The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1909-06-25

side. Of more direct local interest is
the fact that he was, also, the great
grandfather of Major Thomas Biddle,
of st. Louis, who was killed III duel
with Spencer Pettis on Bloody Island.
1t was in memory of this early citizen
St. Louis named one of its streets. In
England the name is still spelled Bid
dulph, though for centuries it has
been pronounced as it is spelled IN
America.
The English language abounds IN
similar revolts against the spelling OF
proper names. The plebean 'Snooks"
is only contraction of the more
pretentous Seven Oaks" Out OF
the French 'Beauchamp" the English
tongue will not try to make anything
but 'Bechum" Toss out of the die
tionary a long-winded name like
"Woodnesborough" and it will be
batted from the tongue as 'Winsbro. F."
'Marylebone" in print becomes in the
spoken word "Marrowbone, because
| it's easier. 'Chumley" is short
meter for "Cholmondeley." "Gunth-
waite" looks we'll in print, but it is
easier to call it 'Guntit" for short, and
this is the custom. Everybody except
the initiated calls the former President
and the famous lion hunter Roose-
welt, " but by his own accout the name
is Rose-a-felt" "
And 50 it goes through a long list of
names and of words. Nearly every
body who doesn't call it auto" or
machine" calls it auto-mo-beel -
because it is spelled that way, but the
dictionary says it ought to be called
uto-mo-ble The spoken word
preceded the written and spelling is but
a clumsy attempt to reproduce the
sound. The tendency of all language
is, morever, toward simplicity. The
vocables rebel against iawbreaking
pronunciations and name which at
first is pronounced as spelled is at last
shortened into something else though
the spelling survives.
This process follows almost inevitably
in the case of foreign names, the mean
ing of which is not commonly under
stood The name of one of the SEN
ators from Florida is James p. Talia-
femo, but he might not know whom
you were speaking to if you addressed
him by the name as it looks in print.
1t is Italian for iron CUTTER" but
found its way into Virginia so long ago
that the spelling is the only thing
Italian left about the family which
bears it. So if you wish to catch the
ear Of the Senator from Florida call
him Toliver.
The French colonist of old Kaskas-
kia had the witty imprudenee to give
the nickname Vide Poche" Empty
Pocket to that suburb of St. Louis
which was officially designated Caron-
delet This was an intimation that the
pioneer settlers there were chronically
dead broke. There are many st.
Louisans of middle age who remember
that the imputation was lifted from the
village by calling it Wheatbush,
which was as close as they trid to get
to the French of it. Bob Ruley's Bot
tom along the Mississippi River in
Southwest Missouri was called by the
French settlers of Ste. Genevieye Bois
Brule Bottom because of notable
forest fire which denuded it; but who
shall say that the American name is
not good enough
The wood of certain Texas tree,
which the Indians used to go hundreds
of miles to get for their bows, loses none
of its tough springness because the
American pioneers couldn't catch on to
the French 'bois dare and called it
'bodock. The natives of neighbor-
ing State have the best historical au-
thority for calling it Arkansaw'' or
Arkansa,n for the present spelling is
the best the French explorers could do
in the effort to put the Indian pro-
nunciation on paper. But antiquarian
search has failed to find a reason why
there should bein England and Virginia
a name spelled Enroughty' and pro-
nounced Darby "-St. Louis Re-
public.