The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-01-26
T. PIuribus Cnum &.

Mr.. WILLIAM r. MOORE of Tennessee
has procured from Mr.. Justice BREWER
of the Supreme Court a brief statement Of
his reasons for speaking Of the United
States of America in tho plural The
popular usage differs. Some persons
seem TO think that the great fact of the
nations unity and integrity is assailed
when writer's or speakers follow the
example of the Constitution
Mr. Justice BREWER merely cites the
three passages in that instrument where
the construction and the context prove
that both the trainers and amendcrs
regarded United States /" as "A plural
noun. The date of the Thirteenth
Amendment, wherein the plural is
scrupulously employed, is 1865, or after
the Civil War. The usage of the Con-
stitution is uniform in this respect.
There is yet another passage which
bears directly on the same question.
The Eleventh Amendment says:
The judicial power OF the United States shall
no, BE- construed to extend to any suit In law or
equity. commenced or prosecuted against one Of
az ,.ae'd states by citizens Of another state, &C"
II United States " here is singular,
the expression - one of the United
States = is nonsense.
We call attention to the circumstance
that the men who wrote the Constitu-
ton likewise used the plural in speak
ing Of the Congress, of the Senate, and
Of the House Of Representatives;
Tue Congress shall assemble O, teas, once In
ever; year. and such meeting shall he on the nrst
Monday In pccrmhcr unless heg shall b. law
appoIn, a dlrerrnt day uaec l.. ssoron {
The senate shalt choose ihoy other orcrrs."
&c.- Auids J.. section =
The Hcuse % Representative shall choose
'hsv speaker - Sc.-Artnr !. Sroion ?.
The habit of mind. therefore. of the
authors of the Constitution was N con-
form 10 the plural conception of collec-
tive nouns like Congress, Senate and
House Of Representatives Congress
was they the Senate was " they
and the House was s. they, " much more
did " United States distinctly marked
with the plural termination, seem 10
them To be = they " and not 4" it
But grammatical usage has changed
somewhat since the Constitution was
written; even since n was amended
after the war for the I mon We have
no quarrel with thuse who say habltually
: tha United States IL n nation, Just a.
they ay ''Ies Guaranteeing IL n
novel by ALIAANDkE DUMAS but IN
he contrary usage 81 the Constitution
anil If the statute enacted under the
Constitution, and ~ the great majority
If the great American statesmen. phil
'sophers and Juusts, Including Nj
Ju-iIoe bRENEh there has been ~ at
tempt ~ preserve an Obsolete political
theory, % 10 deny the manifest. unoun-
irO,erlble aud giuuous onsn..s -
,ils ropubl,c nation
The other day the Huun. Committee
un the Revision Il the Lave decided
the grammatical question iu iasor 81
ur torms tho I nitsd Stat~s BE- ani
tho Iniied States has lIIs - 100
Agfuancni nth the spiut and ]trri,n
'se- At No. = o. viii plhlily ia its
Gag ui@"rssd 10 meet uuf.u. 800 th.
fuiur ODD iasilomd isuulr nl ,Yu
itn,s q" ipllYu tl~ stauIar Of tH. luu
suiuin,u abd 81 JYHl., lr 500 ilf
t,sy s1 H. issrf ani irsr as t,aI.
n ~ TO u-mr-h.rtH.i ..r...u
u,a@ misI State s. aI..
isn'ans 90 sfslaaIu