Volapuk.

A few years ago was the order of the day, and we are only reminded of its erstwhile fame by reading an account in a Paris contemporary of the death of its founder. He was an ecclesiastic named Schleyer, and his method was to constitute a universal language by borrowing freely from the Roman and German tongues. The proposal received a great deal of attention from serious writers, and it goes without saying that it came in for a lot of ridicule. The effort might have succeeded had it not been for Esperanto. The old priest watched the rise and decline of his proposal, and he lived to see its fall. The thought that must suggest itself to all who give the matter consideration is: Why should there be a new language? Why not teach boys to write Latin as a universal language? An effort in this direction is being made in Germany.

SOURCE: "Volapuk," Chicago Defender, 9 Sept. 1911, p. 4, col. 2.

Esperanto, Vaŝingtono, & la Mondo / Esperanto, Washington, & the World — 1910
Centjara Jubileo / Centennial — 2010

Esperanto Study Guide / Esperanto-Gvidilo

Black Studies Guide: Writings in & about Esperanto / Retgvidilo pri Negrologio: Verkoj en & pri Esperanto