The Washington herald., 1908-02-02
SPELLBRS At WORK
Modify More Words for the
Writer.
NEW LIST OF sEvENTY-FIVE
Board Takes Another Fan Out OF
English OFthOgFaph and Change
Ghost Into Cost, Build Into Bid,
Foreign Into Foren, and some More.

New Ik Feb. THE .simpuaed
/ spelling board has done &c again. A fur
ther list of words which should De spelled
( according 10 their ideas and those OF Pres
ideut Roosevelt is issued this morning.
This second list contains seventy-fve
The boards announcement IS as fol
lows
The simplihed spelling board was or
ganized on January y, 1866, On March q,
1905, it published O. List 0f common words
now spelled in two or more ways This
list became known as the Three Hundred
Words. 1t was not a list of new spelling.
but was confined, as the title said TO
words already spelled I'm two or more
ways. The persons interested were sskt
TO eXamin the list. and. If they preferred
the simpler forms. 10 sign a card agree
/ ing 10 use them. as far it might be prac-
ticable.
Encouraged to GO Further.
This first step was taken in order 10
ascertain how far the public would 90 in
supporting the principle and practise of
simplihed spelling and in approving the
purposes of the board. The step aroused
great interest Some 2o.000 persons. in
Guiding many thousand teachers. have
signed the card. Many OF these adherents
are using other smplifed spelling far in
advance of the easy lessons Of the Three
Hundred Words
With this public support the board felt
/ justified I'm proposing a second list u sim
pier spellinEs. II was decided that this
second list should comprise a selection of
/ the more difficult and anomalous forms
simplLhed and also certain classes of
words simpliied by general rules.
Decide TO Go Further.
The executive committee after much
deliberatiOn and correspondence, prepared
such list and such rules. and submitted
them to the members of the board. who
gave their votes upon each word and each
rule separately. BY a rule adopted at the
frst annual meeting every proposal for
simplifcation must be approved by two
thirds Of the members before it can be
promulgated
"ln the meantime according 10 an
agreement reached at the same annual
meeting, April. 1907. steps were taken 10
f
should be referred for its opinion all pro-
posals of simplncatiOn. Teh intention
was to widen the field Of available expert
opinion. and to secure the approval and
cooperation of an increased proportion of
the scholars and educators specially inter
ested in the problem The list Of members
of the council is contained in circular
No. Il.
"The voting Of the board was practi-
cally completed in the fall Of 1907; but the
result was withheld until the council
could be constituted, and its opinion also
obtained.
DO Go Further.
The board now publishes a second list
Of spellings that have been approved,
with substantial unanimity, by the board
and the council. \ very few simrlifed
spellings which were approved by the
statutory two-thirds have been withheld
at the request of the minority. for further
consideration.
These simplifed forms not only have
the new declared sanction of nearly all
the 200 educators. philologists, men of
science, men of letters, and men of af-
fairs. who constitute the board and the
council and who have carefully consid-
cred the forms with the desire 20 effect q
beneficial change with the least distrub-
anCe of custom and convenience but they
will have the support and approval of the
many thousand other adherents of the
cause who have repeatedly recommended,
and have been awaiting, an advance
along these lines of simplification. To
this living sanction, given upon scientific
and practical grounds must be added the
historic sanction Of the long line of great
authors who used such forms as a part of
the customary rule and analogy of Eng
| lish spelling. before it became stereotyped
by printers"