The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1906-09-14

in ten months for the first action by the
patent Office ON an application for patent
is in very rare instances, perhaps one case
in a hundred, an allowance; the allow
ance in such case may not take place for
from three months to year after the first
action. The condition in the Patent
Office has been altogether inexcusable
and the dilatoriness there is in the main
the fault of the Commissioner of Patents.
*x*
Tact of kind that if used after the sea
battle of Santiago would have spared us
national humiliation and international
ridicule has recently been displayed in
Army circles and given rise to the hope
that the selfseeking SO prominent among
officers of the service may be giving place
to higher motives of courtesy and good
feeling By the retirement next week of
Lieut.. Gen. Corbin and the advancement
of Major Gen. Macarthur a vacancy was
created which afforded the President the
opportunity long desired to advance the
present chief of staff Brig. Gen. Bell to
the rank of Major General. This Office
is the administrative head of the Army
and carried salary honors and position of
the highest order in the Army. But Gen.
Bell declined it i'll order that Brig. Gen.
Jesse M. Lee, who belonged to the old
"Fightipg Ninth" Infantry and who now
commands Department in the Philip
pines. might attain to the rank and pay
of Major General before being retired for
age next January. The action of Gen.
Bell in this matter has aroused consider
able enthusiasm for him in Military and
official circles and may serve to set an
example in service which for small
jealousies and extreme egoism has been
second only to theatrical stars and prima
donnas.
*x*
Compositors at the Government Bureau
of Printing are struggling with three
hundred words in the reformed spelling
ordered by the President and are painfully
unlearning to spell the ones which many
of them were originally thrashed into
learning. After many years effort they
had lesrned to recognize and differentiate
thorough" and through" at a glance
and the sequence of "e's" and CTS" in
such words as ''their" and ''friend" mad
become mechanical with them and now
at one fell swoop this part of their edu-
cation is undone and at a time when
learning new tricks is a serious matter
they are compelled to take to the spelling
book again. The lamentations are loud
and deep but the order of Public Printer
Stillings following. the direction of the
President that all Government documents
shall be spelled after the new phonetic
method has gone into effect and each
compositor is supplied with a spelling
book which he is supposed to put in his
spare time studying. If after a certain
period of experimentation it shall be
found that the new spelling does rot
meet with popular approval the old fash
toned way may be re. adopted and it will
then be strange indeed if such confusion
does not lead to even another system all
of the printers own. The Civil Service
Commission has announced that the ap-
plicants undergoing Civil Service EXAM
nations will be given the option of spell
ing the three hundred words in the Presi-
dents reformed spelling book, but aubi-
tious applicants will do we'll to provide
themselves with one of the spelling books
if they want to prove that they are really
up.to date in their accomplishments.