Part 5

Chapter 53,097 wordsPublic domain

Webster's New International Dictionary is the standard of the office on compounding words, on hyphenation and on spelling, except as the style of The News noted in this book is different.

+----------------------------------------------+ | REPORTER OF THE NEW ... REMEMBRANCER OF THE | | OLD AND TRIED ... HERALD OF WHAT IS TO COME. | +----------------------------------------------+

SUPERFLUOUS WORDS

Avoid awkward phrases as _a man of the name of_. A _man named_ is not only better style but shorter. Do not write _at the corner of State and Griswold streets_, but simply _at State and Griswold streets_. In place of _so that_ use either _so_ or _that_. In the phrases that follow, observe that the italicized words are not needed.

throughout the _whole of the_ state throughout the _entire_ state _in order_ to a hill resembling _in its form_ a hat the problem is _a difficult one_ he addressed the _different_ schools _As yet_ no clue has been found he works _equally_ as hard most are _of a_ large _size_ _the color of_ the hat was green

Don't say _invited guest_. It is supposed that a guest is invited.

Don't say _They both went_. Omit _they_.

Write _equally well_, or _as well_, not _equally as well_.

Don't write _new beginner_ or _new recruit_.

Don't write _general consensus of opinion_. Omit the _general_. Consensus means _a general agreement_.

Don't say _entirely completed_. _Completed_ means finished in entirety.

Don't say _partly completed_; that phrase involves a contradiction.

Don't write that he has _a brilliant future before him_. Futures do not lie in the past.

Don't say _present incumbent_. _Incumbent_ means at present in office.

Don't say _old adage_. If it's an adage, it's old.

Don't write _widow woman_, _true facts_, _old veterans_, _the la grippe_, _the hoi polloi_.

Don't say _possibly may_ or _possibly might_. The verb conveys the idea of possibility.

Two words may be discarded generally in the phrase _whether or not_. Write it: _He doesn't know whether he will go._

Omit the italicized phrase in He was thrown _a distance of_ 50 feet.

Don't write _regular monthly meeting_. If it's monthly, it's _regular_.

If a man is _well known_, it is not necessary to say so.

Omit the adverb in the phrase _totally destroyed_.

Don't write _still persists_. _Still_ is superfluous.

Make it _noon_, not _high noon_.

VITAL STATISTICS

In writing obituaries the reporter must use the greatest care, for it is very easy to offend the family of the subject of the obituary. Avoid the conventional euphemisms.

Prefer:

_body_ to _remains_ _send body_ to _ship body_ _coffin_ to _casket_ _flowers_ to _floral offerings_ _funeral_ to _obsequies_ _widow_ to _wife_ _burial_ to _interment_ _the dead man_ to _deceased_ or _defunct_

Avoid:

_the late_ _late residence_ solemn black__ _sable hearse_ _last sad rites_

_Marriage_ is a state. The ceremony is a _wedding_. Don't marry the man _to_ the woman. The woman is always married to the man.

Don't say a marriage was _consummated_.

_Funeral_ means _interment_. Write: _Funeral services were held at the church and burial was in Evergreen Cemetery._

Do not use _heart failure_ for _heart disease_. All persons die because the heart fails to beat.

Write simply, _he died_, and not _passed away_, _shuffled off this mortal coil_, _gave up the ghost_, or any similarly amateurish phrase. There is no occasion for clothing the incident of death in a panoply of words, nor should birth be written of except simply. Do not say, _a little stranger was ushered into a cold world_, but _a child was born_. In writing of vital statistics--death, birth, marriage--be content to state the facts without unnecessary embellishment. Forget about the stork, the grim reaper, Hymen and Cupid.

A DICTIONARY

Wrote Sir Clifford Allbutt: "A dictionary 'sanctions' nothing of its contents, but it enables us by consultation of its stores to compare and choose for ourselves. In using this liberty we shall neither be subservient to the prescriptions of age, nor scornful of modern freedom; in every use we shall be guided by historical growth, the example of the best authors, and our present necessities."

SPELLING

LOOK IT UP IF YOU ARE NOT SURE.

BETTER LOOK IT UP ANYWAY.

If two spellings are given in the dictionary, the first cited is preferable.

Follow these spellings:

_airplane_ _ayes and noes_ _ax_ _base ball_ _basket ball_ _bazar_ _birdseye_ _blond_ (both noun and adjective) _Budapest_ _can not_ _Chile_ (South America) _Chili_ (Africa) _clue_ _decollete_ _dispatch_ _draft_ _drouth_ _Duma_ _employe_ _Eskimo_ _facsimile_ _Filipino_ _foot ball_ _gaily_ _gaiety_ _goodby_ _guarantee_ (verb) _guaranty_ (noun) _Hayti_ _Hindu_ _Khartum_ _kidnaped_ _Korea_ _Leipzig_ _Macaulay's History_ _Mohammed_ _nearby_ _plow_ _Porto Rico_ _repertory_ _Shakespeare_ _Shakespearean_ _skilful_ _technic_ _Tibet_ _today_ _Tolstoy_ _tomorrow_ _Turgenieff_ _tying_ _vilify_ _vying_ _whisky_ _Wilkes-Barre_ _woolly_ _world series_

Write: _Parcel post_, not _parcels post_.

Be sure that proper names are spelled uniformly throughout a story.

Use the form _in_ instead of _en_ in such words as _indorse_, _inclose_.

Write it: _Trade unions_, not _trades unions_.

Use no diphthongs when they can be avoided. Write: _anesthetic_, _esthetic_, _medieval_, _maneuver_, _subpena_, _homeopathic_.

Follow the American spelling on _checks_, _tires_, _curb_, _pajamas_, disregarding the British _cheques_, _tyres_, _kerb_, _pyjamas_.

Make the plural of _Knight Templar_, _Knights Templar_.

Don't add _s_ to: _afterward_, _backward_, _forward_, _toward_.

As a general rule change _-re_ to _-er_ when it is the last syllable, as in _theater_, _caliber_, _timber_.

Beware of _effect_ and _affect_, and use them carefully.

A long _way_, not a long _ways_.

Distinguish between: _depository_ and _depositary_; between _insanitary_ and _unsanitary_; between _immoral_ and _unmoral_; between _councilor_, _consular_ and _counselor_; between _council_ and _counsel_ and _consul_; between _capitol_ and _capital_; between _clamant_ and _claimant_; between _sear_ and _seer_ and _sere_; between _emigrant_ and _immigrant_; between _faker_ and _fakir_; between _breech_ and _breach_; between _auger_ and _augur_; between _hoard_ and _horde_; between _lessen_ and _lesson_; between _principle_ and _principal_; between _prophecy_ and _prophesy_; between _advice_ and _advise_; between _maize_ and _maze_; between _site_ and _sight_.

The people of Panama are Panamans, not Panamanians, just as we are Americans, not Americanians.

Two cities in the United States take final _gh_. They are _Pittsburgh, Pa._, and _Newburgh, N. Y._ Also write it _Edinburgh_.

Drop the unsounded final letters in such words as _program_, _catalog_, _suffraget_, _dialog_, _cigaret_, _decalog_. Similarly, write _armor_, _favor_, _color_, and _Savior_.

Some words have lost prefix or suffix, and if they are in good use in their curtailed form, they should be written without apostrophes, as, _cello_ and _varsity_.

POPULAR NAMES OF RAILROADS

Big Four Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis. Burlington Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. Clover Leaf Toledo, St. Louis & Western. Cotton Belt St. Louis Southwestern. Katy Missouri, Kansas & Texas. Lackawanna Delaware, Lackawanna & Western. Lake Shore Lake Shore & Michigan Southern. Lookout Mountain Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis. Monon Chicago, Indiana & Louisville. Nickel Plate New York, Chicago & St. Louis. Pan Handle Pittsburg, Cleveland, Chicago & St. Louis. Queen & Crescent Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas. Rock Island Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific. Soo Milwaukee & Sault Ste. Marie. St. Paul, or Milwaukee Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul.

NOTES

DO AND DON'T

Don't use the words _suicide_ and _murder_ in heads on stories recounting the details of specific crimes or their prosecution. However, should a story of the sociological type appear, dealing with, for example, the increase in the number of suicides or the attempts of the police to reduce the number of murders, the use of either word in the headline is allowed. In the body of the story the most natural expression and good taste must guide the writer, and the use of these words is permissible if they most clearly and effectively express the information in hand.

Names of girls or women who are the victims of actual or attempted indecent attack are not to be published under ordinary circumstances. Authority for exceptions will be granted by the editor when there is sufficient reason.

Use the names of POISONS only when essential to the story.

Never call _a policeman a cop_.

Keep the reporter or a representative of The News out of the story. It is understood that a reporter and a reporter for The News writes a story that appears in The News.

Write the English language. For _sine qua non_, write _essentials_; for _de riguer_, _coup d'etat_, _coup de grace_, _Sturm und Drang_, _au fait_ and similar phrases use English equivalents. Some exceptions are _decollete_, _fiancee_ and _fiance_, and other words which have been taken over into the language. Don't mix languages. Write _a day_, not _per day_. As a general rule use _per_ only in the phrase _per cent_.

_Comatose_ means in a state of _profound insensibility_, not merely dazed as some writers believe.

_Et al._ stands for the Latin _et alii_, _et aliae_, or _et alia_, meaning _and others_. Of course it should never be written _et als._ to form a fancied plural.

_Prone_ means lying flat and face downward. One can not lie prone on the back. _Supine_ means lying on the back.

Use _pseudonym_, a good English word, or _pen name_, and not _nom de plume_, which isn't even good French. Says L'Intermediaire, a French journal: "We do not know in our language the expression _nom de plume_. We have the phrase _nom de guerre_."

Don't use _most_ for _almost_, as, _I am most as tall as you_.

Never write _kiddies_ or _tots_. Write _kids_ when referring to young goats or to children in stories written in a spirit of levity, as, _This is the big day for the kids on Belle Isle_. Don't try to arouse sympathy for children in unfortunate circumstances by calling them _poor little tots_, or _poor kiddies_.

Avoid words borrowed from the yellow-backs, such as, _The bullet crashed through his brain_, _She tripped down the steps_. Try such sentences as this on your hisser: _"I will not go," he hissed._

In news stories don't use thieves' slang, as, _dick_, _frisk_, _dip_, _gat_.

Don't use the editorial _we_. It is old-fashioned. Say _The Detroit News_.

Don't refer to the Darwinian theory or to Dr. Osler's theory without knowing what they mean.

Don't call _a revolver a gun_ or _a pistol a revolver_. It is _automatic pistol_.

Reporters frequently quote Kipling to the effect that west is west, east is east, and never the twain shall meet. But if they knew the poem, they would be aware of the fact that the next line qualifies the quoted lines and vitiates the observation.

_The exception proves the rule_ is a phrase that arises from ignorance, though common to good writers. The original word was _preuves_, which did not mean _proves_ but _tests_.

Say in bad _condition_, not in bad _shape_.

A toga was a garment worn by a Roman citizen. The word is persistently misused to refer to senatorial honors.

Avoid newspaper slang. To all but a few of our readers the word _story_ means not _an item of news_ in the paper but a _piece of fiction_. To speak of a _story_ meaning a piece for the paper is to confuse them. Say _article_ or _item_.

Don't write _alright_. There is no such word in the language.

Avoid poetic forms. Do not use _amongst_ for _among_. _Thither_ and _whither_ have a bookish sound. Prefer the simple _while_ to the fancy _whilst_.

There are no degrees of _certainty_. Don't write a thing seems _more certain_.

_Amateur_ means _non-professional_, not necessarily _unskilled_. _Novice_ implies lack of skill.

_Spectators_ see; an _audience_ is a collection of _auditors_. _Spectators_ go to ball games and motion picture theaters.

Use _render_ in speaking of lard and not of songs.

Don't use _complected_ for _complexioned_.

Don't write _better half_ for _wife_.

Do not write that a thing _grows smaller_.

We write _wages are_. The biblical phrase is, _The wages of sin is death_.

Don't write _the three first_. You mean _the first three_.

A _justice_ presides in police court, in justice court and in the supreme court. A _judge_ presides in other courts except the recorder's court, which is presided over by the _recorder_ and his associate. Justices of the supreme court of the states and the nation are referred to as _Mr. Justice Jones_ or _Chief Justice White_.

Avoid the hackneyed phrase, _a miraculous escape_.

It is almost an unbreakable rule that reporters and copy readers shall verify all quotations. Many of the most familiar phrases are popularly misquoted.

Don't write _the above statement_ or _the statement given above_. It may not be _above_ when it gets into the paper. Write _the foregoing statement_.

Don't use _about_ meaning _approximately_ except with round numbers. Do not write _about 27 cents_ or _about 12 minutes after 8 o'clock_, but write _about $10_ or _about 10,000 persons_.

Don't confuse _O_ and _Oh_. The former is the formal spelling of the interjection and is used usually in poetry, as, _Sail on, O Ship of State!_ It is used in supplication, as, _O God, hear our prayer!_ The _Oh_ spelling is that commonly used, as, _Oh, dear_; _Oh, what shall I do?_ It is usually written with a comma.

DANA'S EIGHT RULES

Charles A. Dana's eight rules for the guidance of a newspaper man are:

1. Get the news, all the news, and nothing but the news.

2. Copy nothing from another publication without giving perfect credit.

3. Never print an interview without the knowledge and consent of the party interviewed.

4. Never print a paid advertisement as news matter. Let every advertisement appear as an advertisement; no sailing under false colors.

5. Never attack the weak and defenseless, either by argument, by invective, or by ridicule, unless there is some absolute public necessity for so doing.

6. Fight for your opinions, but do not believe that they contain the whole truth or the only truth.

7. Support your party, if you have one; but do not think that all the good men are in it or all the bad ones outside.

8. Above all, believe that humanity is advancing, that there is progress in human affairs, and that as sure as God lives the future will be better than the past or present.

THE CANNERY

Dean Alford says: "Be simple, be unaffected, be honest in your speaking and writing. Call a spade a spade, not a well known oblong instrument of manual husbandry. Elegance of language may not be in the power of all of us, but simplicity and straightforwardness are."

Many pages would be required to list all the so-called bromides that have been worn threadbare by constant use and abuse in newspapers. Often these phrases are used to avoid what the writer believes to be annoying repetition. It is better to use the word _fire_ many times in a paragraph than to use the word _conflagration_ once.

So many phrases have become hackneyed in newspapers that the comic magazines make jokes about them. This is from Puck:

A NEWSPAPER DICTIONARY

=Appropriate Exercises.=--What the celebration opened with.

=Good-Natured Crowd.=--People out on election night.

=Firm, Clear Tones.=--What the bride uttered the responses in.

=Heart of the Business Section.=--District threatened by fire. (See =under control=.)

=Land Office Business.=--What the charity bazaar did. (See =pretty girls=.)

=Luscious Bivalve.=--What the pearl was found in. (See =poor shoemaker=.)

=Musical Circles.=--What the hostess is prominent in. (See =artistic interpretation=.)

=Pool of Blood.=--What the body was lying in.

=Sensational Failure.=--A Wall street bankruptcy.

=Trojans.=--What the men were working like.

=Undercurrent of Excitement.=--Something that ran through the audience. (See =tense moment=.)

=Well-Known Southern Family.=--What the bridegroom is a member of.

Avoid such phrases as:

burly Negro smoking revolver cheered to the echo in durance vile herculean efforts it goes without saying limps into port daring robber bolt from a clear sky facile pen breathless silence crisp bill grim reaper dusky damsel tonsorial parlor vale of tears denizens of the deep finny tribe knights of the grip like rats in a trap speculation is rife for 10 long years severed his connection (say _he quit_) solon probe city father leave no stone unturned whipped out a gun old Sol fair Luna Dan Cupid Dame Fashion milady Jupiter Pluvius affixed his signature vast concourse edifice was consumed infuriated animal summoned a physician busy marts of trade breakneck speed high dudgeon fragrant Havana divine passion city bastile immaculate linen minions of the law rash act never in the history of sad rites tidy sum light collation pale as death totally destroyed news leaked out rooted to the spot war to the knife fair sex white as a sheet to the bitter end well-known clubman pillar of the church large and enthusiastic audience natty suit giant pachyderm swathed in bandages tiny tots checkered career angry mob dull, sickening thud foeman worthy of his steel great beyond downy couch toothsome viands

Study of a thesaurus--there is one in the library--will enlarge the vocabulary and help the writer to rid himself of these trite phrases. How fresh words may give life to a piece of writing is shown in the chapter in this book on the use of adjectives.

CLARITY, FORCE, GRACE

"Of the three generally recognized qualities of good style--clarity, force and grace--it is the last and the last alone in which critics of newspaper English find their material," reads an editorial in the New York Evening Post. "Beauty, grace, suggestion of that final touch which confers on its object the immortality of perfect art, are nearly always conspicuously absent."

MICHIGAN INSTITUTIONS

There are no convicts in Michigan except men who have escaped or who have been discharged from institutions in other states. The Michigan State Prison at Jackson houses inmates. The same is true of the Michigan Reformatory at Ionia and the State House of Correction at Marquette. Industrial schools, homes, hospitals and a state public school have succeeded reform schools in Michigan. The humanizing movement has led the state to declare that persons detained in such institutions shall be designated pupils, patients or inmates. There are no prisoners in Michigan juvenile institutions.

The practice of printing the prison record of a man arrested in connection with the commission of a crime but not convicted of that crime is discouraged on The News. Often, former inmates of prisons, striving to lead decent lives, are brought in by the police on suspicion. To print their names may be to injure them needlessly without imparting valuable information to our readers.

The correct names of state institutions as given in the Michigan Official Directory and Legislative Manual (the red book) are:

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Michigan Agricultural College, East Lansing. State Normal College, Ypsilanti. Central Michigan Normal School, Mt. Pleasant. Northern State Normal School, Marquette. Western State Normal School, Kalamazoo. Michigan College of Mines, Houghton. Michigan School for the Deaf, Flint. Michigan School for the Blind, Lansing. Michigan Employment Institution for the Blind, Saginaw. State Public School, Coldwater. Industrial School for Boys, Lansing. Industrial Home for Girls, Adrian. Michigan Soldiers' Home, Grand Rapids. State Psychopathic Hospital, Ann Arbor. Kalamazoo State Hospital. Pontiac State Hospital. Traverse City State Hospital. Newberry State Hospital. Michigan Home and Training School, Lapeer. Michigan Farm Colony for Epileptics, Wahjamega. Ionia State Hospital. Michigan State Prison, Jackson. State House of Correction, Marquette. Michigan Reformatory, Ionia. Detroit House of Correction. State Sanitorium, Howell.

ARMY AND NAVY ORGANIZATION

The United States Army consists of officers, non-commissioned officers and privates. Officers hold commissions. Non-commissioned officers hold warrants. Officers in the regular army engage to serve the United States for life and may leave the service only on the acceptance of their resignations, on retirement or on dismissal imposed by sentence of a general court martial. Enlisted men in time of peace engage to serve for a definite term of years and at the expiration of this term, return to civil life or re-enlist as they may elect. Non-commissioned officers are enlisted men and the duration of their service is governed by the same rules that apply to privates.

The grades of commissioned officers, given in accordance with their relative rank are: General, lieutenant-general, major-general, brigadier-general, colonel, lieutenant-colonel, major, captain, first lieutenant, second lieutenant. The grades of enlisted men are sergeant, corporal and private. There are numerous special grades in each of these general classes. Master sergeants, master electricians, etc., are the highest paid enlisted men and rank all others. Every commissioned officer ranks every enlisted man regardless of the length of their respective services. All officers are of equal social rank. Officers and enlisted men are forbidden to associate socially.

Cadets at the United States Military Academy are neither enlisted nor commissioned but have a status of their own. Socially they rank with officers. They are required to salute all officers but are not entitled to the salutes of enlisted men. Flying cadets in the Signal Corps, who are candidates for commissions as aviators or aeronauts, also have a status of their own. They are required to salute officers but do not receive the salutes of enlisted men. Officers salute one another, the juniors saluting the seniors, who acknowledge the courtesy.

The infantry organization is based on the company. Under war conditions, the company consists of 250 men. Four companies form a battalion, and three battalions a regiment. A headquarters company, a supply company and a machine gun company also are attached to each regiment. These three are smaller than the other companies. The band is part of the headquarters company.