The San Francisco call., 1908-07-19
SPELLING REFORM
MOVEMENT SPREADS
SimpIifed Method Gaining Pro-
mOters in Some of the
Foreign Countries

NEW YORK, July 1S.-According to
the simplified spelling board, the whole
world IS in the process Of reform.
William Archer, the translator, who IS
secretary Of the board for Great Brit
ain. Is preparing for an active cam
paign there next year. Australia and
New Zealand are taking up the mat
ter, and Germany is quite busy i'm
proving the written form of her native
speech. France has gone about it most
logically by referring the matter TO
group of pathological experts, which
made its report TO the French Acad-
emy. Part of the changes proposed by
the commission have already been ap
proved by the academy and viii be
made the standard spelling in the next
edition of its dictionary.
In this country simplified spelling
has been making considerable progress,
according to its advocates. There
were 10000 subscribers to the first list
Of SEQ words as prepared by the board.
and since the publication of the second
list Of 5000 carefully amputated spell
ings the number OF subscribers has
gone steadily up.
Possibly the most important gain is
the adoption Of the simplified forms in
the normal schools in the middle west
DR.. David Fehnby, president Of the Illi-
nois State normal university, and DR..
Homer II. Seerley, the president of the
Iowa State normal school at Cedar
Rapids. have introduced the new spell
ings into those institutions and, ac-
cording to the statement of Charles p.
G. Scott, secretary of the board, the
change met with no opposition what
ever. From these two normal schools,
within the next year, some 1000 grad
yates Will go out as teachers, and in
their turn teach the young idea to
shoot along simplifed lines until con-
servatve boards of education forbid.
Consequently, within a generation or
so il may be reasonably feared that
Iowa and Illinois at least will write
their English in a fairly "fonetic"
style. AS other western normal schools
are taking up the matter, it is by no
means unlikely that the west Will be
properly simplified while New York
and Boston still cling to the Orthog-
raphy Of the forefathers.
SIMPLE SPELLING
Still some influential converts have
been won over in New York state and
have been added 10 the advisory coun:
ell, which now has 35 prominent New
Workers. Stewart L Woodford is now
to "illumin" the darkened spellings of
the legal profession, while Willis Paine
and Spencer Trask are trying to bring
about the same progressive" spirit
among the bankers. John Burroughs,
after having "chekt' the mad career
Of the nature sentimentalists, is ready
to enter into "activ" work for simplif-
cation Otherwise New York is rep
resented by IS college professors and
10 authors and. editors, and several
educators.
The general board, formerly of 40
mem bers, has recently been increased
TO as by the election of Professor
Stanley Jevons Of University college.
South Wales (Great Britain), the son
of W. Stanley Jevons of deadly and
deathless logic fame, and Professor
Thomas George Tucker of Melbourne
university, Australia. Professor Tucker
Is the most eminent philologist in Aus
traIia, and IN accepting his election
to the boards, wrote: Il am ready to
go the whole way with you" Sir
Robert Stout. chief justice Of New Zea-
land, is another one of the far western
allies. who, too, is willing TO see the
matter gone into "thoroly."
The hoard is still actively at work
with more lists. This time the phil
oIogists and language experts will not
pause at 5000 improved versions Of
the kings English, but are now work
ing on a complete dictionary Of simpli-
fed spelling, to be used by their 20,-
900 subscribers II by no one else.