Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-30
STANDARDIZATION FACTOR
In LIVES OF AMERICANS,
Forces Making for Uniformity in United
States Are StrOng-PeOple Dislike
to Be Different.

v. Nasty. In the writings of these men
almost the whole point depends upon
their deliberately incorrect spelling.
Translate any of their writings into
correct spelling and it has little par
ticular point or wisdom or other OUT
standing merit. To say this is too
much" doesn't make anybody laugh.
But after and since Artemus Ward
spelled it "this is mutch," millions of
Americans have roared.
Differed From Standard.
When the judges in this spelling con-
test in Washington said that a Senator
had spelled given word. incorrectly"
the Judge merely meant that the Sena-
tors spelling had differed from the
spelling in Standard dictionaries.
That is what happens-a standard is
set up somehow or by somebody. In
the course of time the standard is gen.
orally accepted. Thereafter anybody
who departs from the standard is called
incorrect" In some fields in which
standards have been set up the person
who departs from the standard is said
to have committed crime of social
Solecism. In practically all fields, in
Guiding clothes and manners, the person
who doesn't act according to standard
Is regarded as queer, eccentric, little
off"
In the spelling contest. If Senator
Fess or Senator Allen spelled music"
or dancing" in the ways in which
George Washington spelled these words,
the Senators would have been called in.
correct and would have been given q
demer1t in the score. But George
Washington did not spell incorrectly.
He spelled iferently-which is quite
another thing than spelling incorrectly.
Vet for hos l..
spellmg-and in some other fields
that to be different is to be incorrect.
WashingtOn's Spelling.
George Washington wrote in his
diary for August 81, 1872, that he
''Dind," and on September 4 that he
"dined," and he alternated the two
spellings all through his diary. In re-
cording wedding he wrote ''maryed."
He described a frontier bedcovering as
"bairskin," and .he described another
bedcovering of different material as q
thread Bear blanket" He wrote in
his diary during November, 1749, Dogs
or Cats" thereby defying what was
later to be the orthodox spelling of the
first word that every child learned to
spell in the elementary spelling book.
What would the judge of the spelling
contest have done to Senator FesS or
Senator Allen If either of them had
spelled that word as "catt"-and had
cited George washington as an au-
thority?
Andrew Jackson suffered no criticism
for writing after his decisive battle in
the War of 1912: "I will hold New
Orleans in spite of Urop and all hell"
and his spelling was as well understood
at time when latitude In spelling was
practiced and expected as Europe"
would have been. Theodore Roosevelt,
when his attention was called to this
sentence from Andrew Jackson, said:
IF 'Urop' does not spell Europe what
does 1t spell?"
ROOseveIt's Reforms.
An attempt that President Roosevelt
made to hasten the process of stand
ardized spelling got him into as much
hot water as anything he ever did.
Nearly "a years ago, on August 81,
1906, Roosevelt wrote an order to the
public printer, inclosing list of 800
words and directing the printer that
he should spell them as they were
spelled in RooSevelt's list. Nearly all
that Roosevelt attempted was merely
to say, as respect certain words, that
one out of two current spellings should
be regarded as correct. For example,
some of the words for which there
were at that time two commonly prac-
t1ceQ SpellmgS were Iab0urI ana
labor" honour" and "honof "axe''
and "ax." goodbye" and seood-by,"
programme" and program, "centre'
and center" theatre" and "theater."
AS to each of these and as to the
remainder of 800 words, Roosevelt de-
creed that the shorter or simpler form
should be the standard one and that
public documents should be printed
in it.
Promptly Roosevelt found himself in
VOWED In a fight in which the odds
were more against him than In any
other of the many controversies he had.
The opposition was international, for
England broke out against this notion
of setting up the Presidents Amer
lean" as a usurper of the Kings Eng
lish." The British press said a Lon
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