The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-05-17
Newspaper English.

The New York Press, in the execu-
tion Of an ambitious and praiseworthy
purpose, has prescribed certain rules
for the guidance Of it's corps Of editors
and reporters in choosing the English
wherewith they undertake to enlighten
the public It's model we suspect, is
the celebrated ''index expurgatorius,
which William Cullen Bryant caused
to be posted in the Office Of the New
York Evening Post.
The late Rev. Dr.. Moses D. Hoge,
Of Richmond, was fond Of preaching
about "high ideals. !" He argued that
all human effort falls far short of per-
fection, that unless men are actuated
by the loftiest aims they can accom-
plisE no great good. The editor Of
the Press seems to have adopted for
literary things the principle which Dr.
Hoge recommended for things spirit
ual. Certainly there will never be
another edition Of TIE Press printed
if it be required that it shall be free
from the works and phrases prohibited
by the rules Of the Office. Neverthe-
less, we "glory in the spunk' OF our
contemporary in attempting to have a
newspap r in which profound respect
is shown for pure English.
The Dispatch has waged a desultory
warfare Of that description for many
years but has never yet been able to
produce a single copy into which er-
rors have not crept They Ssslip in
in all departments Of the paper; none
is exempt from them. How much Of
this erring is due to the all-too-copious
definitions and citations Of the big
dictionaries; how much to the press
ure for time under which writer's for
the daily press labor. and. how much
to the inborn frailty Of the average
writer, we do not know. But we
haven't yet given up all hope; that is
to say, there are some things which
we still "kick' against. And it con-
soles us to know that some Of the ex-
pressions which plague US also vex the
editor Of The Press.
We 6nd that he has to wrestle with
writer's who use "don't" for doesn't
aud "every'' for "all;" who split their
in6nitires; who stab ''parties in "the
fracas;;' who do not know the differ
ence between "learn'' and teach;
who marry the man to the woman;
who say well posted for well in
formed who speak Of persons as
parties who render song and
sttender" a dinner; who are oblivious
to the d. ference between "transpire''
and occur; who write ssN1rs. Gen
eral' and 'Mrs. Colopel;;' etc.
These are but few samples out Of
scores of errors in the use Of English
which worry the soul Of our Gothamite
contemporary.
In the MSS. which from time to time
ccme under our own eye We find an
astonishing number from persons who
will llinsist upon saying, for instance,
''that neither Of the two gentlemen
have been summoned Others never
fail to arouse our sorrow by saying
that the 'widow Of the late John
Smith" is sick, or dead, or married
again. Still others who wish to be
exact state that 'sthe will Of the late
John Doe has been admitted to pro-
bate y Buried from his late resi-
dence,' is another favorite expression,
and "nee Jane Jones" is common.
Another is in the use Of the far more
vivid, but less authoritative, word
"busted' for sburst. .
We contend that an address, or
"card, er advertisement appears un-
der, not over. the signature of Mr..
So and So, but we find few who oblige
us with their MSS. (or for the matter
of that few books or newspapers that
agree with US. So, too, we prefer to
hold an inquest upon body, rather
than 'ovcr'' it.
But, alas! we dare not "hold down
our contributors with too much Sc
verify, lest we find them calling in re-
inforcements and turning upon US and
exposing our own shortcomings. New
ertheless, we hold that it is we'll for
all papers to have high ideals, and
though none will ever attain perfec-
tion, or anything like it, all will be
the better for doing the best they can
in that direction. Richmond Dis
patch.