The Mena weekly star., 1906-09-06
uUALftU BY pRES|UtNI
Unless Public Approves New Spell. ing Will be Dropped by
 Government.
LETTER TO PUBLIC PRINTER sTILllKGS
MT. Roosevelt States That Hc Intended Nothing Revolutionary and Was Oniy Helping Along n National Tendency Individual Criticism of the Reform Win be Disregarded W hat It Means.

Oyster Bay, Sept 4.-In a letter to Charles A. Stillings, public printer at
 Washington, made public Sunday President Roosevelt wrote that if the changes in spelling advocated by the simplified spelling board and put into use in official documents meet popu lar approval, they will be made per manent If not, he wrote, they will be dropped. The presidents letter follows:
 Hon. Charles A. Stillings, Public
 Printer, Washington, D. C.
 My Dear MT. Stillings: I enclose herewith copies of certain circulars of the simplified spelling board, which san be obtained free from the board at No. l Madison avenue, New York city. Please hereafter direct that in all government publications of the executive departments the above 300 words enumerated in cir cular No. shall be spelled as therein set forth.
 If any one asks the reason for the action, refer him to circulars g. i, and 6, as issued by the sImplified spelling board. Most of the criticism of the proposed step Is evidently made in entire ignorance of the very moderate and common sense views as to the purposes to be achieved, which views are so excellently set forth in the circulars to which have referred. There is not the slightest intention to do anything revolution ary or initiate any far-reaching pol icy. The purpose simply is for the government. instead of tagging be. hind popular sentiment, to advance abreast of 1t 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 schol ars--men of the stamp of Prof. Louns bury and Prof Skeat.
 If the slight changes in the spell ing of the three hundred words pro posed wholly or partially meet popu lar approval, then the changes vii become permanent without any refer ence to what public officials or indi viduai private citizens may feel; if they do not ultimately meet with pop ular approval they will be dropped and that is all there. is about it. They represent nothing in the world but. very slight extension of the move ment which has made agricultural i'm plement makers and farmers write ''plow'' instead of plough" which has made most Americans write "honor' without the somewhat, absurd, super flous 'u' and which is even now mak- ing people write program without the me, just as all people who speak English now write bat set dim sum and fish instead of the Eliza bethian 'batte' 'sette' 'dimme' 'summe' and fyshe' which makes us write pub lie almanac era fantasy and wa gon' instead of the 'publick' 'almanack 'aera' phantasy' and wagon of our great-grandfathers
 Tt is not an attack on the Ian guase of Shakespeare and Milton be rause it is in some instances a going back 10 the forms they used, and in others merely the extension of chang es which. as regards other words, 1 have taken place since their time. It is not an attempt to do anything far. reaching or sudden or violent, or in deed anything very great at all. It is merely an attempt to cast what slight weight can properly be cast on the side of the popular forces which are eHdeayoring to make our spelling a litfln lnsa fnnliah and fant d rtin