The Elbert County tribune., 1906-12-20
SPELLING ORDER
WILL BE WITHDRAWN BY PREsL
DENT ROOSEVELT.
NOT FAVORED BY CONGRESS-
House Resolves to Adhere to Old
Style of SpeIIine.-change Would
Make No End of Cost and Trouble.

Washington. = President Roosevelt
will withdraw his simplified spelling
order to the public printer and here
after all documents from the Execu-
tive Departments will again be printed
in the old-faThioned style.
Representative Landis of the Joint
committee on spelling had a confer
ence Thursday with the President,
when the President said that he did
not wish to have spelling overshadow
matters of great Importance. and ex-
/, pressed n willingness to revoke his
order for the new spelling in case
the House should go on record as op-
posed to the system
Mr.. Landis introduced the following
resolution in the House:
Resolved, That it is the sense of
the House of Representatives that
hereafter that in presenting reports,
documents or other publications au-
thorized Dy laws, ordered by Congress
or either branch thereof, or emanat-
ing from the Executive Departments,
their bureaus or branches, and indie
pendent officers of the government.
the government printing office should
observe and adhere to the standard
of orthography prescribed in generally
accepted dictionaries of the English
language"
The measure was passed without
dissenting voice, although Mr.. Gillett
of Massachusetts, who made a fight
for simplified spelling before the
House committee on appropriations
and has been regarded as the cham
pion of the Presidents attitude, eX-
planned that he did not wish to give
the impression that he had changed
his mind.
Reformed spelling was put into ef
feet by the President during the re-
cess of Congress and all public doc
uments supplied to the Executive De-
partments have been printed in the
simplified way These documents
have been pouring in on Congress
ever since, and the report on the Ian
dis proposition stated that the com.
mittee had been governed by the fol.
lowing considerations:
The executive order, under which
many public documents have already
been printed has been in force more
than three months. Without taking is
sue as to the relative merits OF any
form of spelling it is evident that the
public sentiment has not been favor.
able to the innovation.
TT Is not believed that the attI-
tude of the general public would be
materially cndHBeu II the government
in all its branches were to adopt the
spelling prescribed in the executive
order referred to, and only confusion
and expense would result, without any
commensurate advantage even IL the
new form of spelling were deemed
preferable. Moreover, Congress has no
assurance that the next administration
would not revoke the present order.
Much of the matter embraced in
the publications of the government is
preserved in electrotyped plates repre-.
senting large values to the govern.
ment IN the saving of labor and other
expenses. All of these plates would
be rendered worthless in a moment by
an order in a succeeding administra-
tion revolSing the Executive order OF
August 27th last.
'In the opinion of the committee
any departure from the recognized
standards of orthography cannot with
safety, satisfaction or economy be
taken, until Congress and the execu-
tive shall agree upon the adoption OF
photographic methods"