The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1906-09-27
Paper Reats Before the ChIutduoua Circle.

=" HEeworld was stepped III dis
NAL intellectual night, at one
time, some centuries ago. The
mists known as the Ozark
Ages" enveIoped all avenues of human
activity. Ignorance, superstition, and
fear had caused knowledge to perish
from the earth. The winter solstlce
of the human intellect was the eleventh
century. This night of ignorance did
not break of its own accord. 1t re-
quires self-sacriicing effort of such
men as Petrarch, in the fourteenth
century, to introduce Europe to Cicero,
Horace, Plato and Socrates, and to re-
vive in the people desire for knOwl-
edge. Petrarch did more than any
other man to restore the lost treasures
of ancient Greece and Rome; and were
he living today and acquainted with
English, ne would be the foremost ad
vOcate of its reform.
In common with my hearers today, l
have read much of the organized
Spelling Board to inaugurate "Safe
and Sane" method You will agree
with me that this board has under
taken stupendous work. 1t is said
that the Panama Ship Canal ranks
highest among the worlds great engi-
neering feats. 1t will have consumed
quarter Of century; and since the
De Lesseps endeavor occupied an
equal period of time, in actual labor,
this great work may, then, be said to
have consumed half century in its
doing, and the outlay of both efforts
will aggregate halt billion dollars.
This is much time and much
money, but in spelling and efforts of
reform, the English speaking contin-
gent of the earth's population has
spent siX-fold as much time, and fully
as much money, and may, therefore,
claim an equal honor with the great
engineering exparts; for, tho along
another line equally as meretoriOus,
the work is no less gigantic.
| have just said as much money as
Bear with me moment and let us see
whether this statement is true. Die
tiOnaries are one of the most costly of
books to edit and publish. Thousands
of editions have been printed during
the past three hundred years, costing
hundreds of millions Of dollars No
two contemporary publications agree
exactly. 1t is said that in the accepted
authorities of today there is found a
divergence of $500 or more words. In
our larger ones 125,OO0 words. We
therefore, find that two per cent OF
our words are spelled differently by
dictionary makers in this age of en-
lightenment. These same publications
issue other editions within a brief
period, correcting some of the incOn
gruities of the last edition, but the
disputed divergence will remain a,
about the same percentage, and will
include other words. This game ol
hide and seek goes OH. The people
are filched of other millions of dollars
and repine at the incorrectness, in I
twelfth month, of the spelling found
in their coveted book.
Because of the inconsistencies o.
our spelling, dictionary published il
New York does not agree with ont
published in Philadelphia, Boston OF
London. Nor do any two of then
agree. There is not today, nor wa
there yesterday, nor. will there be to
morrow, an absolutely correct author
ity on this matter of so grea
Importance. Such an authority cal
only exist when our mongrel orthog
raphy is tanned; when the spelling O
our vigorous language is made sane
when the only characteristic weak
ness of our vehicle of thot is givel
tonic and made to revel in health
No, our spelling is not immutable, an,
in its present anomalous form is eve
changing.
While we rejoice that English speak
ing people are the makers of endur
ing empires, the masters of trade AM
commerce, and an epoch-making con
ztingent, we lament the fact that tn