Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-06-28
4 Singular Discussion.

4shOulu IOliOW tne name oI our couu-
:try. and We have always strenuously
commended that the singular form is the
proper one 1.-The United States Is"
not the United States are" has been
sOur contention. and we have held that
If there is any grammatical rule which
forbids this, then that rule should be
suspended or utterly disregarded.
There are more important things than
any mere rules of grammar involved
1t is gratifying to read in the New
York Times an article by Hon. John
W. Foster strongly defending the use
of the verb is in this connection. In
his recently published volume "A Cen
fury of American Diplomacy" the
singular verb was always used and
some critic ventured to question the
use of the name United States" as
noun Of the singular number. Mr..
Foster has made a study of this point,
it appears, and the results are of much
interest.
Mr. Foster points out that the orig
inal text Of the United States consti-
tuition no longer possesses verbal sane
tity Its original forms-"The House
of Representatives shall chuse their
Speaker" THE Senate shall chuse
their other oficers'-are no longer fol-
lowed. "A learned lawyer" he says,
has publicly cited Article I'LL, Section
2, The judicial power shall extend
to controversies to which the
United States shall be a party as evil
dence that even the authors them
selves of the Constitution We're not
uniform in the use of the plural in
connection with the United States.
The difficulty of handling plural
name for a singular object, with gram
NAUTICAL exactness. began, indeed, very
early. Mr.. Foster says that in the
'Federalist,'' and in the writings and
speeches of Hamilton, jefferson. Clay
and Webster, this difficulty was fire.
quently avoided by using such terms
as the Union" the Republic" and
America"
In regard to distinct authority for
the use of the singular Mr.. Foster sub
mits the following: 1T is found that
on the earlier days of the republic the
prevailing practice was the use of the
plural, but even then many of our
public men at times employed the
singular. Among statesmen who
have used the singular form may be
cited Hamilton. Webster, Silas Wright.
Benton. SchurZ, Edmunds, Depew.
OF our secretaries of state Jefferson,
Marcy. Seward, Fish, Evarts. Blaine,
Frelinghuysen, Bayard. Gresham and
Olney Among diplomats Motley, C.
F.. Adams, f.. J. Phelps and Reid. OF
living professors of international law
and lawyers WOolsey of Yale, Moore of
Columbia, Hugcut of Cornell and
James c. Carter of New York. In the
earlier messages of the Presidents the
use of the singular verb is seldom
found. Jackson's being the only one
noted but in later years Lincoln,
Grant, Cleveland. Harrison and Nc
Kinley. Messages of the last three are
found in which the singular verb alone
is used throughout the message in
connection with United States"
A sentence quoted from one Of Sec
rotary Bayards official papers shows
the use of both forms The United
States have no reason to believe" Mr.
Bayard wrote, doubtless in regard to
the perennial troubles of the subjects
of other powers naturalized in this
country, that any discrimination
against it's citizens is intended Mr..
Bayard was both antique and modern,
conventional and logical; but it was not
often that both elements of his train
ing were brought out 50 clearly as in
this use of both the plural and singular
in a sentence of less than dozen
WCTuS. we 10 IlOt UcHcNt tidt IL vas
any error on his part; he was con-
strained by all the logical elements OF
the situation to employ the singular
when he reached the business end of
the sentence. Most persons who have
had to do such work would instructive
ly feel that their citizens was too
diffusive a phrase to send to a foreign
government.
The decisions of the supreme court
show a similar increasing tendency to
use United States as a noun in the
singular; one recent decision contain
ing seven examples of this usage. and
none CT the plural. So with our trea
ties; these being very formal and eX-
act documents. and probably of great
er verbal authority than the decisions
OF the supreme court In the treaty of
peace with Great Britain of 1914. and
win Mexico of 1S4S, the plural form is
used' but in the treaty of peace with
spain of 1888 the singular form is in
f.a1