That is the commercial side of it, and these are only a very few samples of the actual and practical use being made of Esperanto in this one alone.  I could produce, no doubt, a great many more such examples, but I can not carry them all about with me.  Here are some 60 to 70 guide leaflets published by so many different towns in France, in Italy, in Austria, in Germany, in England, and in several other countries—­leaflets printed in Esperanto for the use of foreigners and tourists.  They give them information in Esperanto about the various things they might first need to know on arriving at those cities.  For instance, here is Milan, Italy, and Poitiers, France, and Insbruck.  Austria, and Tavia, Italy, and Davos, Switzerland, and so on.  In the same line here are 20 more elaborate guidebooks to various towns in Europe, published entirely in Esperanto by the local authorities.  Of course, you will not have the time to look at all these things just now, but I will leave them with you.  Then, again, I think I can safely say that there are over 100 periodicals published in Esperanto in different countries.

Esperanto is making very rapid progress in Japan and China; for instance, I have here an excellent Esperanto paper published by a native society in Japan.

The chairman.  In what nation is it progressing most rapidly?

Prof.  Christen.  That is difficult to say, but seven years ago France was at the head, and Germany did not take it up for a long time.  Then about five or six years ago England shot ahead of France, and then suddenly Germany took it up, and now I think Germany is ahead of all the other countries in the practical use of Esperanto.  But it is making good progress everywhere—­in France, in England, in Denmark, in Bulgaria, in Spain, in South America, in Germany, in India, in China, and in Japan.  In Germany the authorities and scientific people have very strongly espoused Esperanto.  For instance, the Government of Saxony sustains financially an Esperanto institute in Dresden, and that does a great deal of good work.  The Government of Saxony is also a large contributor to an Esperanto library, which is the biggest in the world, as yet.  And in many towns in Spain, in Germany, and in France, especially in France, whenever an Esperanto lecturer goes into a town he gets a stipend from the town; the town pays out of the city funds the expenses of his propaganda, or partly pays them; they contribute 50 or 100 francs, and frequently more, according to the size of the place.  That is the practice in many places in other countries besides France, but especially in France.  Even the Russian Government gives financial aid to Esperanto propaganda.

The chairman.  As I understand it, this is not supposed to be a universal language?

Prof.  Christen.  No; an international language.

The chairman.  But at the same time it is a language in which all the universe can meet upon a common plane and converse?