The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1906-09-05
THE NEW SPELLING FAD.


other title to his versatility and Is
henceforth the professor as we'll a.
president. Simplided spelling is the
new hobby, says the Butte Inter-
Mountain. The president has become
q convert to the Matthews school aud
by an executive order issued yester.
day from Oyster Bay announces that
hereafter, all federal business directly
controlled by him will be spelled by
sound and not by sense. Thus the
craze of the generation for empty
things asserts itself at last. The
changes will not be generally EN-.
ployed. Az autocrat could not force
the American people to bother them.
selves, these busy and prosperous
days, with tribes. Spelling, once ac-
quired, is not easily changed. The
average American acquires it less
easily than he acquires q competence
and he will not turn from his business
or his leisure for such matters to
please any living man or coterie Of
men.
A majority of the changes specified
are trivial. The aim, as in steno-
graphy, is to spell by sound and not
by sense. Thus, the ed, to denote the
past tense, is changed to I, as in whlpt
for whipped. In some words, err re-
places Or. Transpositious are cor.
rected, as in saber for sabre. Super
tluous consonants are rejected, as in
spelling for spelling. + is substituted
for. the Greek phi. The final e is
omitted in some instances, as in civ.
liz. The final ue is also omitted, as
in decalog. The final te is omitted,
as in quartet. f. is substituted for ae
and oe. The sample set Of words, as
given out by the president, numb ers
300, but below only those examples
are given which may be set down as
typical guides:
Abrigmeut, acurst, atixt, altho, M
apest, anemia. apothem. apprize, ar
Der, archaeology, bans not banns J,
bark not barque) J, behavior, bur.
Caliber, check not cheque) J, chin
era, c%iviliz, changer, clue, coeval,
commit, c%omprize, coquet. c%ritieiz,
cropt, crost, crusht, cue, curst, cutlas,
cyclopeda, carest, catalog, catechiA.
Dactyl, dasht, d~ecalog, demagog,
deprest, dieresis, dipt, DISGUST, distil,
d~istrest, dolor, domicil, draft, decam,
drest, dript, droopt, dropt, duluess.
Edil, egis, enamor, endeaver, en-
velop. eotian, con, eqaulet, epouym,
era. %esophagus, esthetic, esthesics,
e%stivate, ethra. etiology. exercise, eX'
prest.
Fagot. fantasm. fantasy. fantom
fiber, tixt, fulfil, fulnesS.
Gage, gael, gelatin, gild, gypsy
glycerin, goodby, gram, gript.
heapt, hematin, hiccup, hook nc
hough) J. homonym.
Imprest, instil.
Lacrimal.
Mamma, meager, medieval, meter
mist not missed J, inter, MKT, mol
Quartet, ques,or, quintet.
RancOr, rapt not raped !, recot
hotter, rime.
Saber, saltpeter, septet. simita,
sithe, skilful, stedfast, >tript, subpoena
sulfater.
Taber, theater, tho, thoro. thorc
fare, thoroly, thru. turnout.
Nizor.
Whisky, wilful, winkt. visit, VIC
woful.
If anything is gained to the sense
sound, it will be lost to the sense
sight, in these changes. English Is
polyglot. The best languages OF Il
past have contributed to the tongu
To obscure the Greek and Latin d
rivations is to rob the student of o
OF his chief aids for mastery OF 4
language rs we'll as to deprive him
one of his chief sources Of deligt