New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-12-31

! ~ IDEA CARRIED OUT TO ITS REsuLIs-AN
AMERICAN MENTAL AND MATERIAL fHo-
-DUCr.
IJpon the breaking ont of the war of the Revolu-
t;on Noah Webster, Young student Just graduated
from his classical and professional studies and about to
enter upon the practice of law found that the distracted
state OF the country precluded any hope OF mmedae
success in that direction. As temporary expedeh ne
resorted 10 the business Of teacng-first IN l'" at
Hartford Conn. and then, in 1852, in Goshen ~ l.
Entering ardently into the spirit OF the pohuc IeNou
tion and later upon the discussion IN regard 10 the
adopton OF the new Constitution, TO the furherance oil
which be lent the aid " vigorous pen-sO eihciehuE'
indeed as TO attract the attention Of Hamilton Jay
Wocott Pickering, and Washington himsef-Whlie en-
Cagng in the work Of practical instruction. ne Iouhu 'he
textbooks in thoroughly imbued with sentiments
and principles favoring monarchy ana arls'ocrdcs III
| government and hierarchy IN church. He was thus
naturally led TO desire that the minds OF American
youth In the forming period should be nodded by oDeI
influences Hence the origin, first, OF the American
Smelling Book" subsequently changed TO the Element
ary') and then of the american Dictionary OF 'he
| English Language" ana its several Abridgnents
OF the speller more than 100000 copies have been
sold and its present rate Of production ia about 100000
copies per annum. During the last year, lOooVo were
made During the year succeeding the war, 1,o95,1O5
were sold. More than 5O0o0000 American children nave
thus received their early intellectual training and moral
impressions from this little manual. What other human
| ~
toned that during the war the South, while compelled
! 10 get along mainly without new supplies of books e1
cept a few English Bibles and PrayerB0oks run IN
through he blockade found its need OF WebsteTs spell
ing Book sore that surrepttous edltlon was pun
srn6 Ia Macon, Ga yet IN quite primitive style OF
mechanical execution and wholly without the engia'
rgs: so that the "Milkmaid" and the boy who stole
Apples" appeared without the pictorial representations
II takes l9l71s pounds Of paper tomake lOO spoilers
ana hence 100000 require 9'3O pounds OF paper 'he
mt actually used. The gular product OF 100000
annually gives 3,205 for each secular day OF over 'e
comics per minute for the working hours OF each day
And this rate five copies per minute has continued for
20 wears No other book but the Bible it is believed has
even ad so large SALE Fifty million copies, placed
lengthwise in continuous line would make row over
1000 miles long. Dr. Webster supported himself and
large family during the 20 80 years he was employed
III the preparation of his large Dictionary mainly 10y
copyright Of cent or less on his Spelling Book
dstn guished United states Senator wrote" Above
al other people we are one; and above all books which
| have united in the bond Of a common language /
place the good old spelliug-BOok Of Noah Webster We
ve unity Of lang age which other peope possess
and We owe this unity above all ese, 10 Noah Ncbsi E
| Yankee Spelling Book"
Forty years ago. Haeck in describing tho good people
| of Connecticut, speaks Of the schOolmastersas
wandering through the Southern ooaut'ies teaching
Thea B from wEBsTBRs Spelling Book
Gallant and cody making and pTeschirg.
! And gaining, by what they call boob tnt crook
And what the moraists call overeachmr
| decent living The yirguaus iooS
Upon them with as favorable eyes
! As Gabriel tie devil il Paradise.
But these are tu, their outcsss them nem
At home where all their worth and pde Is placed,
Ar there their bospitsble fres burn clear
ana there the lowiest farmhouse hearth Craced
With manly hearts, IN Iiety sneee
| Faithful in loye, in honor stern aud Gtasts,
In friendship and true, in danger brave,
Beloved in Life, and saintel in the grave
DR.. websters plan, which had its inception in the
spelling book eliminated in the Dictionary ebsteT
Unabridged" To its compilation and perfection, Or
Webster devoted of the best of his life In The
original preparation, he largely aided by the labor
OF Others 1t has undergone two Teyisions since h
death and full 80 years Of earnest literary labor wer'
ex aided upon the last alone In the preparation anC
perfection of the larger work and the several abrds
ments full 100 years OF dhgent intellectual toll IL Il
, believed, have been expended. The Unabridged II
thought be the largest single volume ever published
containing as much matter six English Bibles 1t j
generally egarded the Dictionary Of highest AUTHORITY
in the language and has sale all over The civze'
world 1t regularly issued in LOndon and IN EngliS
as well American Courts OF Justice considered as IN
lead ~ authority as TO the meaning Of words Since TN
peliu- OF Japan, 800 copies have gone 10 tina
count y. OF the 10 Abiidments, most have heel
repubushed in England. and several have very lsTg
sale there. one has its titlepage 18th thousand
over 60 tuns OF paper annually employed in th
manufacture of the ADndgments IN tins country max
ing an aggregate of llCOOOO sheets of paper, which
spread out sngly would cover 40 square miles. The!
are found almost every schooh in the land Tw,
hundred and fifty tuns of paper used an
nua ~ in the preparation of the Webster books, spee
included. A careful estimate gives the enormous guam
ty of 7047l0O pounds 1873 tus OF paper as The guam
tty used in the manufacture OF all the Webster book
from the commencement The volumes made from thu
have been sufficient to form pile hardly less IL
| magnitude than the great Pyramid Of Egypt,
UnquestiOnaby, Webster's DctiOnariesthe large
work and several Ahidgnents included--arc sol,
annually than Of all other English Dictionaries together
reckoning well Great Britain as the United states
and all English speaking communities combined. Over
100000 sheep have been Invested OF their skins 10
these books At fair estimate, 1908 persons derive
their Of support from the manufacture and sale Of
these books reckoning the preparation Of the materials
allowing the usual number Of those dependent upon
the labor Of others. More than quarter OF million OF
dollars has been paid the family Of Dr. Webster since
hs death, copyright upon his works. Ten million Text
Books annually published in the United States taking
Webster as their general standard Of photography
Few persons who nave not given the matter
particular attention, in how great a
preponderance Of cases the changes in photography
| which Dr. Webster recommended have prevailed un-
yersaly those not adopted in regard TO which
there Is diversity OF usage In "TOdds johnson die
tonary" edited by Worcester, and published the year
preceding the appearance Of Websers large work under
the single letter there are III words the termination
OF which is given ek dindnGek, 00otiek, GHick,
aeistiek aietieE DC, showing this 10 have been the
general usage that time. The omission of the If
now universal in music, public dnhe, &c. Tho same
proportion through The other letters OF the alphabet
50 IN regard 10 JdUOly honour, neighbour &C. now gwen
| honor DC.
Dr. Websers thought o. the preparation Of humble
textbook for common schools American IN rs influence
| appears to have had a fun Dioss0ning and an ample
| frultage