Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-11-20
SPELLING REFORM.
cIub paper.

inence both in England and in this
country that entities it to respectful
consideration. The Pathological So
ciety" has adopted and put into
practice the five Initial rules read a
few weeks ago in your hearing. Its
members are men of rank in the
world of letters, and what they do
will have its influence at home and.
abroad. As stars of less magnitude
are attracted by comet as it sweeps
the sky, so here and there we find
followers of these new literary
lights.
We notice first, that & change is
not necessarily reform. We may
change the hands of a clock, and
make a revolution by turning the
wrong way, and the change will
have done no good, and to effect
good is the primary idea in reform.
These few rules, simple as they
seem, are pregnant with revolution
and anarchy rather than reform.
They have no needle, and with
out one true point ships are in per-
petual peril, and when they least
look for it, are engulfed.
An enthusiastic writer for reform,
tells us that "here and there through
the country thousands have made
their decision, and many without
proclamation or ado, have proceed
ed to put in practice their prin-
ciples, and use common sense in
spelling, as in other things. They
have outgrown the childish awe
and superstition of the spelling
book. This he calls ga hopeful
sign of the good time coming"
Why, my dear sir, superstition
for the spelling book" has never
held sovereign sway over the
masses of English speaking people.
They do not need, nor will they
stand in awe of the five initial rules.
And why should they, since mans
common sense is held to be sufficient
rule. Then, all hail, to the brave
young man, who, in spite of spell
ing books, spelled rocks, rox. And
why question little Billy Smiths
photography, when he wrote to his
mother, 81 kort five squirls and
menny more things" Or why
smile at the president of an Ameri-
can college, whose "fonetics" were
in lively exercise, when he spelled
coffee, kauffee, and sugar, shugar.
The adherents of the new system
claim that it is popular; and so are
many evils that we could mention,
but we are not to follow the multi
tude to do evil. And such a change
would work evil in many ways. 1t
would give an uncertain standard
for fixed rules; for upon analysis our
spelling is not 'erratic and arbi-
trary." Admit that it is difficult,
so are many things which the rude
hand of the iconoclast dare not
touch. Any one with capacity to
learn the alphabet can learn to spell,
and spell correctly, if he have a
competent teacher, and some re-
spect for the spelling book. These
are the conditions of success, added
to which there must be desire and
effort, and the one will induce the
other.
The rules and methods we now
use are the result of the labor, and
learning and love of men conse-
Grated to their calling. To impeach
their work is like defling the move
ments of the dead, and 1 share the
sentiments of the Greeks on that
subject.
Suppose that a word is numbered
with what seem useless letters. The
history of that word known, each
letter is a sentient thing. Even the
mutes, those silent sentinels OF
sound, tell us the mighty power
lodged in the word, to say nothing
of the simple consonants "breath-
ing discOrd" and X. great leader of
Xerxe's forces both by sea and land.
Letters are, indeed, the mighty his
toric forces of language, and l can
not afford to lose them for the sake
of sound. 1t is a paltry plea to say
that "the people know nothing of
historic forces" 1t is the mission
of the true teacher to instruct the
people and not to wink at ignor-
ance, The day has dawned when
the people can, and may know, and
the average American child can
learn to spell head just as easily
with an A as without 1.-THE has
head enough for that! Can | afford
to cast aside the wheels within
wheels, whose delicate and intricate
movements / do not comprehend,
when l am told that the harmony
of the whole machinery, its work.
ing power depends upon those very
movements! What would be
thought of recruit who insists
upon loading his gun with salt, be-
cause he knows what salt it, but
there is something in gun-powder
he knows nothing about, "YOu are
an 'unco flu then said the irate cap
tain, not to learn"
The English language is noble
stream, but it is fed by many foun=
tains, and there must be some thing
in our words to indicate their source.
this exponent power must be in the
spelling rather than in the sound.
Were we to insist upon sound, 1
would prefer the pictorial, or the
Geographic system so wisely dis
carded for the a1phabetic.
Theplan is impracticable, because
it presumes upon the similarity of
sound to all cars, whereas, some
people are as deficient in the sense
of sound as others are in sound
sense. When some children have
Jo,r,,oJ tho form, IF tho IaftnrS If Is