The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-11-03
Saturday Evening Letter
By Justice ]. E. Robinson

Grown.ups do not need to read this
letter. 1t is on vaccination, grammar
and composition. In former days when
people were huddled together in small
shacks with no ventilation, and when
children were i'll clothed and ill-fed,
it was common for smallpox and other
infectious diseases to become cpl
demic. The result was a furore for
vaccination which occasionally breaks
out and prevails long after the cause
has ceased. Kind nature is ever work
ing to guard against diseases of ami
mails and plants and so it is that a
mild form OF any disease causes II a
ture to fortify against a more virul'
cnt attack of the disease.
TO Justify compulsory vaccination
against smallpox there must be con-
ditiOns which warrant it. There must
&c s3Me real or imminent danger of
the prevalence of smallpox. 1t must
not lie done to give some young doc
tor a chance to make money or to
crafty the prevailing disposition of
men to make others conform to their
views. 1t must be the result of real
or apparent and imminent necessity.
The same is true Of vaccination
against hydr0phobia and vaccination
or treatment to prevent typhoid fever,
diphtheria anu -ptt1er"such diseases.
For thirty-ive-years / have been=in
North Lakota and have been over
much Of the state and have never
found or heard Of smallpox being pre-
valent. | have not seen a case Of
smallpox. While at Grand Forks, Far
go and other cities a large number Of
people have died from typhoid fever
so that treatment to prevent typhoid
fever seems far more necessary than
treatment to prevent smallpox. In
the early days Of Fargo my children
were excluded from the public schools
because ! would not allow them to be
vaccinated, there being no real or ap.
parent necessity for vaccination. l
then thought and still think that the
real purpose Of the vaccination was to
put money into the pockets Of certain
persons-young doctors on the school
board-sure and ceftainiit was not for
the love Of God or the love of the
children. In the future l may write an
essay on this subject.
In regard to grammar and compost
ton let US commence by noting some
general rules or hints. When a sen.
tence is we'll composed it is easily
spoken and easily read. A sentence
is not we'll composed when you can
not read it without an effort and then
shut your eyes and repeat it.
"A sentence is a unit of thought, an
idea reduced to.i its lowest terms. 1t
may not be necessary that each SEN
tence be anaylzed by strictly gram
NAUTICAL rules, but it is essential that
the reader should recognize, by study
ii necessary, the subject and the predi-
cate aRdsthe character and rank Of
the mOaifiers of each"
In the construction of sentences be
careful to bring the adverbs and ad.
verbal phrases close to the verb
which they modify. Be careful to
bring the %adjectives and adjective
phrases close to the which they
modify. See that the verb or predi-
cate agrees with, and closely follows
its subject. Remember that cOnjunc.
tives couple the same modes and
lenses of verbs and cases Of nouns
and pronouns. 10 not continuously
jump from one mode and tense of the
verb to another mode and tense. Re-
member that the word between and
every other proposition is followed by
the objective case of nouns or pro-
nouns. Then you will not say "be-
tween he and l or between him and l."
Goldsmith once said to Samuel
Johnson: Doctor, If you were to
write a fable about little fishes you
would make them talk like whales"
And so it is with some of our judges.
They seem to pride themselves on
writing whale decisions and whale
sentences. Here are four such sen.
fences copied from a recent decision
by one of our judges. (For reference
we number them |, ?, 3 and A. Please
read each sentence and then shut your
eyes and try to repeat it.
l. "Thc fourth assignment of error,
relating to the failure of the court to
instruct the jury that the fact that
plaintiff had been held to answer the
charge of the criminal action in dis
trict court after a preliminary hearing
before a justice of the peace was
prima facie evidence of the guilt of
the plaintiff, is also without merit. 1t
does not appear that the defendant re-
quested any such instruction, and 0
direction, unless it amounts to misdi.
rection, in a matter of law in a civil
case is not reversible error"
2. If defendant had desired any
instruction, all he needed to do was to
call the matter to the attention of the
court, or prepare a written instruction
himself upon the subject on which he
desired the instruction Of law by the
court, and present it to the court and
request the court to give such instruc-
ton"
3. IF the court refused to give
such instruction and it was an in
struction, which could or might have
been properly given, or if the failure
to give it in any way materially adj