!k <^~^p INFORMATION CENTER ESPERANTO LEAGUE for NORTH AMERICA Vol.VI No.6 INtrVjLt I I tK December 1970 HOW ESPERANTO WON ACCEPTANCE IN THE SCOUT MOVEMENT A detailed account of the shifting attitudes of the international Boy Scout movement toward Eaperanto is contained in the official journal of the World Esperanto Association, Esperanto, for December. At the World Scout Jamboree in Japan in the summer of 1971, Esperanto will be one of the lan- guages used, and the Esperanto Scout manual has a world-wide sale, but this was not always the case. Baden Powell, who founded the Boy Scout movement in England in 1907, was personally in favor of Esperanto on the basis of his experience abroad, but when the international Scout movement was organized in 1920, and again in 1934, it turned thumbs down on the language as of no practical value. It was not until 1957 that Esperanto came in for favorable notice at the World Scout Office, in the person of its Director, Dan Spry. Under his leader- ship, the S.M.O. in 1964 nullified its previous stand and resolved that "Esper- anto has proved its utility in diverse spheres." Relations continued to im- prove and in 1969 at .the World Scout Conference in Helsinki, the interna- tional Scout Esperanto League with official permission distributed copies of its new manual, "Jamborea Lingvo," to all the delegates. There is a strong Esperanto Scout organization in Japan and its leaders are preparing for the widest possible use of Esperanto at the 1971 World Jamboree in Tokyo. The Jamboree secretary is himself an Esperantist. American Esperantists are also working to this end. The Berkshire, Mass., Esperanto Society is offering classes so that Scouts may qualify for the inter- preter's badge. The Walla Walla, Wash., Society has provided textbooks, is raising travel funds, and conducting a contest under which up to three Scouts may qualify for assistance. In California also funds are being raised. There and in Honolulu, Rokuro Tokuda of Shizuoka will visit schools where Esperanto is being taught, in December and January. For information on Esperanto for Scouts write William Schulze, 410 Darrell Road, Hillsborough, Ca. 94010. -o- The Italian parliament is considering a proposal to include Esperanto in the school curriculum. Members of the Chamber of Deputies received copies of "Wanted: A World Language," the Public Affairs pamphlet by Dr. Mario Pei, from an order placed by Dr. Umberto Stoppolini of Pistoia. -o- An All-California Esperanto conference is planned for the 1971 Easter vacation period. For details, write West Coast Esperanto Information Center, 410 Darrell Road, Hillsborough, Cal. 94010. 1971 E.L.N.A. CONGRESS June 30-July 4 San Antonio, Texas #•>.«, -2- NL 12/70 ELNA-BULTENO AND NEWSLETTER WILL ALTERNATE Henceforth the two periodic publications of the Esperanto League for North America, the ELNA-Bulteno and the Newsletter, will appear in alternate months with the Bulteno beginning its new schedule in January. This will mean more frequent and more up-to-date news for the E.L.N.A. membership and also fewer chances of mailing delays with the Bulteno being sent direct from Editor Rodney Ring's postoffice at Kutztown, Pa., instead of being sent to New York for a combined' mailing with the Newsletter. Members of the Donald Munro Esperanto club (formerly the Lehigh Valley Society) will cooperate in mailing. At least the publications staff hopes for fewer delays. The experience of the past few months makes it easy to believe in gremlins and jinxes. It took two weeks for the June copies of the Bulteno to travel by parcel post the hun- dred miles to New York. In August both the Bulteno and Newsletter were on hand but a packet of address labels sent airmail from La Jolla, Cal. did not arrive until three weeks later. In the meanwhile, John Futran and his wife in despair hand-addressed the entire mailing list. In October there was again a 10-day delay when a private parcel service inexplicably returned the Bulteno to Dr. Ring as undeliverable at Mr. Futran1s New York address. Nothing short of a miracle can speed up the delivery of bulk-permit mail, but the difference in cost (1.6 cents per piece as against 6 cents first or third class) is too great to be ignored. The December issue will probably be especially late because of the volume of holiday mail. -o- State Esperanto Society Steps up Activities in Florida Florida has one of the relatively few statewide Esperanto societies. Off- icers include: President/ Rex Bennett, Tamper vice president. Dr. Max Amiel, St. Petersburg; secretary-treasurer, Mrs. Mary McCall, St. Petersburg. Addi- tional delegates are: Clearwater, Robert Schmidt; Daytona Beach, Mrs. Daphne Lencer; Ft. Myers, A. Knapp; Tampa, Mrs. Gizelle Giguere; St. Petersburg, Wayne Duffield. A monthly news bulletin began publication in October. President Bennett and David Whitaker of St. Petersburg were authorized by the November executive committee meeting to consult with Kurt Hitke and others in the Miami area about the formation of a local society. Mr. Hitke has had 1000 copies of E.L.N.A.'s "Be Ahead of Your Generation" leaflet printed, carrying the state Society address. At Ft. Lauderdale University, where Esperanto courses on three levels are to become a part of the curriculum in the 1971 fall term, the commit- tee will confer with the University president. Dr. Stanley Drake. -o- Educational authorities in Cuba are considering the introduction of Esperanto on elementary and university levels, according to a news release from Pedro Pablo Lamas Diaz, who has been appointed U.E.A. agent in Cuba. -o- With 122 listeners at Station WOSU's daily course in Esperanto suffi- ciently involved to pay $2.50 for the instruction kit, Jane Wills has been hard put to continue taping the lessons for future programs with her pupil, Jack Babbert, an 11th grade student. Fortunately not all the participants send in homework for correction. -o- TO DISTRIBUTORS OF THE PEI PAMPHLET "Wanted: A World Language": On . Page 21, change the address of J.E.N, from Philadelphia to 35 Violet Lane, Lansdowne, Pa. 19050. NL 12/70 FRESH VOICES IN SUPPORT OF INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE It is always gratifying to find advocacy of Esperanto in the public press from people who have no connection with the movement. Two such instances have occurred recently. One was a letter in the Nov. 14 Saturday Review in which Hans Baenninger of Upper Montclair, N.J.. pointed out drawbacks to English as a "global language" and gave many reasons for Esperanto instead. A letter to Mr. Baenninger from Mark Starr, chairman of the Esperanto Information Center in New York, brought a reply in which Mr. Baenninger said that after having learned Esperanto some 50 years ago, he learned and used six other languages in addition to his native German. "The difficulties which I found in every new language," he went on, "have convinced me that none of these 'living' languages can possibly serve as an international communications language,- hence my one-man campaign for Esperanto whenever I had a chance. Last year I suggested to the Stanford Research Insti- tute, of which our firm was a member, that they should write up one of their searching reports on Esperanto and its possibilities for the international business world, and present a proposal on how this country could take the 'lead in spreading its use. "Now that I have more time (He has recently retired—Ed.), I shall brush up on my Esperanto and see how I fare with a 50-year-old memory. If it works I shall be glad to listen in at your meetings and possibly even talk myself." In the second instance, Michael Hamm of Iowa City, la. sent E.I.C. a copy of a letter to the New Yorker proposing that the magazine prepare and publish an article on "Esperanto in the worlcl today - its status, direction, and the men.and women who are its major voices." "I have recently become absorbed in the study of Esperanto," he wrote, "and somewhat to my surprise have discovered that it is not the pathetic cur- iosity I had expected, but an intriguing, live, and growing movement and in many countries is an acknowledged and respected language. The continued growth and strength of Esperanto is a tribute to Dr. Zamenhof/ its creator. . . . "His long testing of the language before publication, as well as his insistence on euphony and beauty, cleansed it of the 'artificial' quality usually to be found in a constructed language. ... He understood that rational structure and simple grammar are not enough to support a language and that it would quickly wither away without poetry." -o- Elizabeth Rank in San Mateo on Regional Organiza the World Espe and national c Greece for a per lishing a literarly ty was in of Redwood Ci October 4. She had tion (SFERO) and Congress at Toky|3 sses in Mexico, returning home memorial fund in sranto rongre iod, A state-wide attendance of 40 Esperanto Society Buckeye State. Kevin Sheard of Esperanto conferen enthusiasts, acco Charles Simon re Other program parti Cincinnati and Robe 1CI rt Calif., was killed in an auto accident been active in the San Francisco Esperanto a life member of E.L.N.A. She attended (1965) Budapest (1966) and Madrid (1968), Chechoslovakia and Greece. She lived in in the summer of 1969. SFERO is estab- :4rs. Rankin's honor, -o- e at Circleville Ohio, on Nov. 8 drew an rdtng to Lewis Cook, president of the Ohio viewed the history of Esperanto in the pants included Tom Ludwig of Covington, Ky., and Jane Wills of Columbus. ^ . _,., -4- NL 12/70 SAN FRANCISCO STATE COLLEGE - ESPERANTO OPPORTUNITIES, 1971 SPRING SEMESTER - 3 semester units SUMMER SESSIONS - Overseas Study Tour to the British Isles: 4 weeks, 4 semester units, about $25 per unit, beginning about July 25. Arrangements will in- clude the World Esperanto Congress, University College, and Interna- tional Esperanto Summer University lecture series; other places still under negotiation. Residential Courses - On basic, intermediate and advanced levels; 3 weeks, 3 semester units, about $25 per unit. July 5-23. To be kept informed on later developments of the foregoing courses, write West Coast Information Center, 410 Darrell Rd., Hillsborough, Ca. 94010. -o- Portland State University plans a summer course in Esperanto, a 3-week, 3-credit course with Duncan Charters as teacher. For details write Anne Whitteker, 2553 Lancaster St. West Linn, Ore. 97068. -o- Mountain climber Frank Ashley fell 200 feet when a snow bridge gave way under him on a solo climb of Granite Peak in Montana last summer. He spent three nights in freezing temperatures before being rescued. His pilgrimage to plant an Esperanto pennant at the highest point in each of the United States was reported in the October, 1969, Newsletter. For the 1972 World Esperanto Con- gress at Portland, Ashley hopes to guide Esperantists up nearby Mt. Hood (11,235 ft.) which, he says, is one of the most beautiful mountains in the country and a relatively easy climb. -o- The United States ranked highest last year in the number of new members obtained for the Universala Esperanto-Asocio (U.E.A.). Of 610 newcomers, 71 were from the U.S., 58 from France, 50 from Great Britain, 45 from Japan and 42 from Finland. -o- The 1971 E.L.N.A. Congress will take place in San Antonio, Tex., on June 30 to July 4, with the local Von Nimitz Esperanto club as hosts. NON-PROFIT ORG. ESPERANTO LEAGUE k* NORTH AMERICA 156 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK, NY. 10010 BET inn K38TAOB 0UJUAWEED ADDRESS CORRECTI0H REQUESTED U. S. POSTAGE Paid New York, N. Y. Permit No. 657 CI