The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1883-05-31
WEB WILDER ON SPELLING.

FIVE years have gone by since we last
annoyed the reader with an infiiclion.
Probably an "authoritive" in the Tope-
ka Capital was the last drop in the
bucket-the fearful crime that proved
that the old man could be silent no
longer. His boys need general shak-
ing up. all along the line. Aud instead
of growing because we are at it again
we write with an anticIpatory vote Of
thanks beaming down the white space
of this paper.
It IS TO be said ct the beginning that
the freedom Of daily papers from typo
graphical errors would have been Deem
ed an impossible perfection by the early
followers OF our art. The first Euro
pean printers and "correctors Of the
press" as proofreaders were called
were scholars. (China claims to
have printed hundreds of years
before us, but OF the history
OF her printing little is known-so little
that the claim becomes somewhat airy.l
They were very deliberate and very &C
curate in their work. Proof sheets were
exposed on the public walls for inspec-
ton and correction. And yet errors
crept into their books, as they have into
all books, probably, since that time
four hundred years. Erasmus was
corrector of the press, aud SO frequent
were his bursts Of anger over the printed
mistakes OF his own book sheets that he
declared that either the devil presided
over typography or there was diabolIc
malice on the part of csmpOsitors. This
celestial anger was inherited by Horace
Greeley, and is the native possession of
all good editors. Their first duty in the
morning is to examine their papers and
to swear in good set terms over the
printed errors that were corrected last
night. Thus the benign Mr.. Greeley
has passed into history as the most pro-
fame Of our editors. It was only his
constituencies and his printer love of per-
lection. Heaven rest his soulI
We began with Topeka. Her dailies
have not been marked by good proof
reading. "Authoritive" for authorita-
tive Is common; "suppositious" for sup
posititious Is universal there, and in
memoriUHl" for am has been printed in
the Commonwealth within a month. No
daily editor there ever learned that
Scott's WaVerley was leg. that Bingham
ton had no p, and that Paterson, New
J Jersey, has only one {. OF his Latin
and other quotations from foreign Ian
guages nothing need be said. Except
that Maj. Hudson, of the Capital, said q
few days ago, with the courage that
always makes friends and laugh: ave
have thrown into the waste basket lot
of truck filed with Latin. If CORES
pondents can't use English they need
not expect to have their letters appear
in the Capital" eve quote the spirit
of the words) It was just like Hudson
and George W. Martin-frank, quick
men who don't know Latin and
who think il lie only quoted by
fools to show their learning. It is
true that fools use foreign words in that
way, and prove their folly. There is no
greater folly than saying in another
tongue what can be as well said In your
own. But Maj. Hudson in that sentence
told all of his readers that he did not
! know Latin, that he could not cor
rect the proof, and thus shut out the
modest contributor who uses Latin,
French or Italian not to gIorIfy himself
but 10 illustrate his theme-shut out, for
instance, Prof. Dunbar, the best scholar
We ever happened to know in Topeka
and man whose mOdesty was so genu.
inc as to be painful. But it is q good
rule-one we have always used-to ap
ply to local editors; they can cay al
that needs to be said In their columns in
our homely, strong and full mOthel
tongue. 1t Is hard to beat it into the
head of an amateur writer that the Eng
lish language has immense capabilities
and that he who masters it is a mon
arch. Wychffe and Luther and Dante
and Homer did not make their fame
by quotations.
, The typographical eye" is an ole
aud good expression. 1t sees the wrong
letter and it stirs to its protoundes
: depths the editorial anger. The Catiiint
a, the vilifV and lily with double Us,
aeronant with a dipthong, the milan
mable with only one m, and the tran
quillity with only one I. ali these art
, nearly universal in Kansas-and othel
/ states. "Partizan'' is also Kansan fol
partisan; 1t has some authority but no
good.
The cyclone town in Texas, Denison
was named for George Denison, one n
} OF New York, then a director of the NJ
K. s. T., and q brother Of DR.. Denisor
of Baldwin University. Not even Milt
" Reynolds, the founder of Parsons, get
Denison right in his psper-outside o.
his own articles.
Speaking of Topeka, to which W,
keep returning, ghAt shall be said o
Col. Samuel N. Wood as q proof:rsader
+ Nothing. He has been writing for thu
papers or publishing papers thirty years
and often doing good service, but ali o
the words that Sam Wood can spell
can easily be counted on the toe
of one foot-the fingers would take nj
hand in such q computation. "Boquet'
is another Topeka word, but the "bO
quet's" worst manifestations are founC
IN St. Joseph, Missouri. ToDeka ha
printed it correctly thres times-b,
some oversight.
John Ingalls, is good proof reader
so Is Edward P. Harris, of the stat
printing establishment; the best col
rector in the state. Harris is not
scholar but he finds out how scholar
= spell and does likewise.
q Calvnistic they will spell as IL Johl
\ Calvin had been CAlvan. The Frencl
word for girdle, enceinte, always get
printed and pronounced "enciente.
G The compositor has his own way abOu
l. 1t, aud his way is to put the before tn
II G; will have it so. The trouble with s
s many printers and editors is that the
don't know that they don't know. Tel
rible are the mistakes OF fool Tn
&c wise man consulteth the dictionary ever
d day, yea every hour; and ever findet
re something new.
y To write a word correctly; to have
IS set up wrong; to correct It In the proc
and still to have il printed wrong in u
paper-this is editorial anguish 4
l. which there is no name. 1t happel
at every day. 4 paper must be Judged p
u. by one number but by its general cha
1t acter, the lilies of to day silently apol
a giving for the "lillies" of yesterday.
IT. 1t is Britannia, for England and Br
tany for French province. Sir HUI
is phry Davy and Humphry Clinker. n
ri Humphrey. Ben. Jonson and DR.. Sal
e- uel johnson. Charleston, South Caro-
ed ma, and Charlestown, Massachusetts.