Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-07-23

ceeding of which certain retired officers COM
planned when it was really advantageous to
them; in proof of which, as we hear when, re-
Gently, to put an end to all such complaints, the
Judge Advocate offered to agree to reverse the
course of proceeding, the complaining officers
saw their mistake, and refused to accept the
offer; admitting, at length the propriety and
legality of the course prescribed by Secretary
Dobbin.
HINTS TO C0RREsroHDEHTS.-In common
with all other newspapers the Star is frequently
indebted to friends for corresponden.ial favors
many of which create pother in our office almost
indescrbable. A dozen times we have thought
Of lecturing those who thus favor us upon the
art of writing for the press, in which, so far as
length of time Of service is concerned, we may
fairly claim to be an expert.
But we find in late number of the New
York Tribune brief chapter on the subject,
so appropos as that we republish it entire for
the information of all, and the benefit of those
especially who see fit occasionally to favor us
with communications
Writing for the Press-that is, for the public
has become so common, that some general rules
of obvious proPriety with regard to 1t should be
generally understood.
There are circumstances under which any one
may write, irrespective of all considerations of
ability. Whoever witnesses a tornado, an earth
quake, powder mill explosion, railroad acct
dent, steamboat confagration, or any kindred in
cident, does us signal favor by writing us an
account of il on the instant, and forwarding IL by
the readiest conveyance. If he has no paper but
an old letter. and Onlya dull pencil to write with
SO be it ; and if he cannot make his verbs agree
with their nominatives in number and person, we
are very glad to take them in state Of disagree
ment. Let us have the essential facts at the ear
lest moment, even though it should require hours
to decipher and civilize the manuscript, even
Outnumbering the moments devoted to its COM
position. 1t may be written on both sides and
then crossed, though we greatly prefer that il
should not be but, if it be all legible, We shall
gladly undertake to decipher it,
But when one sits down deliberately to set the
Press or the Public right on some question of
public or private interest, the case is bravely
altered. In such case, we feel insulted by an in
tmatOn that the author wrote in great haste, and
will thank or graciously permit us to revise his
grammar and spelling What right has he to I'M
pose upon us this labor, Does he suppose his
own time of so much greater consequence, or his
leisure so much more limited, than ours ? Does
he imagine communications such rarity with us
that we are glad to welcome any crude produc-
ton, and il lick patiently into shape, Does he
fancy that he cOnfers Il favor us by sending
something that will serve to fill up column, In
either case. he is grievously in error We beg all
writer's for our columns but those who send us
news to take the following plain rules to heart:
]. Write legibly, with little interlineation. and
on one side of the paper only.
ii. If you do not understand the rules of Eng
lish grammar, or know how to spell according TO
some dictionary, you should postpone writing for
the press until you shall have learned. Our gem
eral standard of orthO9 raphv is Websters die
tOnary, which seems to conform more nearly to
the genius of the English language than any
other Johnson and Walker were never able to
constran scholars to write cruick, poLtickS, &c
and the u in honour, Labour, spIendour, &c, was
always supeTfiuOus and unjustifed by the deriva-
ton of this class of words. AS to such blunders
as cancelled, lerstting, trarelter, &c, we hold
them the result of sheer thong htleSsness, which
an hours impartial consideration would have
corrected at any time. DR.. Webster did not en-
trely avoid mistakes, but no rival photographer
approaches him In logical perception and general
accuracy. We wish you would spell. as he does
when you write for The Tribune but we only
insist on conformiyto Some recognized authority.
III. Try to be direct and concise, remembering
that we are every day compelled, by sheer lack of
room, to postpone or reject much that we would
gladly publish, and that communication cover
ing less than two foolscap pages, stands four
chances of appearing where one of thrice that
length stands hardly any chance at all. Sink all
prefaCes and 90 at the heart of the matter forth
with. Above all, if your impulse to write is some
personal grief or fanced Misrepresentation, make
1t brief Us possible. If you copy paragraph or
so from our columns with the hope of inducing
us to print 1t over again, be very sure that we
shall cut this out to save room. In short, be
short.
~ Understand that we are more than willing
to be instructed counSeled, admonished, rebuked
by our readers or others, provided this be done
with due respect to chirograPhy, brevity, direct
ness, orthography and grammar. Otherwise, the
chances Of that very much good advice is wasted
on us for want of being read.
CRITICAL NoTEs.-Oh, Horace Greeley, while
you are so keen-sighted to detect the bad gram
mar and bad taste Of the Schoolmasters in New
York, pray spare glance at your own. Your
literary critic writes as follows:
quitting aside all moral considerations, it is
certain that Central African travellers whose con-
sciences would allow them to become renegades to
Christianity, like Gen. Bems and Guyon's did ,
would fare much better than uncompromising
Christians
That, we must inform you, is worse gram
mar and worse taste than poor Mr.. Hazletine's.
Like Gen. BEN 5 and Guyon' did" Horror I.
And one Of your political editors is a great
sinner also in the same way. Thus, in an arti-
Gle on the 2lst, on Lord Napier and Mr.. Win
throp, we notice the following BEAUTIES:
'Perfectly unlimited extent Tautology
and bad taste.
Utterly reticent rs to speech making -
Worse and worse as tautology and bad taste
Imbibation.'' Not an English word, nor q
Latin one nor q possible one in either Ian.
guage.
"There was dead-set made upon him" Bad
grammar and vulgarism.
Mathematical succedaneumsn Nonsense
and bad grammar.
"Tidbits of compliments flowed" Tidbits
cannot fom. They can RIM Gf they have mag
gots in them.)
Recruited his stock" &C., " since he show.
cred the whole of it, &c. Nonsense If the
whole is gone, it could not be recruited. A
new stock might be obtained
ITO know the ugly question adjusted -
Bad grammar.
"COuJtcr of that ilkn An absurd and
nonsensical application of the Scottish addition
ofplace.
Take heart, Mr. Hazetine. Bad grammar
is not confined to the schoomasters at least
of New York.
Col. JOHN C. HAYs.-A letter from this civ.