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Show Spelling Reform. The National Educational association Is In session at Louisville. Yesterday In the course of an Informal discussion of spelling spell-ing reform a resolution was adopted requesting re-questing tho association to order the following fol-lowing twelve phonetic words used hero-after hero-after In all Its publications. " 'BlsncBS,' for business; 'enuf,' for enough; 'fether,' for feather; 'mesure.' for measure: 'plesure." for pleasure; 'red,' for read; 'ruf,' for rough; 'trauf,' for trough; 'thru.' for through; 'tuf,' for tough; 'tung for tongue; 'yung,' for young," There Is no question of the plain login of the spelling reform proposition. It appeals ap-peals to tho reason. Its advocates can talk Into silence any ono who undertakes to defend tho present arbitrary, unsystematic unsys-tematic code of symbols on tho ground of science. Yet when all Is said and done, the opponent of the reform -has only to say that the thing cannot be done by law or resolution, and that ends the debate. Custom Is the determining factor. If the National Educational association adopts theso twelve phonetic spellings and slicks to them, and then If tne text-book publishers pub-lishers agreo to adopt them, and If the teachers strictly follow the books and the children are not corrected at home, and If thcro Is no prohibition of the process by statute, tho next gonoratlon will probably write somewhat ns follows: "Blsness over for the day, the young woman set forth for plesuro. She put on a hat with a red fether and mesured her way toward the country, passing thru a tuf part of the town, where tho yungstors crowded about the horse traufs. their tungs sending forth ruf words which sho liad never red without blushing." Could we ever get used to such spelling? spell-ing? Of course we could. Wo can get used to anything We acquire a taste for caviare occasionally, and most of us nre now able to visualize John D Rockefeller Rockefel-ler with a wig Instead of a bald pate. But In thl3 matter of spelling reform It Is always al-ways to be said that the adoption of the plain and simple combinations of common senne will at ono foil swoop destroy the lines which now are drawn between cer-tlan cer-tlan social groups No longer can tho good spellers lift their eyebrows In mute scorn of the poor spellers, casting them Into outer darkness. No moro will misspelled mis-spelled letters be Joyfully rend aloud In newspaper offices as a diversion from tho weary grind of the day's work. Groat rcofrras are always costly. Washington Star. ... i |