The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-13
Tho Extraordinary Case OF David
Starr Jordan.

An inscrutable providence and pre-
sumably a board of trustees have raised
Mr.. DAVID STARR JORDAN 70 the ntel-
lectual eminence and material distinction
which attach to the presidency of Leland
Stanford University. AS il this were not
enough, Mr.. JoRDAN's name has been
included in the Faculty which, under the
direction Of our foremost intellects. has
addressed itself to the betterment of our
written and printed speech.
As is well known, this important move
ment, which it is already apparent will
furnish the key to the progress Of critical
thought in the twentieth century, has
been set on foot by two of the profound
est philologists known to the world Of
science and of letters, the Lord Rector
of st. Andrews University and the pro-
lessor of dramatic literature in our own
Columbia University. These honored
and eminent men, having long since ex-
hausted the distinctions afforded by the
field Of English letters and conscious of
the obligations which the higher forms
of philosophical erudition inexorably
ll1DOEc uDOl NC sCllOidISillps nave SSb
themselves the arduous but exalted task
Of freeing our English tongue from the
shackles with which ignorance, supersti-
ton and literary apathy have degraded
il. What nobler undertaking could chal-
lenge their enthusiasm OF engage their
talents or tend more surely to win for
their declining years the gratitude of
civilized mankind?
And where in the ranks OF advanced
scholarship and above all in the special
and. alasl restricted area Of philology,
that science of which the theory, phe-
nomena and history of language are the
unique care; where in this region Of ar
exact and exacting specialization could
two minds Of a more exquisite adapta-
bility and refined adjustment be dis
cerned? Where, indeedl No really COM
petent student of the actual scope and of
the seeming limitations Of the higher
uses of English can have read the Lord
Rector's memorable Empire Of Bust
ness (Appletons) or Professor MAT
THEws's Parts of Speech" Macmillans)
and failed TO experience IN Illuminating
sense OF the supremacy Of each for the
great undertaking. We do not refer now
in any sense to the mere literary style
OF either. The Lord Rector's is of curse
amazing in its variety, changing, as has
been observed, with each new secretary,
while that Of Professor MATTHEWS
has been for a quarter Of a century
az once the despair and the inspiration
OF our school of literature. Style in
English has nothing TO do with the ques-
ton. What concerns an expectant worl1
is the extraordinary instinct that both
have betrayed for the genius Of the
English tongue. a faculty heretofore
denied TO the whole a C OF l~exicogra-
pliers, and so nearly divine that it might
well be rated as an intellectual fourth
dimension. One is almost seduced into
the conviction that in this new century
no vulgar and inadequate publisher will
be permitted to make the dictionaries of
the People.
However, these two ilIustrious masters
of our tongue from the earliest phases Of
its evolution through the comparatively
remote or Aryan epoch down to the
relatively modern period when NoAH's
family operated the memorable Hegira
Of the Tongues OF Man (obscured by the
famil'a ar Babylonian legend or tradition)
these two masters have associated with
themselves what We have already per-
mitted ourselves 10 distinguish as the
Faculty of Revision, wherein, as We have
said, was honorably and enviably in
cluded Mr.. DAVID STARR JORDAN. L. is
the extraordinary conduct Of tbs gentle
man which alone explains our dwelling
upon a subject so universally known
and cherished IA Spelling Ref Mr..
JORDAN, incredible as it. must appear,
has pcremptorily resigned from the Fac
ulty Of Revision. How any man Of his
established reputation for intellectual
sta llity could even remotely contem-
plate such a step is Of course beyond
comprehension. IL is true that he utters
what no calls an explanation, but it so
borders upon f~rivoliCy IA to insult the
ordinary intelligence. He disapproves
and repudintes responsibility FOR certain
~ tha mira ard narfao+ fnrrna - -ord.