The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-12
The SIMPLE ~SPELLMASTERS.
GOING RIGHT AHEAD OVER JOR-
Dan TO THEIR CANAAN.

PIuchAeu Out OF Receive n0u he
lieve'' as the Sausage Machine Dechsr.
acteri1es the ingredients Or Our speech
Whether or not real war among the sim
pie spoilers breaks out will depend largely
upon what the executive committee OF the
Simplifed Spelling Board does on Wednes-
day at its regular meeting about the resig-
nation Of Prof. David Starr Jordan, presi-
dent Of Leland Stanford Junior University.
The resignation has been in the hands Of
Prof. J.. Brander Matthews Of Columbia,
chairman Of the committee, for three weeks,
but the announcement Of it carae out in
THE sun on Sunday by way Of Van Fran
cisco.
Prof. Matthews said yesterday that he
believed the resignation had been caused
by a misapprehension. Prof. Jordan said
that there was too much Matthews and too
much Prof. Calvin Thomas, who is a German
professor at Columbia, to suit members OF
the advisory board who really wanted 10
advise. Prof. Matthews says that that
is not really 40. and Charles +. Sprague
the lay member and treasurer OF the exccu-
tive committee. said yesterday that some
n had to do the work anyhow.
-Idont q to discuss the matter at all,
said Prof. Matthews at his home yesterday.
i don't believe in entering into p%ersonali-
ties in an affair like this. nave nothing
to say. But if you will read the announce
ment Of the Simplified Spelling Board anent
he 300 words which President Jordan says
were changed you will see that these words
are merely those which ave for years been
published in the three dictionaries, Web
ster's, the Standard and the CentNry, as
variants. We simply decided on which
form was the simpler and so stated in the
announcement.
President Roosevelt threw his weight in
favor of the simpler variants. That is all.
I don want to enter into a discussion OF
the personal side of the argument. But
the executive committee had certain powers
when ii was appointed by the board and we
nave proceeded as we thought we should.
We are working now on some real changes
and the results of this work will be an
nounced later. l do not want TO say any
thing for publication that may be con-
strued into an answer to Prof. Jordan"
What do you think Prof. Thomas will
AVE to say about the accusations that you
and he are running this thing % suit your
selves" Prof. Matthews was asked.
Nothing, if l can get to him before you
do" was the answer.
Prof. Matthews was right.
Charles f.. SpragIe, who is treasurer Of
the funds of the board, which he says are
mostly contributed by Andrew Carnegie,
read the article from San Francisco yester-
day.
Il don't think that Prof. Jordan ia right, y
he said. Some one has 10 do the work in
a case like this. All that we have done
was 10 set forth our ideas Of the proper
choice in the words that are used as variants.
The board has thirty or forty members
scattered sbout all over the United States,
Canada and England. We can get to
them all for their opinions. That is what
the executive committee is for.
The first announcement did not contain
all the things that | would nave liked 10 see
in it. For instance, take words like re-
ceive and believe. In those words the
i is unnecessary and a source Of bother.
That i ofends and should be plucked out.
OF course there's n rule about i before
q except after c, but you never know which
is the butt end Of that rule and you re apt
TO make a mistake. l think that should
nave been one of the first things changed.
Then, again, there are a lot Of foreigners
who know that the word eight has certain
letters in it. but they do not know how
they are arranged. So when they come
to The bank to draw out s. they get dis
couraged trying to write IL and draw out
$40 instead. Simplifed spelling would
NdNe lllfll - NtNI TINT lUdl - dAlbAIlGi
reform that should he FASTENED"
MIR. Sprague said that he was sorry that
Prof. Jordan had sent in his resignation,
but hat he felt sure that the professor
would work with the board in spirit even
IL not a member. He added that he did
not know whether the executive committee
had a right to accept a resignation, but said
he felt sure that Prof. Jordan had a right
to offer to resign.
Prof. Matthews did not say WHY the fact
Of the resignation had not been made public.
His general tone was that the best aims of
the cause of simplicity would be injured
by any entrance into public controversy.
Mr.. Sprague said that il probably had
rled Prof. Matthews 10 have Prof. Jordan
say the things he did. Hes a Southerner
and quick tempered" said Mr.. Sprague.
The other night AZ the meeting before the
Board of Education he got excited over
the letters read by Rossiter johnson. They
seemed TO me like good arguments for the
cause. Prof. Matthew'S didn't like ii when
one person said that the spoilers who would
change the language were murdeTers at
heart. Up to date they haven't proved a
concrete instance Of murder either of our
grandmothers or of our mothers-in- law"