodations and tours in Israel. To give you the best service, E.I.C. asks all those interest- ed in going to the Congress to send a postcard indicating the amount of time they would like to spend on the trip. This is in no way binding on either party. Congress registration forms are obtainable from SEE.I.C. Send stamped, self-addressed envelope. -0- David McCallum, known to television fans in many countries as The Man from U.N.C.L.E., rates an invitation to the next ELNA eonference. In a recent interview for TV Week he was asked, "If you had the chance to change anything in the world situa- tion, what would that be?" McCallum replied: "I would insist and advocate very strongly that the Esper- anto language be taught t* every school child in the world so that in a generation we could achieve total communication." -V wmmmmaamiiigsm 'smmmm Leaflets for YOUR U a e '. Proposal to Solve a Problem U.N. Secretariat Lapenna interview in the UNESCO—Esperanto - Reprint from U.N. Secretariat Esperanto Vivas Tutmonde - Montage of press clippings La Esperanto-Inform-Centro Novjorka - Peprlnt from U.E.A. Journal "Esperanto How European Business Men Use Esperanto - Reprint from Business Abroad Esperanto Petition Presented - Historic press release Any of the above items, #2.00 for 100 of one kind or assarted. Please specify. Bgsic Facts About Esperanto, 10pp.^ Doc. RDC/7. 25^ ea. Esperanto Posters, see enclosure. # # # # # ESPERANTO INFORMATION CENTER 156 5th Ave., New York 10010 Although English is a compulsory second (and sometimes a first) language in every school, it Is still difficult to find Puerto Ricans outside San Juan who are fluent in English." -- M. M. Karpatkia, New Republic, 5/7/66 If your local typewriter dealer cannot supply language super- signs, write Ace Typewriter Co., 28 W. 46 St., New York 2, N.Y., giving brand, age and type-size of your machine. -o- REPORTS ON 1966-67 CLASSES in the next Newsletter I Send yours in to E.I.C. if you have not already done so. -o- SEND YOUR TRADING STAMPS TO HELP PAY THE FARE OF A YOUNG ESSAY CONTEST WINNER TO TEL AVIV IN 1967. S*nd to Bonnie Helmuth, 801 LA JOLLA RANCHO ROAD, LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA, 92037. HUGE U.E.A. CONGRESS AT BUDAPEST At Budapest the 51st Esperanto Congress (July 30—August 6) Was almost too successful. Owing to last-minute registrations which sent the total up to 4010, most of the meeting halls and lecture rooms were too crowded for comfort. The Hungarian Esp- erantists' Congress Committee were overwhelmed by the immensity of their task but they labored nobly. President Lapenna, as usual, directed the business sessions of the U#Ev£rsala Esperanto Asoclo with masterly skill. He em- phasized and maintained political neutrality. The press service was outstanding In its many comprehensive releases. (These un- fortunately were not used in the United States J The lectures, plays, and particularly the puppet shows went off in fine style. £ good strong delegation of more than 50 Esperantists from the United States was in evidence in all the meetings and on the excursions. Section meetings were scheduled for such di- verse groups as architects, artists, autoists, the blind, chess players, doctors, farmers, lawyers, railwaymen, puppeteers, scientists and statesmen. Budapest stands upon the Danube, a big and mighty river at that point. One went up on the hills of Buda to look do*n up- on the river and the industrial areas of Pest. There is a uni- que blend of ancient and modern buildings and monuments. The Hungarian Parliament, where we were officially received by the Vice President, is bigger and more imposing than the House of Commons in London. Street flags and shop posters called atten- tion to the Congress. Delegates were given free streetcar passes. Julio Baghy was kept busy autographing the joint collection of poems which he and K.Kalocsay had offered and which had been printed as "Ora Duopo." The official accounts of the Congress in Esperanto, Heroldo, and Pratlko will give all the details, but Budapest stands out as one of the big milestones in the development of the Esperan- to movement. On to Tel Aviv'. -o- Froma guidebook, "We Danes and You," issued by the National Travel Association of Denmark: "Just after midnight it is general foD the Danes to break into English whether they can or not. "Every Dane speaks at least one foreign language. It may not always be easy to be sure which it is. "It staggers the Danes to think visitors can speak lan- guages like English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, not to mention Spanish and Portugese, even better than we can." -- Quoted in The Atlantic, June, 1966 -9- vh;a^ŝ^u^^^^^m^^m3xmsMMxmimĴM>msmMtsm:i lOT Tti. 'VOX *<»N '3TUI3AV WH 951 ^n^fe. V3IH3W H1JJON "OJ 309V31 OJ.NVil3dS3 ^MI/ SBBio isaTĴ VTO KAJ PROSPERU LA MOVADO'. - President Lapenna En la revuo Esperanto aperos iom ampleksaj artikolol pri la transdono de La Propono al UNO kaj pri via lando.kiu oiurilato impresis min.{Ĵe la nuna momento, antau ol veturi al London,mi nur deziras esprlmi, ankau en la nomo de mla edzino, tutkoran dankon al oiuj.kiujn ni renkontis, pro la afablega akcepto kaj plej amika kunlaborot Estas certo.ke ELNA kaj la Esperanta Morado en Usono faris tre ĝojigan progreson komparo kun kelkaj jaroj antaue.La Centre en Kvina Avenuo estas granda atinge kin prezenta» solidan bazon por konsiderinda vastigo por la internacia lingvo en Usono.Sed por ke via laboro donu kiel eble plej pezitivan rezulton neces- as, tamen, solvi kelkajn problemojn. Tri punktoj sajnas al mi la tre gravaj kaj urgajs l)-Plibonigi la lingvan nivelon.2)Agi lau la Dua Baza LaborplaBO,UEA, kaj la Prinoiparo de ProstaTal- len (p.38-42,Jarlibro,1965.) 3)-Establi multe pli oftajn,fejtajn ligojn inter la organoj de ELNA kaj oentraj organoj de UEA kaj kun la lokaj societoj. Tute aparte mi petas oiun Esperantiston en Usono, klu ankorau ne estas, fariĝu membro de UEA.Sis fino de j.1966 la individua oitijara kotizo por membro-abonanto esta» $6.00jkaj por Dumvira Membro,|120.00.Cefdelegito D.E.^Parrisb.,328 W. 46 St.,Los Angel- es,California, 90037 rlcevos. * Sis Revidol — Ivo Lapenna«