The San Francisco call., 1909-12-26
START A REVIVAL
OF A LOST ART
Effort to Be Made to Increase
Good Spoilers

From all accounts the lost art of
spelling, about which so much has been
written of late is about to be recov-
cred. Steps already have been taken in
Indiana to introduce course of teach
ing in the common schools that will in
clude a revival of the old fashioned
spelling bee" says the Washington
Post. The school superintendent of
Covington, KY, is said TO have reached
the same determination. and to have
cleared the way by burning all of the
spelling books now in use.
1t is difficult to say at just what Pc
riod the high water mark Of accurate
spelling was reached. although it was
proba bly, shortly before the outbreak
of the civil war. "Old Hickory" when
reproached for certain photographic lib
critics he had taken, declared, by the
eternal, it was a poor man who couldn't t
spell a word more ways than one. 1t
was also he, we believe, who wrote of
his wife as being a "prfect angle" a
description more applicable to the pull
chritudinous lines of the old war horse
than to those of his cherished Polly.
John Sherman was another who ad
mitted that he was a strong" speller
It is likely, however, that Sherman's
shortcomings in this respect were not
representative of the times, since his
school days could not have long ante
dated the period when the crack SPELL
ers OF the country were in their prime
Less than half a century ago spelling
bees were still the great occasions ia
the rural districts. Friday afternoons
were the times for drill. The blue
backed speller furnished the prelimi-
nary training and the unabridged" the
post graduate course
About midwinter came the pitting of
two rival schools. Lined up on each
side of the room the words passed
across and back again, beginning with
the easy ones, until the feeble were
weeded out Then such words as in
eradica bility" started the endurance
test. before which the short winded fell
like the autumn leaves at Vallombrosa.
But the lank youth with the shock
head and high water trousers stood
firm. Later came "ipecacuanha" and
'spseudonym" which caused the red
checked maiden with the glorious orbs
and plated hair much distress. 'Ich-
neumon" slew its thousands and poly
cotyledonous" its tens or thousands.
until az last Shock Head and the fair
Eltruda stood alone; then it was a
choice between love and duty, sure
enough. But fate decided. Gazelle
Eyes stumbled through 'pterodactyl"
amid great applause. Then John Henry
went up against ZyZRy SOOQ ana ndFus
and met his Waterloo; the word was
passed to his opponent, who tried twice
and burst into sobs. And the dictator
of the evening soIemnly announced that
the contest was a draw. There was
more to it afterward, but you will have
to read Edward Eggleston or some of
the other writer's of that time to find
out whether Shock Head got the girl.
There are those envious enough TO
assert that superiority in spelling is a
natural gift and that il is by no means
indicative of merit in any other way;
that he who can spell any old word is
like the man who can roll cigarette
with one hand-good for nothing else.
They affirm that in those earlier victors
there are a certain hardheadedness and
cocksureness that precluded success in
endeavors calling for large views and
wide sympathies. 10 prove this, II will
be necessary to locate the old time
champion. What has become of the
chieftain of the clans? He who stood
as firm as Roderick Dhu; he who like
Arnold Won Winkelried, served as a de-
voted target for polysyllabic spears?
Still going on in his self-satished way,
no doubt And when your honored
name comes up for discussion, his is
still the one dissenting voice. Amid
the general note of approba tion, you
can ina gine him saying, "Humph, he
can't amount to much; could hardly
spell 'epizootic.' and was never known
TO get by .fieur de lis