Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-08-27
TOO MUCH ABBREyIArIoN.
Col. Bugg's Criticism Of . Growing Amers-
can Tendency.

Col. Bugg's Criticism Of . Gro wing Amers-
can Tendency.
From the Chicago Daily Inter-ocean.
The next thing and some light-hesrfed
American will be quoting Shakespeare as saying,
'Brevity is the s. o. w"
The speaker was Col. SOLOMON Bugg, late Of
Kansas, and editor Of the FL Dorado Spleen.
The colonel was seated IT lunch counter with
his heels hung on high round and his bent legs
manufacturing two large bags in the knees 81
his trousers, a function for which lunch counter
stools are justly famous He took OF his broad
brimmed hat and, surveying it casually, con-
tinued:
Where Is this country going 20, gentlemen
What is going to become Of us2 I ask this in all
sincerity. Has the American nation respected
the sanctity Of anything2 Do the American
people hold anything inviolable2 Is there any
pride in the preservation OF any art in the
national conslomerste called Uncle samr Show
an American beautiful pastoral painting and
ne will ask the artist how much wheat 20 the
acre the field over 20 the right Of the picture 10
intended to produce.
Take him TO a classical concert and he viii
pick the biggest horn for the best music.
And look At our language. just think how
II has been juggled and jumbled. There 10 no
respect for purity, for form or precedents.
Take the present craze for abbreviationa II n
abominable, scurrilously abominable, sir. How
many citizens OF Chicago speak English today?
just now l asked the waiter TO bring me q cup
of coffee right away and he said: Cert. p ID. O.
Could Dick Steele or Addison or old DIR. john
son understand such English as that?
sometimes when L get TO thinking about
Columbia being thu gem Of the ocean conclude
that she has degenerated into q second-clas
rhinestone and feel like packing MP, absquatu-
latipg and erniCrafing In a La nd NH sbSu
rcutus gyasticutes the snaggle-toothed flgle-
dewug swims In the swish and the sozsling
swirl of the slubberly slime and the wangdoodle
mourneth his first born.
Il went to q railroad Office the other day and
| asked over what roads 1 could reach st. Louis.
Did the man behind the counter answer me in
Englishl No, sir. He shot the English alpha
bet at me as IL it had been fred from . blum
derbuss.
".st. Louis he said, over the C. b. and O.,
C., X !. and p: A: I. and s. F.; c. and A;
i. c.: J. and &. w.r
II looked at him in establishment.
:" DO you wants ticket he asked. coming
back to English.
Il didn't, as spoke English, and WINS not
versed in American. But as / walked out he
turned to another clerk and said, ID. H., I sup-
pose.'
Il rambled over TO take an elevated train TO
the base ball grounds.
is this the elevatedg Iasked Of the men a
the gate.
cit is the L. said he. correcting me.
"'More American abbreviation, thought L
!" Mind your P's and Q's, he shouted, grab
bling me and pulling me on the train.
"'Do you like this better than the cables?'
asked, drawing the guard into conversation.
"'Cable n. G., he answered to my misery.
Ibid you leave the cable Voluntarily?
"'No, got the G. B.
"Abbreviation everywhere: nothing but the
alphabet with disordered stomach.
Il dropped over to the base ball game. I
have always heard that it is the American ma
tional game. guess that is true. IL Is impos-
sible, at least, to understand il with the En-
glish language. opened the score book. This
Is what greeted my eyes: A.; E.; Y. o.; ii. b.;
7. b.: $. B.; 1 B.; A.; b.; r. b. on b.; II. by p;
Id on E.
And this in country that claims to speak
the English language! I might well have
been in the village OF Hooperignio in southern
Africa watching the native tribe Of Bigeonop-
eras playing game called obsecutiaticus.
II ned for the race track, only TO find worse
conglomeratisn Of p. p, CHI g., b. c., br. g., b.
g., oh. T., c. g., CHI. m.
"And I had paid my hard silver for this!
"This abbrevistion craze il spreading every
where. You will find il on the stage, where the
actorssalk OF the o. p. side, and the L. L., and
the first L. E., and the second L. E., and the
L. o. NJ.
"Look at the American societies. Can any
body name them? No, not by the English
language. They are the L q. o. F., the q.
A. B., the W. c. I. O., & Of L., and the q.
o. p, Z. Of p, and F. N. b. A., and q thousand
otheu Go into . saloon and you viii hear
someby order an Al 8. and B. Lend . man .
dollar and he viii give you his L o. U. Next
month Sullivan and Corbett viii enter the p. r.
at New Orleans and Hght O. RI The printer
talks intelligently about mp. d. lc.
The same day went 70 the base ball game
I dropped into . big establishment on State
street. A woman was trying on Q bonnsS
docs IL ft?" she asked
"'To T. came the answer.
"'Do look well in itr =
".Away up in g.
"'Hew much viii IL cost7'
"Av'
"Tu take Il; send IL up 70 the houss O. O.
Certainly
That arrangement d s.sisfacsory 10 you,
them
"sYes; all OK
Tgrasped the nearest pillar and painted fos
breath
THAT night - I was going home patrol
wagon carried man away - passed
"'who 10 itr I asked Of policeman vhots
. friend Of mine.
oh, it's R@,a prominent n. d. Hes
got the D. T. Remember this ID on the @ T.
"'Great heavens, mani I cried, how DO ysa
manage to talk SOP
'How-tlk sor =
why, vlth your D. T.'s and Q. T.s'
20, ~.oh': aid d ny godosnaa, smiling, u ss