Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-08-30
Our Centennial Letter.

Foreigners. especially Europeans
are lavish in their praise for the sys
tematic manner in which the workings
of the Government buildings are car
| ried on, and that too, is done in this
year of retrenchment and economy
on scale very inadequate to proper
display of the many thousand exhibits
underits roof. But there is nothing
to do but make the best Of the means
at the disposal of those in charge.
The international Congress is still
! holding its sessions, and technical edu.
cation, particularly that branch of it
relating to philology or the art OF
spelling, is being vigorously and elo-
quently discussed. The newspapers
are taking great interest in these
debates The press says. sound, with
in the last twenty five years has been
more extensively employed to record
mems thoughts and to distribute them
than in all preceding time. Now
stenography has given place to phono-
graphy Reporters use their ears and
have symbols under the latter system
TO represent sounds-not letters or
syllables. Telegraphers no longer de-
cipher the punctures, lines, dots and
symbols appealing to the eye, but IN
terpret by sound, by ear alone. Four
fifths of all the politics, news and com
merce of the world, are now first re-
corded and received by the ear and
not by the eye. Why, then, in this
philosophic age, should not our spell.
ing be by phonetic system? 1t is no
answer to say that the change from old
form>-from custom, would create con-
fusion. Il report of Fridays proceed
ings give the following account of it:
"At the splin', metin' last even'n',
Miss Warner Was introduced She
red selckshun from Victor Hugo s
ritlns. She was toloed by Atkinson
of Amsterdam. The president sed,
hs. I,, IL
greatest man of the age in f lologik-
CO cents. he sed he kud speke fifteen
different langwa ses, and wud let himself
out on that ackashun. On takin the
platform the. doctor said: Ladies
| and shentelmens: Ze most important
Nv de fanetic principals iz ye konsid-
erashun Of de origin off de languages
of ze erth. You will exkuse me off
dond speke re English tung so ask you
komprehend me The President Gn-
terrupting.) "You speke exsellently
we'll. doktor, prosede." The doktor-
''Vell dot vas goot. Ze first lang.
wages vot we nose about vosh de Fin;
den KUN re Hungarian; den re slavic
den zc languages off Turky; den ze
Arabic; den re Latin, Italyan, Sher.
man and Spanish. Ze last for slang.
wages makes Won altowgeter. I will
now gof you sample Of re Fin tong;
Whitzwunklubgxy-Dot wash meme
Pater noster, que est in salio." The
speker then proposed to Civ a seres ov
| illustrashuns or the different tongs
spoken in Eurup and the kuntries ov
the yeast, and ventura the predikshun
that the da was not far distant when
tha wud be kombind in won. His IL
lustrashuns ov the Arabik wer very
butiful AM brot down the hous. Here
is won of them which menes "What'll
you hav to take?" The doktor gave
sum splendid specimens ov the irish
language which wer reserved with CRATE
applaws. He wrot on the blakbord the
afestin' lins, sArrar foxinthedevilis-
thematterwithit,' and was very lucid
in his explanashuns ov its menin. The
metin' then brok mp, and will.be kalled
together to-da."
The international regatta is exciting
great interest, and both foreign and
home crews may be seen daily taking
exercise on the Schuylkill. Large
audiences who are at the Exposition
leave in time to witness the rowing
| which is between FIVE and seven in the
evening. Half of the necessary fund
has been subscribed-fve thousand
dollars, which is to 60 to defray ex-
penses. The ball will be started by
| &ho National Assnn;ot;or &c rcotour