SPELLING REFORM FOR REDERS

The Cortland News, Friday, February 23, 1883.

SPELLING REFORM.

Mr. Editor:

   Your reders wil, I think, be glad to hear something of the conclusions of the filological society's procedings. For myself, while I am a conservativ, I do approve of several of the rules to which they hav agred. I send herewith their rules for speling as follows:

   (1.) Drop silent e when foneticaly useless, as in liv, vinyard, believ, bronz, singl, engin, granit, eatn, raind, etc.

   (2.) Drop a from ea having the sound of e, as in fether, lether, jelous, etc. Drop e from ea having the sound of a, as in hart, harkn. For beauty uze the old beuty.

   (3.) Drop o from eo having the sound of e, as in jepardy, lepard. For yeoman write yoman.

   (4.) For o having the sound of u in but, write u, as in abuv, duzn, sum (some), tung, and the like. For women restore wimen. Drop o from ou having the sound of u, as in jurnal, nurish, trubl, ruf (rough), tuf (tough), and the u in many English words, as garantee, gard, gess, gest, gild, gilt. Drop final ue in apolog, catalog, etc.; demagog, pedagog, etc.; leag, coleag, harang, tung.

   (7.) Spel rhyme rime, and drop i in parlament.

   (8.) Dubl consonants may be simplified: drop final b, d, g, n, r, t, f, l, z, as in eb, ad, eg, in, pur, but, bailif, dul, buz (not all, hall). Medial before anuther consonant, as batl, rip, writn (written). Initial unacsented prefixes, and uther unacsented sylabls, as in abreviate, acuze, afair, etc.; curveting, traveler, etc.

   (9.) Drop silent b, as in bom, crum, det, dout, dum, lim, num. plum, sutl, sucum, thum.

   (10.) Change c back to s, as in sinder, fierse, hense, onse, pense, scarse, sinse, sourse, thense, tierse. whense.

   (11.) Drop the h of ch in camomile, coker, colera, melancoly, scool, stomac. Change ch to k in ake, anker (anchor).

   (12.) Change d and ed final to t when so pronounst, as in crost (crossed), lookt (looked), etc., unless the e afects the preseding sound, as in chafed, chanced.

   (13.) Drop g in fein. forein, soverein.

   (14.) Drop h in agast, burg, gost. Drop gh in hauty, tho (though), thru (through). Change gh to f where it has that sound, as in couf, enuf, lafter, tuf, etc.

   (15.) Drop l in coud, and p in receit.

   (16.) Write f for ph, as in filosofy, sfere, etc.

   (17.) Drop s in aile, demene, iland. Change s to z in distinctiv words, as in abuze, v., house, v., rize, v.

   (18.) Drop c in sent, sithe (scythe).

   (19.) Drop t, as in cach. pich. wich, etc.

   (20.) Drop w in hole.

   The asociations find that after casting out the unnessesary leters from our present alfabet, the new alfabet must hav in it thirty-six leters. The digrafs ng, sh, th, ch, zh wil each be represented by one karacter. Dubl and silent leters wil be dropt.

   The public hav little knowledg of the strength of the aray set at work for the acomplishment of this end. Yet it may be said that the coleges of the United States and England, of note, hav profesors enlisted in the work. The list of such coleges is too long to insert here. It is true also that men of the highest atainments in all the English speaking world are, with exceptions, wel wishers to the cause.

   What reson can be given why the inosent rules — rules the benefit of which nobody can question—should not be at once adopted?

   1. Drop e from liv, twelv, giv, singl, engin.

   2. Drop double leters—spel, ad eb, eg, el, sel, stuf, pur, calif, buz.

   3. Substitute f for ph—fisik, filosofy, fiz.

L. C.

CORTLAND AND VICINITY.

   Mr. Chas. H. Garrison, of Troy, is here to attend to horse railway matters.

   A Democrat put it about right on election day when he said that "there is no better man in town to head a ticket than R. Bruce Smith."

   A goodly number of the M. E. Church members went to South Cortland Wednesday evening and held a praise and prayer meeting. Rev. Mr. Annable conducted the services.

   Willis H. Coon, Esq., formerly of Cortland, afterward of Ithaca, and latterly of DeRuyter, has entered the law office of D. B. Keeler, Esq., of Syracuse, for the practice of his profession.

   The Standard tells R. Bruce Smith that the reduction of his majority from that of last year is owing to bad company. How is it about D. O. Crofoot, of Preble, and A. W. Clinton, of Harford?

   Mr. Frank Hotchkiss got pretty badly squeezed in the elevator at Wickwires' up-town factory last Saturday. Under the circumstances his escape from serious injury was exceedingly fortunate for him.

   The village [fire dept.] steamer having returned from Seneca Falls, where it was sent for repairs, has been subjected to two or three tests and seems now to work quite satisfactorily. The bill for the repairs amounts to about $430.

   Judge Smith has appointed Mr. Lewis S. Hayes railroad commissioner for this town. Mr. Hayes is one of our most popular citizens, an active, enterprising, successful business man, and the selection every way is a most worthy one.

   Mr. Wm. S. Copeland has been solicited by certain business men to erect a block on his premises south of the Messenger House, but he can not well take the matter under advisement as Mr. M. R. Smith holds a lease of the lot.

   Dr. Hoose has bought the premises on Venette street, in the rear of his residence, and during the coming season will add another story to the house, erect a two story upright part with wing, and thus have two separate houses on the lot.

   Mr. Wallace M. Kendall, a former resident of Homer, now with Wm. Caney & Co., manufacturers and jobbers of hats, caps, etc., New York, looked in upon us yesterday. Wm. Caney is a brother of Mr. H. C. Caney, of the Messenger House.

   Messrs. Wm. S. Copeland and Fits Boynton have sold the west half of their ten-acre lot on Fitz avenue to Mr. L. M. Loope, for $5,000. On the remaining half, fronting on Main street, these gentlemen will erect a residence, the style of which Mr. Copeland has now under consideration, and is in Syracuse this week conferring with the architects of that city in regard to a suitable plan. The location is the best in this section section for a residence, and as these gentlemen possess both taste and wealth, we shall look for an edifice that shall be both tasteful and elegant.

   Mr. C. E. Ingalls has sold his premises on Merrick street to Mrs. M. Grady, and in the coming season will erect a brick residence on his lot north of and adjoining the house of  B. A. Benedict, Esq.

   Under the bead of "Golden Wedding” taken from the Waukon, Iowa, Standard, our readers will recognize the name of John Stillman as that of a resident of Cortland — some forty or more years ago.

   Page &. Santee advise those in want of fine photographic work to call at their rooms in the Samson block, opposite the Cortland House; and we believe the advice to be founded on sound, scientific, philosophical, un-get-aroundable, and altogether satisfactory principles, the truth of which these gentlemen will demonstrate in a most emphatic manner to all who will call. See advertisement.

   The Odd Fellows of Dryden and vicinity will hold an anniversary reception and supper at Mineah's Hotel in that place this Friday evening. This Lodge has indulged in these parties before, and they have always been enjoyable, and if members of the fraternity from this section want a good time let them attend. In the list of the honorary committee are the names of Geo. L. Waters, Esq., and Mr. Gideon Wright. We presume that the committee of arrangements know Mr. Waters' attributes, but we suggest, if they desire to hear good talking, that they call up George.

   In Mackenzie's Receipt Book published in 1829, we find the following way "to raise water in all situations: The finest spring may be formed by boring, which is performed in the simplest manner, by the mere use of an iron rod, forced into the earth by a windlass. The workmen in a few days get to a genuine spring of pure water fit for every purpose. After the water is found, they merely put the pipes down the aperture, and it preserves a fine stream which sometimes issues from four to five feet high." This process was in operation we should say before Col. N. W. Green was born.

   The malignants cannot forget the fact that the Local Board of the Normal school was right and they were wrong according to the highest legal authority in the State, and therefore they made a desperate effort to defeat R. Bruce Smith for supervisor and failed, and now they are madder than ever. Fred Thompson who ran on the Democratic ticket is a worthy young man, but it was not because they cared for Mr. Thompson the kickers voted for him, for they would have voted for the devil rather than for Bruce Smith; not because they love the cloven foot the less, but because they hate Bruce the more.

The Driven Well Patent.

   UTICA, December 19, 1882.—The meaning of the United States Supreme Court decisions in the cases of Nos. 70 and 390, handed down to-day, is that the re-issue of Green's driven well patent is sustained, numerous judgments of the Circuit Courts being confirmed. The matter is of consequence in this section where, in half a dozen counties, more than 300 suits are pending, brought by Andrews & Co., the assignees of the right for this State for the collection of royalty. Attempts to collect the royalty under the re-issued patent have been made in many other parts of the country and strongly resisted.—Cort. Democrat.

Spelling reform: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-language_spelling_reform