The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-06-18

stead of the partially remodeled alfabet of western Greece one that not only re- tained the two worthless letters q and x but discarded the tn letter (so very much needed In our languagey and wanting the Greek additions for the lack of which we now limp. along by using ph, oh, psi, o--the letter ''u'' how ever, one of them, was afterwards in- troduced.
 The Roman influence consists chief ly in the spoilation of c (formerly g) for g it's patched up form; the inter changable use of various forms-v w and y for the u-sound and the invention of "f'' which came in to late to catch the 'ph' Greek words.
 l The Anglo Saxon influence was slight because not enduring. The letter q had been discarded for which CIV served qu. Two foreign letters had been intro dueed-one for the w-sound the other | for the. th-sound but following the Nor man Invasion with " thoroly estab- lished letter both the new letters were dismissed and q again forced into the | alfabet.
 The English influence consists chief ! ly in establishing u and as vital let | ters in about 1885. Later or about 1900 the long and & the composit of an (both superfluous of Latin origin) were dismissed to the regret that the long s had not been retained to serve the sh sound.
 | In this connection there is a move ment now afoot to honor the judgment of our forebears by disregarding q and X and bringing in afresh a 'th' and 'sh'' letter. This can be done with the slightest inconvenience to the press and the public as may be seen (the 'th'' letter herewith wanting} from the fol- lowing paragraph-an address of Hon.
 Luthur Lafiin Mills of the Chicago Bar at an Educational Assembly.
 The interest being manifested among thinkers and scholars turnout the na$on in the simplifying of the spell ling of our Engli$ language is in har- mony with the progressive and altru- istic spirit of the times; and the mo- tive actuating the leaders in this re- formatory movement merits and must receive general approbaSon from all with whom human welfare is a para mount consideration. The friends and supporters of this cause are conducting their agita$on with the earnest con-
 vic$on that it's successful results will
 be blessing to the children of the Hand in their educa$on, at the begin
 ming. and an innmeasurable benefit to all it's people.
 The cause which they advocate is neither new nor startling For years it has been favored by the profoundest students of language and by filosofers and educators in Great Britain and
 the United States; by such men as
 Macs Mueller, Professors Whitney and Lounsbury of Yale University and Dr.
 Harris, the United States commiSoner
 of educa$on and others of ecwal distinc-
 Son. For years in this city of $icago one of the ablest men and most original thinkers who ever lived in this com
 munity, the late Joseph Medill, was a constant and earnest advocate of the
 adop$on of simple and ra$onal meth
 cd of EngliS spelling and did as much
 as any man of his day in the region of | ~-~S ''S's eO VI Ati5 tAlT ISlOItu lU tll6
 recognition of the people and secure for it warm and favoring consideration.
 And to-day thouout the country there Is strong sentiment in it's behalf. It
 is no longer regarded as vi$onary or a
 mere educa$onal fad, but has assumed
 the character of a serious and most inn
 portant subject of public concern just ly demanding acknowledgment and investigator, which as the friends of the movement confidently believe, will
 lead to a commenting popular senti-
 nent
 Tt is perhaps not generally known,
 outside the class of the filologists and
 that of the teachers of youth, that
 within recent time, this cause has re- Iceived signal ecspre$ons of indorse-
 ment from commanding and authorita- tive organisations of educators, that the
 Na$onal Educational Asosason has com