The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-15
HE WILL SPELL AS HE PLEASES.
President Thinks IL Unnecessary 10 Revoke
His Order. as Congress Has Done II.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14.-Simplified spelling
still finds favor with President Roosevelt,
and he IL not entirely discouraged by the
adverse action of the House of Represent
atives yesterday. He will, unless he
changes his mind, continue TO employ
the reform methods of spelling in his own
private and official correspondence, which
is not intended for printing under the laws
Of Congress, and in communications adj
dressed to the various executive depart
ments.
1t was said at the White House that
the President had not yet decided to re-
woke the Executive order prescribing GER
tain new ways of spelling some 800 words,
and it was added hat il might not be
found necessary to issue such a revocation.
Ii is true that Mr.. Roosevelt was aoquies-
cent yesterday when Representative Charles
s.. lands, chairman Of the House Com
mittee on Printing, called at the White
House to talk with him about the proposed
House resolution placing a ban upon
simplifed spelling. Mr.. Lands understood
the President TO say that In case the House
passed such a resolution he would issue
an Executive order revoking his former
order to the Government departments. D..
To-day it was said at the White House
that il might not be necessary to issue
a revoking order, h implication being
hat the passage Of the House resolution,
il accepted by the Senate, would act auto
matically to render the use OF reform
spelling in the Executive departments i'm
perative."
The further information was given that
the House resolution places no obligation
upon the President or any other officer OF
the Government TO spell according TO the
old standards unless the documents In which
the spelling Is used are to be printed by the
Government. In that case, OF course, 1t
would be incumbent upon every Govern
ment officer to spell as Congress and not as
the President has ordered. Even II he spells
in the new way in documents to be set in
type the Government Printing Office would
follow the old standards.
- A vast amount OF correspondence passes
among the executive departments and be-
tween the White House n those depart
ments which never finds its way 20 the
Government Printing ONCE at all. II Is
held by the White House authorities that the
President and the heads OF the depart
ments are Just al free as any other citizen to
spell words al they please as long az the
printing office is not called upon TO print
those words at public expense.
Some comment has been caused by the
fact that a part of President Roosevelt's
| recent letter 10 Secretary Root on the Bel
lamy Storer case, which was a document of
some length, was not spelled according TO
the reformers, but according to the die
tionaries. IL happens that comparatively
! few of the words included in the Presi-
! dents famous list OF 800 appear 10 the letter
at all, but where they do occur they are
| spelled sometimes one way and sometimes
another. This, il is said, is accounted for in
part by the fact that some OF the letters
which the President quotes in his letter TO
Mr.. Root we're written prior to the time when
Mr.. Roosevelt became a convert TO the new
method of spelling.