The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-01-26

Judson Jones, the oldtime school
master and campaign orator, and al
one time prosecuting attorney OF Blue
Earth county, but now a resident OF
Cleveland, was in Mankato yesterday
and while here called ON The Free
Press. He exhibited number OF
clippings printed in magazines about
his new Bible which has been trans
lated into the phonetic SYSTEM sof
spelling. A story which appeared in
The Free Press several months ago
about Rev. Jones and his work, was
reprinted in newspapers all over the
country. This is evidence of the
widespread interest that has been
taken in the work which Mr.. Jones
has undertaken.
Mr.. Jones has spent most of his
lifetime, and he is now eighty years
old, in translating the Bible to the
simple phonetic system, which he dis
covered himself. No less famous
concern than the III. o. Houghton
publishing company, have set up the
type for the new version, and since
the appearance of the article in The
Free Press, number of publishers
throughout the country have asked
for descriptive circulars about the
Bible, DESTROYS of becoming Mr.
Jones publishers.
Letters Received BY MIR. Jones.
The following are two letters which
are self-eXplanatory
Cambridge, Mass, January H.
1912.--Rev. Judson Jones, Cleveland
MINI. Dear Sir: We enclose two
letters of inquiry about the phonetic
Bible One from William Norton
the Bible Institute Colportage associa
ton, Chicago, and one from Merck &,
Co., New York. Yours very truly
H. o. Hcughton & CO..
Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass
/ Gentlemen: Please send us when
ready, two or three descriptive circu
lars of the Bible phonetic spelling
which we understand you have in
preparation. Thanking you, yours
very truly, William Norton"
The above letter was written by
William Norton of the Bible Insti
tute Colportage association, publish.
ers of evangelical literature, Chicago
and was dated January 8, 1912.
Said BY Boston Magazine.
The Congregational and Christian
World, published weekly at Boston,
Mass, contains the following article
about Mr.. "Judsn JONI" and his
work:
"In view of the recent tercente.
nary of the English Bible, any I'M
usual version is apt to be Of interest
The issue of the entire Bible as writ
ten in phonetic spelling. is the life
work CT schoolmaSter in Mime.
sota 'tMr. Judsn JONI of Klevland,
as he entities himself on the fore
pages. Mr.. Jones has spent his life
time in trying to put the English
language on the basis of the German
and Greek in the matter of phonetic
! spelling and ease OF pronunciation.
| To accomplish this he uses the same
dlacrttical marks as are made use of
in the German. Having learned
these marks printed above and be-
low the vowels, person need not
hesitate in the correct pronunciation
Of any word. Mr.. Jones has conf
| dence that his phonetic spelling is
| the method OF the future, and his
publishers, the Riverside Press of
Cambridge, Mass, are confident that
| the Bible thus rendered will in time
come into a degree of popular use.
At least, it is something for school
master to give lifetime, practically
without compensation, to what he
deems useful to coming generations
in the way of primary read learning
For some fifty years Mr.. JONI" has
been teaching grade school, and in
1869, he produced a spelling book,
the Alphabet of Orthoepy. He be-
lieves this to he the sole starting