The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1906-09-07
sINPLIf|ED Spelling
,,r,IpfNr ROOSEVELT LEAVES
Ir1o POPULAR APPROVAL.
.,n,Iified Spelling Advocated by
o,,rd and Put in Official Docu-
ate Is Up for Argument-He Says
- II If not PopuIar-His Letter
:, public is Printed.

oyster Bay, N. Y" sept 4.-in let
- Charles A. Stillings, public prin-
ter at Washington made public re-
..,v President Roosevelt wrote that
# the changes in spelling advocated
= the simplifed spelling board and
mt into use in official documents
meets with popular approval they will
10 made permanent. If not, he wrote,
.sov will b, dropped The presidents
letter follows:
"Flon. Charles A. Stillings, public
,-;nter Washington, D. C.-My Dear
NJ stillings: ] enclose herewith cop
&c of certain circulars of the simpli-
God spelling board, which can be OBJ
..ined free from the board at No.
Madison avenue, New York city.
please hereafter direct that in all gov
eminent publications of the executive
danar,ments the above 800 words emu
merated in circular No. 5 shall be
enelled as therein set forth. If any
ono asks the reason for the action re-
for him to circulars 8, and 6 as is
sued by the simplified spelling board.
Most of the criticism of the proposed
step is evidently made in entire igno-
rance Of what the step is no less than
in entire ignorance of the very moder-
ate and common sense views as to the
purposes to be achieved, which views
are so excellently set forth in the cir
culars to which have referred. There
is not the slightest intention to do
anything revolutionary or initiate any
far reaching policy. The purpose sim
ply is for the government, instead of
tagging behind popular sentiment, to
advance abreast of it and at the same
time abreast of the views of the ablest
and most practical educators of our
time, as well as of the most profound
scholars of the stamp of Profess
sor Lounsbury and Professor Skeat.
IF the slight changes in the SPELL
ing Of the 300 words proposed wholly
or partially meet popular approval,
then the changes will become perma-
men without any reference to what
public officials or individual private
citizens may feel; if they do not ulti-
mately meet with popular approval
they will be dropped, and that is all
there is about it. They represent
nothing in the world but a very slight
extension of the movement which has
made agricultural implement makers
and farmers write 'plow' instead of
plough, which has made most Amer
leans write honor" without the some
what absurd superfluous ~ and which
is even now making people write "pro-
gram without the me- just as all peo-
pie who speak English now write bat,
Set DIM sum- and fish instead of
the Elizabethan bate 'sette,' dim
me- 'summe' and 'fyshe'; which makes
US write public almanac ERA fan
tasy and 'wag' r. instea # 'pualick
'alrianack.' 'aera,' 'phantasy' and 'wag-
gon' of our great grandfathers.
1t is not an attack on the language
OF Shakespeare and Milton. because it
is IN some instances going back to
the forms they used, and in others
merely the extension of changes
which, as regards other words, have
taken place since their time 1t is not
at attempt to do anything far reaching
or sudden or violent, or, indeed, any
tnlng very great at all. 1t is merely
an attempt to cast what slight weight
can properly be cast upon the side of
popular forces which are endeavoring
10 make our spelling a little less fool
Ism and fantastic. Sincerely yours,
THEODORE ROOSEVELT"