The Washington times., 1929-11-23
DEFINING HOME
GETS PRIZE
OF $3.50

Dissatisfied with Mr.. Webster's
definition Of the word home"
and seeking a more complete de-
scription, the National ASsocia-
ton of Real Estate Boards offers
. prize of $250.00 for the best
definitions submitted to the as
ISOLATION headquarters in Chi
cago.
There is no good definition for
the word home" according to
Herbert U. Nelson, executive Sec
rotary of the association, and the
widespread use of such a def
milton that would catch the
sympathy of the public would
get people to thinking about
nome ownership, thing that the
government as we'll as many phil
anthropic agencies are constantly
endeavoring to do.
WebSter's definitions are cold
and inadequate, thinks Nelson.
Ones own dwelling place; the
house in which one lives: the
house in which one lives with his
family: and the abiding place of
the affections, found under the
word home" in the Standard
Dictionary hardly describe the
magic in this word.
Nor does the Funk and Wag-
nell dictionary do better with,
Ones fixed place Of abode; fam
lily residence"
HTT0ypoo &c ,onrn tHnp oS@ oh;diHor
place, omre than a refuge, more
than a sign of independence.
Home is an institution into which
: are packed the practical and the
sentimental and good definition
must cover all that the word home
covers.
English is the only language
which has the word home" Mel
SON pointed out. mo other Ian
guage has a word which precisely
expresses the ideas and associ-
ations which are aroused by our
word home. The Italian and
Spanish casa the German. 'hauS'
and the Russian donna all refer
to q building and have none of
the connotations that cluster
around the precious English
word. The German helm comes
the closest but even this word is
too general to refer specifically to
what we call home"
Translator Up Against 1t
"The story is told OF a French
man who once translated Cardi-
nal Newman'S Lead, Kindly Light,
and in the translation, for want
of a better word, the line. The
night is dark and am far from
no me- became La mutt est SOM
bre, ct je Suis loin de mon foyer
The translator was obliged to use
the word which describes hearth
or 'firebox' in the French Ian
guage for the English word
home"
There have been many inter
esting instances when the lack of
an acceptable definition of the
word home has been shown,
says Nelson, and II the associ-
alton can secure a good defini-
ton, 1t may come to have an Of
ftcial meaning"
A story is told of a lawsuit
tried many years ago in the Eng
lish courts in which sailor
named Purvis Of Newport, South
5 Wales, sued the Straits Of Dover
Steamship Company for his fare
from Antwerp to his home, a sum
amounting to a little over six
dollars. The whole question be-
fore the court turned on the use
Of the word home" and its
meaning. The company inter-
preted the law to mean that
home" meant country, and that
the law only required that the
sailor be given funds with which
to return to his own country.
/. The sturdy tar refused to &C.
cept this Interpretation, refused
to accept his fare to Harwich.
and demanded that he be given
funds with which to reach, New
port. Purvis' Interpretation was
accepted by the court and the
Judgment given in his favor.
Contest Rules
It is not necessary to be q
home owner to compete for the
associations prize. A renter,
longing for a home, might very
$ well write the best definition be-
cause he has thought SO much
about the subject. Anyone is
eligible in this country or Canada.
The rules follow:
/. Definitions may not contain
quotations or parts of quota
tionS.
2. Definitions may not be hum
orouS or smart.
3. Definitions must be limited
~ to twenty-five words.
4.NName and address of con-
tegtant must be printed on
definition submitted at top
of page in right hand corner.
5. All definitions must be
mailed by midnight. Janu.
airy 5, 1880, to the National
Association of Real Estate
Boards, $40 S. Michigan
Blvd, Chicago, Ill.
Tho affinorc nf fha acS0o;of;orn