. . . CHRONICLER OF FACTS . . . SIFTER OF RUMORS AND OPINIONS . . . MINISTER OF THE TRUTH THAT MAKES MEN FREE.
This is the style of The News on abbreviating the names of states and territories:
Ala.AlaskaAriz.Ark.Calif.Colo.Conn.D. C.Ga.Fla.Ida.Ill.Ind.Ia.Kan.Ky.La.Me.Mass.Md.Mich.Minn.Miss.Mo.Mont.N. C.N. D.Neb.Nev.N. H.N. J.N. M.N. Y.O.Okla.Ore.Pa.P. I. (Philippine Islands)P. R. (Porto Rico)R. I.S. C.S. D.Tenn.Tex.T. H. (Territory of Hawaii)UtahVa.Vt.Wash.Wis.W. Va.Wyo.
Do not abbreviatePorttoPt.
AbbreviateForttoFt., whether a city or a post.
AbbreviateMounttoMt.in names like Mt. Vernon.
Do not abbreviate names of cities, as Kazoo, Frisco, St. Joe.
Do not use state with names of well-known cities, such as Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, etc.
Follow a firm name as the firm writes it, except in the capitalization ofthe, asthe Ford Motor Co.Later in the story the name may appear asthe Ford company. It isthe J. L. Hudson Company. However, one may say, after writing the firm name, thatthe Hudson company will, etc.
UseMich.after the names of all places in the state except:
AdrianAnn ArborAlpenaBattle CreekBay CityCalumetFlintGrand RapidsJacksonKalamazooLansingMuskegonMt. ClemensMarquettePort HuronSaginawYpsilantiand places so near Detroit that they are generally known.
Beware of the names of cities in other states identical with those in Michigan. Also watch for the names of cities identical with those in other states, as Portland, Me., and Portland, Ore. A few cities that should carry a state designation because there are places of the same name in Michigan are:
Akron, O.Atlanta, Ga.Augusta, Me., or Ga.Bangor, Me.Birmingham, Ala.Brooklyn, N. Y.Canton, O.Caro, Ill.Chatham, Ont.Concord, N. H.Erie, Pa., or N. Y.Fargo, N. D.Frankfort, Ky.Grand Rapids, Wis., or Minn.Hanover, N. H.Helena, Mont.Jackson, Miss.Lincoln, Neb.Lowell, Mass.Manchester, N. H.Memphis, Tenn.Nashville, Tenn.Phoenix, Ariz.Plymouth, Mass.Pontiac, Ill.Portland, Me., or Ore.Quincy, Ill., or Mass.Rochester, N. Y., or Minn.Richmond, Va.Sandusky, O.St. Louis, Mo.Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.Trenton, N. J.Vicksburg, Miss.
Do not abbreviateAttorneytoAtty.before a name.
Do not abbreviate first names except in reproducing signatures, as,Wm. H. Taft, if Mr. Taft wrote it that way.
Abbreviateseniorandjuniorwith commas on each side, asJohn Jones, Jr., spoke.
Do not makeTom,Dan,Ben,Joe, etc., abbreviations unless you are sure they are.Alex Dowis written without the period.
WriteS O Sand similar telegraphic abbreviations, andI O Uwithout periods.
UseBros.only when firm name is so written.
Use ampersand (&) in firm name only when the firm uses it.
Abbreviatenumberwhen followed by numerals, asNo. 10.
Spell out United States except in addresses or in army and navy phrases. Military and naval titles should be written thus:
Adjt.Adjt.-Gen.Brig.-Gen.Capt.Col.Corp.First Lieut.Gen.Lieut.Lieut.-Col.Lieut.-Gen.Maj.Maj.-Gen.PrivateQ. M.-Gen.Q. M.-Sergt.Second Lieut.Second Sergt.Sergt.Sergt.-Maj.Surg.-Gen.Surg.-Maj.
Class of '08may be used forClass of 1908.
Abbreviatedegreesafter a name.
Book sizes,4to,8vo,12mo, should be written without periods.
Use only abbreviations that will surely be understood, such asY. M. C. A.,W. C. T. U., etc., in referring to organizations.
Never writeXmas.
These abbreviations should be used:
Ald.Atty.-Gen.Gov.Lieut.-Gov.Sen.Rep.Cong.Supt.
Abbreviatesaintandsaintsin proper names, asSt. Louis,Sault Ste. Marie,Ste. Anne's,SS. Peter and Paul's church.
Write scriptural textsGen. xiv, 24;II Kings viii, 11-15.
Abbreviate names of political parties only thus,Smith (Rep.) defeated Jones (Dem.) for alderman.
Do not abbreviate street, avenue, boulevard, place or other designation of a thoroughfare.
Abbreviate clock time when immediately connected with figures toa. m.andp. m.
Preferfor exampletoe. g.
Prefernamelytoviz.
Preferthat istoi. e.
Write English money£5 4s 6d, without commas.
Abbreviate the months thus:
Jan.Feb.March.AprilMayJune-Gen.JulyAug.Sept.Oct..Nov.Dec.
Usedon'tonly when you may substitute do not. Perhaps you have seen the advertisement which reads: "Hand Made Tobacco Don't Bite the Tongue."
The one infallible way to insult a man is to misspell his name; that is an old newspaper maxim. More care should be taken with the spelling of the names in a story than with any other mechanical detail. Often a name is misspelled because a typewriter is not clean and aneor anais mistaken for anoor au. It is wise for the reporter to make sure these letters particularly print clearly or he may be held to account for an error. An even better way is to write a proper name in CAPS if it is at all uncommon. When the reporter writes a name such as Willson or Jonnes or Georg, a name which deviates slightly from a familiar name, it is wise to write it thus ". . .and Georg (Correct) Brandes who . . ." then the copy reader knows that the reporter has not left off a letter and the printer and proof reader also know that the word must stand as written.
All proper names should be looked up in the directory, dictionary or encyclopedia unless the reporter or copy reader is sure of the spelling. To misspell a man's name shakes that man's faith in the newspaper; leads him to believe that if the newspaper can't write his name correctly, it is likely to make other mistakes.
Never useMr.before a man's Christian name. Give his full name and then speak of him thereafter as Mr. Blank. Do not write: Mr. John J. Blank.
Do not quote familiar nicknames, such as Billy Sunday, Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford, Jim Corbett.
Do not write: Superintendent of Police Marquardt, but Supt. Marquardt, or Ernst Marquardt, superintendent of police.
Never refer to a woman, no matter how lowly her social position, as "the Smith woman." Call her Mrs. Smith or Miss Smith.
Do not use the titleprofessorunless the person spoken of is or was a member of a college or university faculty. Because a man is a principal of a high school, a mesmerist or the trainer of sea lions, he is not for that reason entitled to call himself Prof. Blank.
Do not use name handles, such asButcher Smith,Grocer Jones.
Do not usemasterin referring to a boy.
WriteMr. and Mrs. James Smith, notJames Smith and wife.
Do not write Mrs. Judge Smith, or Mrs. Dr. Jones.
Use the indefinite article, asFrank Smith, a plumber;William Jones, a barber. Use the definite article in naming persons of distinction, asWilliam Dean Howells, the writer;Sarah Bernhardt, the actress.
The surname is written first among the Chinese.Sun Yat SenisDr. Sun.Li Hung ChangisMr. Li. Chinese is a monosyllabic language and all names should be written with each syllable capitalized, but hyphens are used with geographical names, as,Yang-Tse-Kiang,Ho-Hang-Ho, exceptPekin,Nankin,Shanghai,HankowandCanton. Drop unnecessary letters in Chinese names whenever possible, asPekin(g),Yuan Shi(h) Kai,Ho(w)-Hang-Ho.
Write a man's name as he writes it. It is notA. H. Frazer; it is notAllan Frazer; butAllan H. Frazer. It is notF. H. CroulorFrank Croul, butFrank H. Croul.
It is the King of the Belgians, not the King of Belgium.
Writing of a knight, be sure that you use his first name with the titleSir. He isSir Arthur Conan Doyle, notSir Conan Doyle. Never writeSir Doyle. The wife of a knight, however, is addressed asLady Blank, not necessarilyLady Mary Blank.
The proper use of the words "Hebrew" and "Jew" has been explained by the American Jewish Committee, as follows: "Although no hard and fast rules can be laid down, the word 'Hebrew' has come to have a purely racial connotation. It refers to a race and to the language of that race. Thus we hear of a 'Hebrew Christian,' meaning a person of Hebrew descent who has been raised in or adopted the Christian religion. The word 'Jew,' although often used for denoting a member of the Hebrew race without reference to religion or nationality, has come, in the best usage, to have two restricted meanings—a national and a religious meaning. It used to mean a person who was a subject of the Kingdom of Judah, in the southern part of Palestine, and later it was also applied to those who were subjects of the northern Kingdom of Israel. Under Roman domination Palestine was called 'Judea' and its inhabitants 'Jews.' The word Jew has the same sense now among those who believe that the dispersion of the Jewish people and the fact that they possess no territory of their own has not deprived them of their character as a nation or nationality. The other meaning of 'Jew' is any one who professes the religious principles laid down in the Old Testament as interpreted in the Talmud. Thus, a Gentile who adopts the Jewish faith may be called a Jew, but may not be called a Hebrew, because he does not descend from that sub-class of the Semitic race from which the Hebrews are reputed to come. Up to the last quarter of the nineteenth century the Jews rarely applied the term 'Jew' to themselves, as it was used as a term of opprobrium and as a contemptuous epithet. The Jews preferred to call themselves 'Hebrews' or 'Israelites.' Since about 1880, however, the Jewish people have come to adopt this name more and more generally, and it has begun to lose its derogatory meaning. The word 'Jew' is always a noun, and its use as an adjective in such cases as 'Jew boy' and 'Jew peddler,' etc., is as ungrammatical as it is vulgar."
Don't useJewas a verb, as,I jewed him down to a dollar.
Writing of clergymen, follow this style:the Rev. Dr. John J. Blank,Dr. Blank, theRev. Mr. Blank. NeverRev. Blankorthe Rev. Blank.
Bishops of the Catholic, Anglican or Episcopal communions use the prefixRight Reverend, abbreviatedRt. Rev.
Bishops of the Methodist church NEVER use the prefixRt. Rev.They make no claim to apostolic succession. The usage of Methodism is to write, for example, "Bishop Theodore Somers Henderson, of the Methodist Episcopal area of Detroit."
In the Methodist church an episcopal division is denominated, Area; in the Catholic and Anglican communions, Diocese.
Deans of the Catholic and Anglican churches use the prefixVery Rev.
Under no circumstances call priests of the Roman Catholic churchministers. Call them either priests or pastors.
The denominational usage in the Methodist church is to call clergymenpreachers. In the Congregational and Presbyterian churches it is in accord with denominational usage to call clergymenministers.
Archbishops of the Catholic church carry the prefixMost Rev.; cardinals,His Eminence; as,His Eminence, James, Cardinal Gibbons.
Invariably the wordRabbishould be placed before the name of a Jewish pastor. It should be written,Rabbi Leo M. Franklin, of the Temple Beth El; neverDr. Leo M. Franklin, rabbi of the Temple Beth El.
Never use indiscriminately the prefixDr.in the case of a clergyman. Clergymen of any denomination are not entitled to the prefixDr.unless the degree of Doctor of Divinity has been conferred on them by some recognized college or university.
Write a priest's name,the Rev. Fr. Blank, orFr. Blank.
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.
Avoid awkward phrases asa man of the name of. Aman namedis not only better style but shorter. Do not writeat the corner of State and Griswold streets, but simplyat State and Griswold streets. In place ofso thatuse eithersoorthat. In the phrases that follow, observe that the italicized words are not needed.
throughout thewhole of thestatethroughout theentirestatein ordertoa hill resemblingin its forma hatthe problem isa difficult onehe addressed thedifferentschoolsAs yetno clue has been foundhe worksequallyas hardmost areof alargesizethe color ofthe hat was green
Don't sayinvited guest. It is supposed that a guest is invited.
Don't sayThey both went. Omitthey.
Writeequally well, oras well, notequally as well.
Don't writenew beginnerornew recruit.
Don't writegeneralconsensusof opinion. Omit thegeneral. Consensus meansa general agreement.
Don't sayentirely completed.Completedmeans finished in entirety.
Don't saypartly completed; that phrase involves a contradiction.
Don't write that he hasa brilliant future before him. Futures do not lie in the past.
Don't saypresent incumbent.Incumbentmeans at present in office.
Don't sayold adage. If it's an adage, it's old.
Don't writewidow woman,true facts,old veterans,the la grippe,the hoi polloi.
Don't saypossibly mayorpossibly might. The verb conveys the idea of possibility.
Two words may be discarded generally in the phrasewhether or not. Write it:He doesn't know whether he will go.
Omit the italicized phrase in He was throwna distance of50 feet.
Don't writeregular monthly meeting. If it's monthly, it'sregular.
If a man iswell known, it is not necessary to say so.
Omit the adverb in the phrasetotally destroyed.
Don't writestill persists.Stillis superfluous.
Make itnoon, nothigh noon.
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:bodytoremainssend bodytoship bodycoffintocasketflowerstofloral offeringsfuneraltoobsequieswidowtowifeburialtointermentthe dead mantodeceasedordefunctAvoid:the latelate residencesolemn blacksable hearselast sad rites
Marriageis a state. The ceremony is awedding. Don't marry the mantothe woman. The woman is always married to the man.
Don't say a marriage wasconsummated.
Funeralmeansinterment. Write:Funeral services were held at the church and burial was in Evergreen Cemetery.
Do not useheart failureforheart disease. All persons die because the heart fails to beat.
Write simply,he died, and notpassed 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, buta 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.
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."
SCOURGE OF EVIL DOERS . . . EXPOSER OF SECRET INIQUITIES . . . UNRELENTING FOE OF PRIVILEGE AND CORRUPTION.
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:
airplaneayes and noesaxbase ballbasket ballbazarbirdseyeblond(both noun and adjective)Budapestcan notChile(South America)Chili(Africa)cluedecolletedispatchdraftdrouthDumaemployeEskimofacsimileFilipinofoot ballgailygaietygoodbyguarantee(verb)guaranty(noun)HaytiHinduKhartumkidnapedKoreaLeipzigMacaulay's HistoryMohammednearbyplowPorto RicorepertoryShakespeareShakespeareanskilfultechnicTibettodayTolstoytomorrowTurgeniefftyingvilifyvyingwhiskyWilkes-Barrewoollyworld series
Write:Parcel post, notparcels post.
Be sure that proper names are spelled uniformly throughout a story.
Use the formininstead ofenin such words asindorse,inclose.
Write it:Trade unions, nottrades unions.
Use no diphthongs when they can be avoided. Write:anesthetic,esthetic,medieval,maneuver,subpena,homeopathic.
Follow the American spelling onchecks,tires,curb,pajamas, disregarding the Britishcheques,tyres,kerb,pyjamas.
Make the plural ofKnight Templar,Knights Templar.
Don't addsto:afterward,backward,forward,toward.
As a general rule change-reto-erwhen it is the last syllable, as intheater,caliber,timber.
Beware ofeffectandaffect, and use them carefully.
A longway, not a longways.
Distinguish between:depositoryanddepositary; betweeninsanitaryandunsanitary; betweenimmoralandunmoral; betweencouncilor,consularandcounselor; betweencouncilandcounselandconsul; betweencapitolandcapital; betweenclamantandclaimant; betweensearandseerandsere; betweenemigrantandimmigrant; betweenfakerandfakir; betweenbreechandbreach; betweenaugerandaugur; betweenhoardandhorde; betweenlessenandlesson; betweenprincipleandprincipal; betweenprophecyandprophesy; betweenadviceandadvise; betweenmaizeandmaze; betweensiteandsight.
The people of Panama are Panamans, not Panamanians, just as we are Americans, not Americanians.
Two cities in the United States take finalgh. They arePittsburgh, Pa., andNewburgh, N. Y.Also write itEdinburgh.
Drop the unsounded final letters in such words asprogram,catalog,suffraget,dialog,cigaret,decalog. Similarly, writearmor,favor,color, andSavior.
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,celloandvarsity.
Don't use the wordssuicideandmurderin 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 calla 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. Forsine qua non, writeessentials; forderiguer,coup d'etat,coup de grace,Sturm und Drang,au faitand similar phrases use English equivalents. Some exceptions aredecollete,fianceeandfiance, and other words which have been taken over into the language. Don't mix languages. Writea day, notper day. As a general rule useperonly in the phraseper cent.
Comatosemeans in a state ofprofound insensibility, not merely dazed as some writers believe.
Et al.stands for the Latinet alii,et aliae, oret alia, meaningand others. Of course it should never be writtenet als.to form a fancied plural.
Pronemeans lying flat and face downward. One can not lie prone on the back.Supinemeans lying on the back.
Usepseudonym, a good English word, orpen name, and notnom de plume, which isn't even good French. Says L'Intermediaire, a French journal: "We do not know in our language the expressionnom de plume. We have the phrasenom de guerre."
Don't usemostforalmost, as,I am most as tall as you.
Never writekiddiesortots. Writekidswhen 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 thempoor little tots, orpoor 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 editorialwe. It is old-fashioned. SayThe Detroit News.
Don't refer to the Darwinian theory or to Dr. Osler's theory without knowing what they mean.
Don't calla revolvera gunora pistol a revolver. It isautomatic 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 ruleis a phrase that arises from ignorance, though common to good writers. The original word waspreuves, which did not meanprovesbuttests.
Say in badcondition, not in badshape.
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 wordstorymeans notan item of newsin the paper but apiece of fiction. To speak of astorymeaning a piece for the paper is to confuse them. Sayarticleoritem.
Don't writealright. There is no such word in the language.
Avoid poetic forms. Do not useamongstforamong.Thitherandwhitherhave a bookish sound. Prefer the simplewhileto the fancywhilst.
There are no degrees ofcertainty. Don't write a thing seemsmore certain.
Amateurmeansnon-professional, not necessarilyunskilled.Noviceimplies lack of skill.
Spectatorssee; anaudienceis a collection ofauditors.Spectatorsgo to ball games and motion picture theaters.
Userenderin speaking of lard and not of songs.
Don't usecomplectedforcomplexioned.
Don't writebetter halfforwife.
Do not write that a thinggrows smaller.
We writewages are. The biblical phrase is,The wages of sin is death.
Don't writethe three first. You meanthe first three.
Ajusticepresides in police court, in justice court and in the supreme court. Ajudgepresides in other courts except the recorder's court, which is presided over by therecorderand his associate. Justices of the supreme court of thestates and the nation are referred to asMr. Justice JonesorChief 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 writethe above statementorthe statement given above. It may not beabovewhen it gets into the paper. Writethe foregoing statement.
Don't useaboutmeaningapproximatelyexcept with round numbers. Do not writeabout 27 centsorabout 12 minutes after 8 o'clock, but writeabout $10orabout 10,000 persons.
Don't confuseOandOh. 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!TheOhspelling is that commonly used, as,Oh, dear;Oh, what shall I do?It is usually written with a comma.
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.
. . . PROMOTER OF CIVIC WELFARE AND CIVIC PRIDE . . . BOND OF CIVIC UNITY . . . PROTECTOR OF CIVIC RIGHTS.
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 wordfiremany times in a paragraph than to use the wordconflagrationonce.
So many phrases have become hackneyed in newspapers that the comic magazines make jokes about them. This is from Puck:
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. (Seeunder control.)
Land Office Business.—What the charity bazaar did. (Seepretty girls.)
Luscious Bivalve.—What the pearl was found in. (Seepoor shoemaker.)
Musical Circles.—What the hostess is prominent in. (Seeartistic 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. (Seetense moment.)
Well-Known Southern Family.—What the bridegroom is a member of.
Avoid such phrases as:
burly Negrosmoking revolvercheered to the echoin durance vileherculean effortsit goes without sayinglimps into portdaring robberdenizens of the deepfinny tribeknights of the griplike rats in a trapspeculation is rifefor 10 long yearssevered his connection (sayhe quit)solonprobecity fatherleave no stone unturnedwhipped out a gunold Solfair LunaDan CupidDame FashionmiladyJupiter Pluviusaffixed his signaturevast concourseedifice was consumedinfuriated animalsummoned a physicianbusy marts of tradebreakneck speedhigh dudgeonfragrant Havanadivine passioncity bastilebolt from a clear skyfacile penbreathless silencecrisp billgrim reaperdusky damseltonsorial parlorvale of tearsimmaculate linenminions of the lawrash actnever in the history ofsad ritestidy sumlight collationpale as deathtotally destroyednews leaked outrooted to the spotwar to the knifefair sexwhite as a sheetto the bitter endwell-known clubmanpillar of the churchlarge and enthusiastic audiencenatty suitgiant pachydermswathed in bandagestiny totscheckered careerangry mobdull, sickening thudfoeman worthy of his steelgreat beyonddowny couchtoothsome 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.
"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."
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: