Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-01-31
A REMARkABLs SOCIETY.
Its Object y to Benefit Mankind Through
Grammar.

/ n nEMAnAAbLG SOCIEIY.
Its Object = to Benefit Mankind Through
From the New York Sun.
| The Society for the Propagation Of Gram
| mar Among Respectable People" il likely to
have plenty Of hard work. One of its unsala-
| ried, volunteer, benevolent members says:
ut has taken us . long time to organize our
| society. We have striven for over a year to
find hundred people who are 1T to become
| members of it. Our terms Of admission are
very exactirg. A member must undergo a
| thorough examination before q board Of CEN
/ sors. He must be able to speak continuously
500 words without falling into more than five
| gross grammatical errors. The sentences must
| not be copied from Addison or from the Sum-
but must be Of his own composition. We try
him in monologue and we try him in dialogue.
We donotform any judgment upon his opinions
but watch closely his grammar. We have had
| to reject SO many applicants for membership
that we are almost discouraged in our work,
and there is but poor prospect Of getting 100
| names on our rolls.
1--WE have had twenty lawyers under exami-
! nation by the board Of censors. which gave
them questions to speak upon ofhand, so that
they might not prepare themselves in advance
They. were required to speak slowly and dis
tinctly, which was trying business for most Of
| them. Their words were taken down by q STE
nographer, so as to be brought under the
scrutiny Of the eye as well as the ear. One
half Of them spoke very inaccurately; seven
| made plumbers and only three were found
worthy to be admitted to the society. Several
of the rejected applicants were anxious to de-
| fend themselves, but We permit no debate or
pettifogging for the rules Of grammar are
fixed and cannot be violated under any pretext.
I'VE had a score of Wall street operators
under examination. Nearly all Of them
seemed 70 be in q hurry, spoke very rapidly
and made plumbers that would have promoted
| laughter If laughter were not forbidden during
| examinations. Only one man among them all
was able to pass muster.
| I'VE examined q score Of preachers, and
must praise the cloth by telling You that over
one-hulf OF them are now smong US. They
spoke more deliberately than the lawyers They
| were careful Of their infnitives. They knew
| how to use their propositions. They under
stood moods, lenses and cases, verbs, adverbs
/ nouns and pronouns. They had been painstak-
| ing in their study Of philology. They kept con-
troll OF their tongues when they were speaking
| belong to q single denomination, but will not
| tell you which denomination, because do not
| belong to it myself and you would probably
make haste to Join it.
THE board has examined many college grad
| yates who could not speak 500 words grammati-
cally. They had in bygone times studied the
Latin and Greek as well as the English grammar
but. having associated for years with people
Of inexact speech they had unsconsciousy
| fallen into habits Of inexactitude.
1.-The board OF censors has examined scores
Of business men and artists and mechanics
ard clerks and coach drivers and jani:ors. A
few of them have won admission to our ranks,
but the great majority OF them could not
stand the test Of membership. One of the
| most accurate grammarians, who was admitted
to our ranks Immediately after his exG,nina-
ton, is a shoemaker. He delivered his 500 words
| without once breaking the rules of proper
speech. Another OF our best members il
grocer and another is an engineer. We do not
admit writer's for the papers TO our society, but
l cannot tell you the reason Of their exclusion.
1--WE have had several applicants from the
circle Of the Four Hundred. They are at this
time under grammatical examination by the
| board Of censors. which is a body that gives no
favor to any man on account of his social dis
tinction or his fortune. Ii their speech meets
the unanimous approval Of the censors they
will enjoy the honor of belonging to the Soci-
| ETY. for the Propagation Of Grammar Among
Respectable People.
shall then provide for the organization of la
dies branch Of the society. j think that from
a grammatical point of view the feminine sex
is superior to the masculine sex, but the cold
facts in the case cannot be given, as no proper
comparison between the sc xes in that respect
| have a finer apprehension than We have; they
| are less hurried than We are; they guard their
language more carefully than we guard ours:
| they take pride in speaking correctly think
it will not be difficult for the ladies' branch to
| find a hundred grammatical members. The
only qualification for membership is the abil-
| ity to speak continuously to the extent of 500
words without falling into more than five
| grammatical errors.
''When the two branches Of the society are
| thoroughly organized and their rolls Of mem
bership are full we shall set to work in our
own ways in the community. 1t would of
course be delicate business TO correct the
grammatical errors of our friends or acauaint-
! ances, and 1 do not believe we will attempt
| anything Of that kind. Perhaps we might ex-
| ercise a powerful influence merely by letting it
become known that We arc members of the 70
| ciety and by telling its objects when we are
would lead people to think about their gram
| mar and try to be accurate in their express
SONS
bad grammar is the cause Of untold evils
The misplacing Of proposition. the improper
use OF an adjective, the wrongful construction
OF a sentence often causes a listener to mis- IN
| derstand the opinion OF the sentiment we have
expressed. Bad grammar implies inaccuracy
| OF thought. 1t may produce grevious results
| 1t may beget wrong and suffering. 1t may
lead TO personal ,quarrels. 1t is one Of the
| plaques of mankind.
in order to secure its suppression and thus
purify the mind Of the community and make
| life more agreeable than it is We have founded
! the Society for the Propagation of Grammar
Among Respectable People. myself may have
been guilty of some grammatical errors during
| this long discourse, and il have / am ready
| to submit to the discipline Of the society,"
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"Reminiscences of DIR. Holmes