Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1920-06-25
Careless And Clumsy Writing
And Printing.
To THE EDITOR /:

An old-time friend of The SENTINEL, who
has special fondness for simple and
accurate diction, but who makes no claim
to unusual proficiency as linguist or a
grammarian, begs leave to contribute a
few observations relative to what, in these
modern times. seems to be careless ten
dency toward clumsy, ungrammatical and
illiterate use of the English language. This
tendency is especially observable in the
contents and Typography of many Of our
newspapers and periodicals, which 60 out
to their readers discredited by gross and
unsightly errors-a fact that may be ac-
counted for. in part by the great haste
made and the rapidly operated machinery
used in the preparation and publication Of
the large newspapers and magazines Of
this period.
Errors Of purely typographical character
are generally chargeable to compositors'
proofreaders. correctors or revlsers, while
the blame for awkward. ungrammatical or
inelegant use Of language must be attrib-
uted to those who write or prepare the
reading matter to be printed.
But newspapers and magazines are not
the only offenders in the mattero careless
and clumsy authorship and printing. A
considerable proportion Of the printed mat
ter nowadays produced is so marred by
defective phraseology, typographical errors,
faulty punctuation. etc., as to justify the
conclusion that the general talent for
English composition and the correct prac
tice Of the art preservative Of all arts"
have In marked degree deteriorated since
the days when college education was COM
paratively rare and when printing was
done almost wholly by hand.
A conspicuous example Of imperfect
literary composition. or compilation. may
be found In what 10 known az Tho Amcri-
cans Creed" written, or compiled. by Mr..
William Tyler Page, now Clerk Of the House
of Representatives at Washington. About
three years ago the city Of Baltimore offered
a prize Of one thousand dollars for the
best summary Of the political faith Of
America" A committee Of learned and
prominent citizens. after careful examina
ton of thousands Of competing creeds.
awarded the prize to Mr.. Pages compila-
ton.
At formal meeting, held for the pur-
pose. the successful creed was publicly
presented by the mayor Of Baltimore to
the National House Of Representatives.
and was accepted in eloquent words Of
encomium by some Of the foremost scholars
and statesmen Of the nation, INCLUDING
the Hon. Champ Clark. then Speaker Of the
House, and ex-Speaker ("Uncle Joe'O Can
non.
Hundreds Of thousands Of copies Of the
creed have been circulated throughout the
country, and, so far as this writer is in
formed, 1t has never been the subject Of
unfavorable comment or criticism from any
source whatsoever. 1t 10 compounded Of
several excellent historical quotations, con-
veyinc.. highly patriotic sentiments and
suggestions, and, upon casual perusal, I'M
parts an agreeable impression to lovers OF
their country; but a more careful reading
and analysis of it's contents will reveal a
number Of errors and inaccuracies and lay
bare the fact that 1t could be much i'm
proved by few slight amendments and
corrections.
Following is verbatim copy Of the
creed as originally printed:
THE AMERICANS CREED.
OF believe in the United States OF
America as a Government OF the peo-
ple. BY the people, for the people,
whose lust powers are derived from
the consent Of the governed; democ-
racy In a republic sovereign Nation
of many sovereign States; a perfect
Union, one and inseparable, estab-
lished upon those principles OF free
dom, equality. justice. and humanity
for which American patriots sacrificed
their lives and fortunes.
81 therefore believe 1t is my duty to
my country to love 1t; to support its
Constitution; to obey its laws; to re-
spect its flag and to defend 1t against
all enemies.
The initial expression-"I believe in the
United States of America as a govern
ment," etc.-contains a misstatement OF
fact. 1t cannot be properly said that the
United States is a government. 1t Is
a nation, a republic. union OF states,
and it has and conducts and supports gov
eminent, but il is not, in fact, itself. a
government.
Then comes the continuation OF the SEN
tence-"of the people. by the people, for
the people, wliOSe just powers are derived
from the consent of the governed" Whose
is a pronoun. the possessive case OF toh0.
and cannot with strict propriety be used
TO relate to things In former times such
use was considered permissible. but In this
day il is regarded as not being in good
form. The government Is a thing. and It
is amiss to say 1.-THE thing who" or "a
thing whose"
The clause, "a sovereign Nation Of many
sovereign States" is inconsistent and self
contradictory. The word sovereign means
supreme in power" II the nation be
supreme in power. it follows that the states
cannot be sovereign without some qualifi-
cation. II the states be unqualifedly SOW
ereien, the nation is not, and cannot be.
supreme in power. according to the plain
meaning and universal acceptation of the
term.
Further on, we have the expression.
"a perfect Union. one and inseparable. "
Surely perfect union is necessarily but
one, and il would sound very odd to say "a
one thins,""a one man. or "a one union. "
Other peculiarities might be pointed out
in the creed. but those already noted are
sufficient to illustrate the tendency toward