Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-04-02
A Word to Newspaper Correspondent

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times good articles or items, which the editor
would otherwise be glad to publish, arc re-
jected simply from principle, because the
author withholds his name.
Another Of the editors troubles is from
persons who write on both sides of the sheet.
In giving copy to the printer the foreman
frequently has TO divide quite short article
between several printers and it must be cut
apart. If written on both sides, the sheet
cannot be cut, and the editor is quite likely
to either throw the article directly into the
waste basket or lay it by TO be copied when
he has more leisure. As an editor very rare
ly finds that time Of leisure, the article
might as well be laid on the table by vote
of Congress, so far as regards our ever hear
ing from it again.
These two general rules, to sign your name
and write on one side only Of the sheet, and
another, to never write unless you have
something to say, and say it in as few words
as possible, are often repeated. But there
are certain technical rules which, if better
understood and practiced, would be Of much
advantage both to the correspondents and to
the editors through whose hands their cor
rsspondence must pass for revision before GO
ing to the printer. Not one writer in ten
writes his article so but that the editor must
correct and revise it before giving it to the
printer.
One Of the most common Of faults with
manuscript is the incorrect and indiscrimi-
nate use of capital letters. Capitals are
now very rarely used except at the begin
ming of sentences and of proper names, yet
many piece of manuscript comes into the
newspaper Office with capitals commencing
nearly every proper noun and good many
adiectives and verbs, much as was the Gus
tom in England hundred and City or two
hundred years ago. We wish every writer
in the land could have copy of Wilson's
Treatise on Punctuation, which is known as
standard work, and generally accepted
among printers as competent authority. Let
them carefully study the rules laid down on
pages 257 to 26S. We propose here to
copy somewhat from that work for the bene-
fit of those who may not have 1t or some 9th.
er good treatise on the subject.
On page $50, under rule 3, "God, with
large initial, is the name of the Supreme Be-
ing; god, with q small character, is an APP
pellation used occasionally of men, angels,
and false divinities as, The Lord is great
God above all GODS" with initial capi-
tails, Lord and King are applied to God and
Christ; with small and K, the same words
denote men having authority and power"
Many writers write The King Of Spain /;
the President Of the United States, when it
would be in much better taste to begin king
aud president with small letters. Page 26l,
last paragraph, Wilson says: "The pope !;
his or her majesty; king, queen; duke,
duchess; lord, lady; sir, madam presi-
dent, governor, aud words of similar kind
should be written or printed with small ini-
tials, when they occur very frequently. or
without any particular expression OF houor. p"
In the use of pronouns applied to the Deity
many writers, and even newspaper and tract
publishers always use an initial capital,
which is in very bad taste. There are very
few if any editions of the Bible, even, where
this practice is followed. The ground Of
this practice is probably the remark in most
grammars that "Pronouns referring to the
Deity are sometimes commenced with capt.
tails" Wilson says, p. 26l, "Pronouns re-
ferring to God and Christ should not begin
with capitals, unless they are used emphati-
cally without noun. Hymns and prayers
are often disfgured by the unnecessary use
of these letters, as in the following lines -
"Thesc are Thy glorious works, Parent of Good,
Almighty Thine this universal frame,
Thus wondrous fair. ThySelf how wondrous then'-'
So Providence, and Heaven, when used
with initial capitals refer to the divine be-
ing, but when the former is begun with q
small D it means either divine superinten
dence or human foresight, and heaven and
hell, as the designation of localities, begir
with small letter, while Elysium, Tartarus
and Pandemonium, being proper names, be
gin with capitals
The North, the South, the West, as ap
piled to certain sections of country, begir
with capitals, but when applied simply t
denote certain direction, as, "He Travelled
toward the east" or "the west wind blows,
they should begin with small letter
Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, begiI
with capitals when personifed, as "Nex
smiling Spring appears" but in ordinar.
composition they should begin with small
: letters as, "In the winter these plants lii
dormant"
: Never underscore unless there is wor,
which you are very particular to have EN-
phasized; many writers underscore so man.
words that their manuscript is given to tn
printer with instructions to use no italics
: and frequently words which really should b.
italicized are thus printed in Roman oharac
tiers.
Never send an article to the editor will
an explanatory note saying "Please cOrrec
: mistakes, as have not time to read it over
Remember the editors time is Just as valua
BILE. If you do as well as you know HOY
you will always find the newspaper ma
ready and willing to go over an article o
any value and correct it, even if you do no
spell correctly, and if your grammar is opel