The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-02-25
FROM OTHER PENS
THE "PoRK BARREL. ;,

1t took the house of representatives
| only forty minutes to rush the omni-
bus public buildings bill to a vote. The
measure was reported on Saturday
and put through en- Monday. There is
nothing surprising in that. The votes
! to secure action on it under a SuSpen-
sion of the rules were all procured
before it went on the calendar Moth
ing could be more scientifically con-
structed than a public buildings bill.
Every item in it is worth at least one
vote, and the higher the total goes the
more impregnable is the majority
which its promoters roll UP. The lib
crafty with which the trainers of such
measures now dot the landscape with
public buildings would brings ears of
JOY to the eyes of oldtime champions
in congress of the Old Flag and an
Appropriation. It used to be thought
necessary to pick out cities of at least
reasonable size on which to bestow the
hOnOr OF containing an edifice owned
by the government and dedicated to
federal uses. In his first term Mr..
Cleveland attracted universal attention
by vetoing a bill for a public building
at Allentown, Pa, a city which now
has $4,000 inhabitants But the idea
that size determines merit in such
matters was long ago abandoned I'm
der the provisions of the present bill
Jasper Ala, with $500 population, is
500, 900; Maysville, Tenn, with a
population of 2,3S1, one costing $780,
900: Buffalo, Wyo:, with 1868 in
habitants, ones costing $50, and
Willows, Cal, which 1000 inhabitants
one costing $4,000. Soon no hamlet
will be too small to aspire to an edi-
flee in which local federal activities
will be housed, and every crossroads
will think it deserves a monumental
shelter for the business of it's fourth
class postmaster.-New York Tribune.
SAGE SPELLING REFORM.
The benevolent minds which have
been entrusted with the expenditure
of the Russell Sage Foundation and
have to keep busy about something
are several years behind Carnegie in
spelling reform, but they evidently in
tend to beat him to it, in the par
lance of the day. Brander Mathews
Mr.. Roosevelt and the rest of the
propagandists of the reform which the
IrOnmaster took under his financial
wing, wanted to go through the whole
and spell them in a go-aS-you-please
way. This would have been simpli-
fed spelling. but the "Sages' have got
this outclassed for simplicity. The
easiest way is not to spell them at all.
1t is simply a waste of time to learn to
spell neutrality-suspicious. and all these
other long fellows that decorate The
latter pages of the spelling book. A
neat little list of 1880 simple words
is enough for serviceable vocabu-
syllable, will do very well for ordinary
written communication; seventy-seven
words constitute the chief stock in
trade of ordinary folks, according to
the law of averages. If you don't be-
lieve it, or don't see what all this has
to do with your frequent need of a
dictionary, it must be because you
don't appreciate the great problems
which these million-dollar Founda-
tions are solving for mankind. This
Il
have been made had not Sage millions
paid the salaries of erudite professors
and enthusiastic young men with a
bent for statistics who have gathered
together thousands of love letters, |
business letters, family correspond
ence and other refuse from the mail
bags and colIated, analyZed and tabu- |
lated the inf rmation hidden therein. |
Simplify spelling? Sure. Don't spell, |
and then you will make no mistak es. |
Bulletin