Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-03-22
SOME CAPITAL IDEAS.
Writers Should Eamiliarixe Themselvoo
with Lower-Case Letters.

Prom the Boston Advertiser
Few things cause editors OF newspapers more
annoyance than the careless or ignorant way n
which those who send in manuscript for publ
cation often use and abuse capital letserA
writers Who. in respect TO spelling, gram
mar, and even punctuation, acquit them
selves creditably, blunder shockingly in CAPT
tanzaoon- An idea seems TO prevail. -
greater or less extent, that il 10 the
correct thing 20 begin with Q capital let
TER any word which the writer wishes 30 mako
emphatic Thus, there lies before NJ st the
present moment circular prepared by prom
inent and intelligent business man. in The
course oil which the statement 10 made that Q
specified line Of conduct is Astounding" The
word astonishing is printed. manifestly accord
ing TO the authors desire, with an uppsrcsss
letter inns Is a sample OF the multitudes Of
similar instances which are constantly falling
under our notice.
We do not wish 10 speak on this subject with
undue severity. great deal Of excuse for
errors can be found in the fact that instruction
on on TINS subject Is by no means as common and
thorough as IL should be. Neither in spelling
books nor in manuals OF grammar is there
commonly TO be found any sufficient guild
ance for learners in regard 20 this mat
ter. Not one-hah enough attention is given 10
II in the average public school In higher in
granted that OF course the pupils know al
about the rules of correct writing Conse-
quently IT Is not at all certain as it ought 70
be that college graduate can write a business
letter in a style suitable for publication.
without intending 10 be dogmatic, and recoe-
nlzlng the fact that good usage is by no means
uniform in its application 20 all questions of
this nature, we take the liberty of suggesting a
Few simple principles. which may be borne in
mind with advantage, by all Who have not been
trained IN the art OF capitalization. The
great rule is that. what the grammarians
call proper nouns" must always begin with
capitals. proper noun is the name Of an in
diyldual. The individual may he a person. an
animal, place, an object in nature, an organi-
cation or an institution. IL the name belongs 20
him, her or II distnctiyely, an individual that
name must, when written OF printed. begin with
a capital Any name applied TO an object or
idea, IN such a way as TO imply that the object
or idea has an individual personality (''person-
itcation) is treated as a proper noun Any
title, when used as part OF the name or ad-
dress OF person, must begin with a
capital Words used in names Of books
or periodical publications, and in subjects
OF pubhc addresses, when expressed in few
words-in headings of newspaper articles or
chapters IN books come under the same rule
But it will be found on close ANALYSIS that
nearly every allowable use of a capital letter
falls under some construction OF the great prin-
ciple first enunciated. namely. that in regard
TO proper nouns. The rule to begin with a cap
ital every distinct sentence and every direct
quotation in the form of sentence Is almost
the only exception. Finally, il is an excellent
rule, when a writer is in doubt whether or not
TO use capital letter, to give the negative the
benefit of the doubt