34o THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



The present supremacy of English in commerce is undoubted. Yet 

 it does not amount to a monopoly. English has to face the rivalry of 

 German in central and eastern Europe, of French in the Mediterranean 

 countries, of Spanish in South America, of the native languages every- 

 where. When the commercial hegemony of England was absolute and 

 apparently indestructible, England could impose the use of her lan- 

 guage to all her customers. German competition has taught her that 

 it paid to use the customers' own speech. The unique position of 

 English is thus becoming a thing of the past. England and the United 

 States may retain their lead and even increase it, but the days of mon- 

 opoly are gone. 



All things related to traveling — hotels, traveling agencies, navigation 

 companies, were long the stronghold of Anglo-Saxon influence. But 

 there is no sign that the relative importance of that influence is on the 

 increase. A generation ago, only Englishmen and Americans had both 

 the means and the desire to travel. The French were " casaniers " 

 (stay-at-home) ; the Germans were poor, and all the rest, especially the 

 South American " rastaqoueres," were totally without prestige. The 

 number of Anglo-Saxon tourists has greatly multiplied. Instead of 

 limiting themselves to a few well-known resorts, they haunt every little 

 corner in Europe. But they are no longer alone. German and French 

 cruising yachts call at every port. Parisian hotels can not be content 

 with the " English spoken " of yesterday. He who pays the pipers calls 

 the tune, and we are beginning to hear other tunes besides " Eule 

 Britannia " and " My Country, Tis of Thee." 



We do not believe that any nation is going to wrest from England 

 and America the scepter of the commercial world; we do not believe 

 that Anglo-Saxon influence in that domain is on the wane. But we do 

 believe that it is not likely to become greater than it was some ten 

 years ago. And, since it was not sufficient then to secure the adoption 

 of English as international medium, it probably never will. 



Business is not the whole of life. If we turn to science, we find 

 that, whilst English has conquered international recognition in practi- 

 cally all branches of learning, in hardly any does it rank first. England 

 and America have as splendid a roll of scientists to show as Germany 

 or France; but many of these were isolated men of genius. Germany 

 has a larger host of conscientious, subordinate scientific workers and a 

 larger competent public. The lead of Germany is probably not so con- 

 siderable as some Americans are apt to think. This country has long 

 been a province of the Fatherland as far as higher education was con- 

 cerned, and it retains to the present day a pro-German bias which makes 

 it unjust to the achievements of England, France, Italy, and even to its 

 own. But, great or small, that lead, from the linguistic point of view 

 at least, is undeniable. For the purpose of disinterested study, every 



