“Atlantis” Newspaper
7th of September, 1907.
Mr. George Horton, the General Ambassador of the United States to Athens according to what we have published is departing within the coming week for his journey over the Confederation. Advocate and passionate friend of Modern Hellas, on the sacred lands of which he was inspired his uncontained philhellenism, which he speaks so well and displays with poetic exaltation in his well-known writings all over America, Mr. Horton undertaking today, entirely for no profit, to speak to the various cities of America about contemporary Hellas, he becomes a herald of our national idea, indeed a genuine American he is transformed into a true Hellene missionary. Mr. Horton’s work must be encouraged by all the Hellenes in America who owe according to their sacred and patriotic duty to be present at the lectures of our precious friend, and for this reason we will quote his schedule.
Mr. Horton will speak in: Seattle the 7th of October, San Francisco October 10th, Polo Alto October 11th, Berkeley October 12th, Los Angeles October 14th, Salt Lake City October 16th, Ogden or Provo October 17th, Denver October 19th, Boulder October 21st, Colorado Springs October 22nd, Pueblo October 23rd, Topeka October 25th, Lawrence October 26th, Kansas City October 28th, Columbia MO October 29th, Saint Louis October 30th, Des Moines November 1st, Iowa City November 2nd, Milwaukee November 4th, Madison November 5th, Chicago November 6th (with luncheon), Cincinnati November 9th, Ann Arbor November 11th, Detroit November 12th, Cleveland November 13th, Rochester November 14th, Washington PA November 16th, Pittsburg November 18th, Washington DC November 20th, Baltimore November 22nd, Philadelphia November 23rd, New York November 25th, New Haven November 26th and in Boston November 27th.
Thee is a Hellenic presence in all the cities which Mr. Horton will pass through. Would it not be good, therefore, with today’s conditions finding ourselves on the eve of the “American Hellenic Syndicate” that he be welcomed by the Hellenes who are well committed, either before or after his lectures about Hellas? Mr. Horton being an enthusiastic friend, a true friend of contemporary Hellas, undertakes the work, for which not only do we have to give a display of our appreciation, but something more.
10th of September, 1907.
Mr. Horton the General Ambassador of America to Athens with great joy was informed by the Management of “Atlantis” about the efforts made for the foundation of the “American Pan-Hellenic Syndicate”, enthusiastically explained the great significance of the Union of all Hellenic Corporations in one central syndicate composed of by their presidents. The Management of “Atlantis”, because of this, requested from Mr. Horton that he postpone his departure from New York for a few days and accept to speak about the Syndicate to the Hellenes in New York. Mr. Horton happily joined together with the “Atlantis” Management’s request , however, he added that the consent of the President of the United States was to proceed, or that of Washington’s Ministry of External Affairs, before he could decide upon the subject; since, this request was not included in the license, for the lectures about “Hellas of Today” within the United States by Mr. Horton, received by the American Archaeological Company under the Minister of External Affairs. Mr. Solon I. Vlastos asked for the consent of the President of the United States Mr. Roosevelt, within a few hours he received a reply from the personal secretary of the President and good friend of “Atlantis”, Mr. Loeb, granting the required presidential consent.
12th of September, 1907.
This evening, according to what was announced, Mr. George Horton, General Ambassador of the United States to Athens will address the Hellenes of New York in the hall on 58th Street. Mr. Horton kindly accepting to speak about the importance of the establishment of the American Pan-Hellenic Syndicate, offers precious service to the success of the great work in Uniting Hellenism in America and for this reason rightly he expects that all the Hellenes of New York will come forward physically and in a timely manner to the mentioned hall, so that they may be acquainted with the philhellene Mr. Horton and hear his salutation in English and in Greek. Apart Mr. Horton, Rev. Methodios Kourkoules the parish priest of the Church “Holy Trinity” will speak there and the temporary president of the American Pan-Hellenic Syndicate Mr. George Nikolaou. Mr. Athanasios Argyros was equally invited to speak about the subject of the founding of the American Pan-Hellenic Syndicate, which all proves that before such a great patriotic work, which the importance everyone understands, all quarrels and disagreements cease.
17th of October, 1907.
Mr. Horton in San Francisco.
“Chronicle”, the newspaper of San Francisco with the date of 11th of October writes the following about the first lecture there by Mr. Horton about “ Hellenes of Today”:
George Horton, General Ambassador of the United States to Athens, author of “As Another Helene”, “The Temptation of Saint Antonios”, The Monk’s Treasure”, “In Argolis” and other well known novels dealing with subjects taken from the modern Greek lifestyle, native of the State of New York, graduate from the University of Michigan, associate for the newspaper of Chicago, Ambassador to Athens during the Presidency of Cleveland, and then writer for the literature page of the Chicago newspaper, “Times Herald”, arrived in San Francisco yesterday directly from Greece where he has toiled for three years.
He sailed across the Atlantic boarding onto a ship transporting immigrants which carried 800 Hellenes and 700 Austrians, having the objective to complete his studies about the immigrant Hellene, so in this manner a new novel could be worked out, this novel dealing with the Hellene immigrant in America, especially about the charming national lifestyle of the Hellenes in Chicago. He equally carried with him a completed manuscript about children’s myths in Hellas, which until now have not yet been published.
Mr. Horton says that Hellas of today has a population of two million seven hundred thousand, approximately as much as California has now. But from what it appears there does not exist a precise knowledge of what was the population of ancient Hellas in the days of its great glory. Everywhere in Hellas it appears that the youth have the ambition to come over to the United States. Anywhere Mr. Horton goes to within the interior, and it became known that he was an American, both donkey drivers and other youth were seeking from him information about “how much time is needed for someone to become rich in America”. The fact that family and friends constantly send home money obtained in America provokes a great impression on them. It is said that for the present the Hellenic Parliament is divided by the problem as to whether they are to restrain the immigration of the youth to America or to allow them to come over to the promised land, since the Hellenes in America now are famed for sending annually to their homeland the surprising amount of about 15,000,000 dollars.
The General Ambassador came to America in order to give a series of lectures with pictures about the “Hellenes of Today” and the accomplished work by the various archaeological schools of France, Germany, England, the United States and Austria in the excavation of ancient ruins, and even the exportation to the light of civilization of natural diagrams of cities buried with the passing of thousands of years.
Last night he gave a lecture in the hotel Fairmont before the members of the San Francisco Archaeological Institute of America. This afternoon he will give a lecture at the University of Stanford and tomorrow evening at the University of California…later, in London, during his return to Athens.
Mr. Horton says that the American archeological school works exclusively in the excavation of ancient Corinth and has discovered many interesting positions and buildings commemorated by the ancient writers. Ancient Corinth is below Corinth built there later, on the ancient spot, by the Romans. The same thing also occurs with the ancient city of Troy, and not less than nine cities, one below the other have been discovered proving that by the passing of thousands of years, cities have peaked, have been destroyed or their residents expelled, and following the dusting, the corrosion, and the settlement of many centuries, they were sunk with the ground, in order to have another city built upon them.
Before Mr. Horton could begin his lectures last night, it was announced to the 200 persons gathering that the Mayor Mr. Taylor was elected president of the Archeological Company.
About 100 interesting photographic images picturing Hellas, especially the buildings, the people and the streets of modern Athens, with the types of Athenian women and men, majestic series of views of the great stadium, with its all white marble hill-sides, holding 100,000 people during the Olympic Games, were cast down onto the shelter of the cinema in order to complete the speaker’s descriptions who said that 6,000 American travelers visit Athens every winter. There exist 18, 000,000 people in the world now speaking the modern Greek language-these Hellenes, the Armenians, the Turks, the Persian and others. Knowing how to speak modern Greek, the traveler can go over anywhere in the world and find a Hellene ready to be of service to him as an interpreter. Hellas of today is a new evolution towards its ancient glory, re-living after a long slavery to Turkey. Their patriotism and love for their native city is to be noticed and it’s strong to the Hellene’s nature. Everywhere, multitalented Hellenes and poorer ones send or give money for the building of schools, institutions of good-will, public buildings or fountains to be improved and decorated.
The speaker commemorated many important men in the world, who are really native Hellenes. The Hellenes have a love for politics, some of them traveling thousands of miles returning to Athens, in order to vote during the annual elections. Politics is the beloved subject everywhere and all the time. The love for the theatre is real and the country life prevails as it did in the days of ancient Hellas.
Among the sites, a monument was shown in the Athenian cemetery of the Professor from the University of California, Richardson, who was deceased there, during the time he was principal of the Archeological American school.
26th of October, 1907.
According to the newspapers of Salt Lake City and other cities of the Interior in which Mr. George Horton is giving his lectures about Hellas and the contemporary Hellenes, the halls are filled by the audience, who with great interest follow the noble philhellene. In all his lectures, Mr. Horton gives mention of the spoken Greek, as also all the forms of the language which are similar to the ancient forms, and as for the contemporary Hellene, with unbeatable arguments he proves them to be genuine descendents to the ancient. In one of his lectures he said that the Hellenic language is spoken by 18 million, and the purist form of the language is spoken by 12 million.
“The first governor of Alaska”, said Mr. Horton, “was a Hellene, and the governor of a war ship of Dewey’s fleet during the naval battle of Manilla equally was an Hellene, and many other Hellenes became known to America, for their services to their adopted homeland”.
16th of November, 1907.
Regardless, Hellenes were found being fugitives of Hellenic justice: Hellenes, writers of printed material, Hellenes, fortunately, from the last social sub-station, Hellenes in name only, but worse than the heart and the sentiments of those very Bulgarians, who boorishly attacked Mr. Horton. This happened because the gentle American consented, after invitations by Forty American University Councils which sustain the American School in Athens from a common fund, to come to the United States and enlighten the Americans about the Hellenes of today; that is, us about us. Fortunately, their barks were not taken into consideration by the noble American, adhering firmly to his nation-saving program and working for no financial gain in America on our behalf, far more and more usefully than we could do ourselves, or with our corporations.
23rd of November, 1907.
Every community in the interior without exception, from that one in Seattle on the Pacific coastline to the one in Philadelphia, enthusiastically gave a reception to the American philhellene Mr. George Horton, who as a young missionary made known to the Americans the virtues and the talents of our nation. The triumphant campaign on behalf of Hellenes over all the United States by the known and popular writer to the American public contributed to having the American citizens of the great Democracy know us better; the Democracy which gives us hospitality and in which we work and prosper. In general, apart the people of the Confederation, because of the great number of Hellenes workers, who have replaced the Italians and the other foreigners in the majority of apartments, the Hellenes or the Greeks, as they call us, are considered strangers. We are classified with the “undesired” citizens of the country, because of the racial emotions. In California, especially, because of the known events against the Japanese, the racial hatred there is more acute, the outcries against us are bigger. The newspaper “Appeal” received today issued in Maryaville of the same named city, publishes a principle article against the Hellenes, in which upon numbering a pile of groundless and baseless accusations against us, finishes with the words “run them out”, in other words kick them out. Another article is published in the same newspaper with the title “The Greek nuisance” and the entire Hellenic race is similarly struck at because of the insignificant misconduct of one or two of our homosexuals, who attracted the disapproval of the locals. In the same manner, only recently, there was the fierce harassment of Hellenes in Roanoke of Virginia and elsewhere in the United States, originating mostly from the envy of fellow craftsmen, who are not able to successfully compete against the Hellenes pastry chefs, florists, restaurant owners or fruit store owners, as, for example, recently in Buffalo and various cities of Pennsylvania and other States. The newspaper “News” issued in Tacoma of the State of Washington publishes in one of its latest issues, a harsh accusation against Hellenes pastry chefs and draws the attention of the sanitary and health authorities.
All of this and many more, for which the columns of “Atlantis” are not enough, prove that we had the need of a man, and indeed an American who could render the Hellenes known as a race, as an ethnicity, as a nation to the many Americans, and this is what Mr. Horton did by speaking to more than thirty cities of the Confederation, before crowded audiences formed by Americans. If we take into consideration that apart his specialty as a writer, Mr. Horton also carries his official character being general Ambassador of America to Athens, and that because of this his reasons have a greater authority before the American public , and that his favorable lectures on our behalf have thus been published in relatively all the newspapers of the Confederation, it follows that the activity of the gentle American for us living under the starry flag , was the most beneficial, the most useful.
Mr. Horton is found now in the end of his campaign on behalf of Hellenes over the Confederation. He is speaking in Philadelphia today and exalts the Hellenes before an audience formed by Americans and the entire successful patriotic colony there, and tomorrow Monday, at the hour of 4:30pm he will speak as we announced yesterday, in one of the large halls of Colombia University founded at the expense of the immensely rich Schemchora. Therefore, is it necessary to remind the Hellenes of New York that we also have a duty to be present at the lecture given on our behalf by the gentle American. Is it necessary that we remind the presidents and the leaders of the Hellenic corporations there that this politeness, and may we add gratitude, imposes that the appreciation by the Hellenic colony in New York be expressed officially, the colony which is worthy of first place among American colonies. Is it necessary that we add that Mr. Horton first contributed to the founding of the Pan-Hellenic Union with his beautiful and ripe enthusiastic speeches when publicly he spoke in New York on behalf of the coalition of the American Hellenes? The community leaders were obliged to give some thought about all of this, before today, but today is not too late.
27th November, 1907.
Mr. George Horton after his lecture in Boston today will go over to Washington where he will speak Wednesday, 4th of December, in Hubbard Memorial Hall, situated on 16th and M streets N.W. After that lecture he will remain, for a few days, in Washington for reasons of duty at the ministry of External Affairs in Washington, and returning to New York he will be departing from there for Athens at about the 12th of December.
29th of November, 1907.
With the title “Byron’s Rivals, super-fighter for Hellenes”, “Registers” the newspaper in New Haven Connecticut carries the title of a nice article in favor of Mr. Horton, General Ambassador of America to Athens, and re-publishes a book critique of one of his monograms “The Monk’s Treasure”. In this beautiful work Mr. Horton graphically describes the lifestyle in Andros.
30th of November, 1907.
TRIBUTE OF GRATITUDE
TO MR. HORTON
Gratitude is especially a Hellenic virtue. For this reason the inspired proposition by Papademetriou, the distinguished clergyman from Samos, accordingly vibrates the most gentle chords of the Hellenic heart, which so far continues to hold for the country delightful emotions, as Mr. Horton’s philhellenic campaign over the Confederation, which had Boston as its latest stop and reasonably so, since the Americans flirtatiously call this city “New Athens”.
The precious value of this philhellenic campaign cannot escape even the most common understanding, imposing respect in a double manner, on the one hand because the overall speech of the Philhellene proves the higher education of the man, with which education he presented with complete envy the image of the Hellenic lifestyle, and on the other hand he embellished this speech with those progressive colors of the Hellenic lifestyle, so that by their harmonic synthesis to transpose his eclectic American audience to fortunate times, when the charming perfection of the ancient Hellenic lifestyle was taught to all, the ancient Hellenic lifestyle which the American has mostly adopted, being persuaded in this way to the man’s trust: that the modern Hellene is not inferior to his ancestors, proving with a gentle effort the same qualities, with which the modern Hellene becomes worthy of esteem and of a better political fortune. On this precise spot lies the value of the work of the respectful philhellene, who, as it was said, placed the gentle purpose of making better known Modern Hellas to his great Homeland, because the Hellas of our ancestors, as at the time of Manuel Chrysolaras in Florence who when introduced to the spiritual homeland he occupied, where he was invited by the learned who were the few in number intellectual representatives in distressed Europe’s dark illiteracy and ignorance of the time, the Middle Ages were forced to praise Hellas, the subsequent centuries delighting in the marvel of the purity of the Hellenic spirit, the Hellenic spirit which simply placed the rules of logic only one time, and he supplied the most perfect forms of good, which good, upon casting away its wings, permanently then settled in Hellas, in order to surround Hellas with the mystery of its charm, being like Ernest Renan in his prayer to the godess, in the end having our humble enemies admit that Hellas is rivaling greatness. But contemporary Hellas can’t reap benefit from these, so that we may not appear ungrateful, only once were these qualities granted lavishly, granted lavishly then when idealistic Europe touched by the authorities of the past century, gladly greeted the rebirth of Hellas, which her inspired visitors until then, not even de Chateubraind excluded, melancholically said good-bye, tracing the known epitaphs of Hellas now considered dead.
The grieving conditions with which our invincible nation performed before the war, permitted that we call upon the otherwise spontaneous shaping contribution to mankind, the humanity which had been benefited by our ancestors, the contribution which was completely organized in our favor by the learned of antiquity then, and according to the poet it was considered very necessary:
“Byron and Hugo to sing songs”.
For this reason the sweet singing lyre of the inspired philhellenes sung the feats of contemporary Hellas, electrifying with these the multitudes, touching the Diplomatic Corps and finally contributing to the creation of the Free Hellenic Corner.
These undisputed services of the ones singing the praise of struggling Hellas classified them to the other class of philhellenes, the class which support their great feeling in favor of Hellas, a feeling as strong as the coliseum of Rhodes upon the arms of one of our Homelands, which is presented in double form, one of Antiquity and one of Modern Hellas.
t is necessary to classify the honorable Mr. Horton in this same order of the philhellenes, pre-determined to occupy an equal place with these fore-mentioned. During his small stay in Hellas, studying the Hellenic lifestyle deeply with those who honored him, discovered in the modern Hellene the ancestral virtues, the industrious worker of progress, the fearless marine, keen-sighted merchant, the profound scientist, the affectionate and developed mother, the perfectly educated clergyman, and in the end the conqueror of the Hellenic historic future. Therefore, the honored Philhellene unselfishly presented Modern Greece in this manner to his great Homeland, his homeland being inspired by the Hellenic antiquity, from which, as was said, his homeland adopted many principles, deeply appreciating and imitating the Hellenic architecture for its public buildings and private mansions, with enthusiasm accepted the evangelist of noble ideas, the rivaling water-color painter, to whom is elevated Mr. Horton, in the description of the wave-like dissemination to all directions of the Hellenic horizon, the never setting light of knowledge, the one crowning the sacred cliff of the Acropolis.
The emerging benefits for our Nations from this philhellenic campaign by Mr. Horton became undisputed, and for this reason the gratitude of all Hellenes is directed to him indivisibly.
In Boston the 29th November, 1907.
K.D. SKOUPHOS
14th of December, 1907.
With particular interest the Hellenes across all the United States will read today the lecture given among Americans by our excellent friend Mr. George Horton, the lecture for which we place a faithful translation in other columns. “Atlantis” did not assume any trouble or expense in order to publish Mr. Horton’s whole speech of many columns, convinced that we respond to the desire of all the Hellenes in America, of which the majority did not hear the great philhellene speaking on our behalf. Other than this, our readers will be convinced by the reading of his lecture that only the Bulgars and their hired dirty agents are able to insult the great philhellene. They said to Mr. Horton and they published these monsters in all three printed material of New York and other similar printed material in the Interior, that, for example, “Atlantis” took advantage of the great philhellene and used him for advertisement. “Atlantis” truly took advantage of the good feelings of Mr. Horton on behalf of Hellenes, because the good philhellene was discouraged as a result of the disgraceful attack against him by the traitors, the ungrateful schemers. “Atlantis” encouraged him, strengthened him, and urged him in the continuation of his work. Mr. Horton listened to our encouragement and brought to an end his great mission. If Mr. Horton, an old friend of “Atlantis”, appreciating our work mentions the newspaper’s fourteen year national journey and this is revealed as advertisement? We wish that all those Hellenic newspapers also have of such advertisement along with all the good of the newspaper, the newspaper which honestly works in favor of our national interests.
The translation of the verses from the poem, “The Greek Boy”, for which the whole text was published in English in “Atlantis”, when in a series of articles the need was proven for the founding of the “Pan-Hellenic Union”, is owed to Mr. Ath. Gerakis a contributor to “Atlantis”. Mr. Gerakis translated in verse the whole poem by William Collen Bryan and his translation was published in “Atlantis”. From the letters and donations received until today because of the publishing of Mr. Horton’s lecture, which already takes up one page, tightly set typed, we publish only two or three articles concerning the actions of the Bulgarians in America, recommending their reading to our readers.
In the page of next Saturday, will be published in English the entire translated today published lecture of Mr. Horton, as well as passages from American newspapers, also in English, from those newspapers which dealt with the philhellenic lectures of Mr. Horton; at the request of many of our readers, so that they may be able to share the whole speech of Mr. Horton to the Americans. Therefore, our readers are requested to declare as soon as possible the number of papers, which they wish that we mail them, by sending, a deposit if they so please, of the equivalent of 2 cents for each paper, otherwise, we will send them for free.
