Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-08-19
Oi.I tipiI. " 1~iIiNt.lO\ ti.i..
FRIDAY ENEG. AUG. -. loSi
The Editorial We"

The satiricai John phoniX enc"
said that the Use Of the plural Iro-
noun ,rr bv tue cil;oliai fraternity
could be tolerated if tic indl>i,id'!
who used il hal Il tape worm. Tbs,
it must he admitted. j. rather Il for
chile. an not altorc;Ecr :, easing.
way of a,-aliinG a custom Wi;lcA i
tol cradle OF intolerailc, i"st III pio-
portion to the taste displayed IN It's
use. There seems to he scI,cel Y any
escape from an occasional use of the
objec' iouab!e wotd. unies, the s:I!l
more egori>!.cil is substitute. Il. al
thuu-h many W!licr>, on leading
journals, m,he thc a,tchp' by whiting
in the third person in9u ar ana max
Ing thor publication itself bear the
burden of individuality. 1t IS no.
ted, however, that these essays gen
orally assume sti.ty gait, quite at
variance with the ease and dignity
of the writings of those who are not
bound by arbitrary rues.
1t is generally young writers, or
those who are tyros i'll the profession,
who by frequent recurrence of the
plural pronoun stamp their own in
dividuality upon their productions,
Just as it is the older craftsman who
endeavor to anihilate their identity
by an affectation OF extreme modesty.
In either case, the cause, self-con-
seriousness, is the same, and it is APP
parent to any reader who is Judge
of style in literary work.
1t seems to us, the golden mean
lies between these extremes. The
writer should not unnecessarily OBJ
trude his identity upon his readers,
but when it is necessary, for the
proper understanding Of the subject,
to impress the reader with the idea
that any given proposition is mat
ter of individual opinion, than the
use of words which state the mean
ing clearest should be selected with
out reference TO the pedantic notions
of the Turvydrops of style or the
cynical filings of those who make
jokes for livelihood. There is less
egotism in using language which
implies personal judgment than in
making dogmatic assertions, which
the reader knows, as well as the
writer, are based upon individual
knowledge.
We intend to use the ne because
we believe there is really less pre- samp-
ton in it than there is in the big
capital 1, of twice the altitude, or il.
adopting the formal mode of express
sion reserved for occasions Of great
ceremony. 1t is certainly more i'll
accordance with common sense, and
is justified by the conclusion of an
eminent educator, to whom several
competing math ematical text books
were submitted for an opinion Of
their relative merits: "The simplest
and most direct in the application Of
principles, is best" So i, is with
language. The simplest words, the
shortest sentences, are best under
stood, and that is the sole object to
be attained by either written or verbal
means of conveying intelligence.
The disparity of the sexes in
churches is placed by lions Herald
at two to one in favor of the women,
and the same paper also makes the
following rather startling statement:
elf we were to take the churches
right through the country, we should
probably find that not more than
one-tenth of the members are in the
prime Of life. The other nine-tenths
are women, men who have passed
their meridian, and youths who have
not reached their maturity. 1t is
also to be observed that in almost
every community the majority of the
energetic, enterprising business men
are not avowed and active Christians;
and if they are identified with the
Church at all, it is usually only in
the most superficial way