Plain English Part 105

+476.+ +Use capital letters to begin important words in the t.i.tle of a book or the subject of a composition.+ In t.i.tles the nouns, p.r.o.nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs should begin with a capital, while the prepositions and conjunctions should begin with small letters. The articles, _the_, _a_ and _an_ are not capitalized unless they are the initial word in the t.i.tle.

+477.+ +Use a capital to begin every direct quotation.+ The first word of an indirect quotation should begin with a small letter. A direct quotation is one which uses the exact words of the speaker. For example: _He said_, "_I will come_." This is a direct quotation, but _He said that he would come_, is an indirect quotation.

+478.+ +Use a capital to begin an important statement or to ask a question.+ For example: _Resolved; That the United States should democratize war. The question is, Shall the people determine the question of war?_

+479.+ +Use capitals for the chief items of any enumeration of particulars.+ For example;

The bill is as follows: For Composition $20.00 For Press Work 10.00 Paper 25.00

+480.+ +Begin the words indicating t.i.tles of offices and honor with a capital.+ For example, _President Wilson_, _Doctor Smith_, _Professor Locke_. When you use a t.i.tle of this kind as a general term, that is, not indicating any particular person, do not use a capital. As for example: _The society has had several presidents._ But if you use the t.i.tle to take the place of the person's name, for example: _The President read the message to Congress_, always use a capital.

+481.+ +Use capitals for the t.i.tles at the beginning of a letter or in written composition and in direct address.+ For example: _My dear Father_, _My dear Mother_, _My dear Comrade_, _Dear Aunt Emma_, _Dear Friend_, _Dear Fellow Workers_, etc. Also in conversation.

Are you coming with me, Mother?

What did the Doctor say, Comrade Smith?

When these words are not used in direct address, however, they should not be capitalized. For example, at the close of a letter you would write:

Your sincere friend.

Your loving brother.

Or in conversation:

I asked my mother to go with me.

My brother wrote me concerning the matter.

+482.+ +Begin the names of important buildings and localities with a capital.+ For example:

Public Library, High School, The East Side, The Union Square, Central Market, etc.

These words used in a general sense, however, should not begin with a capital letter. For example:

Our public libraries, our high schools, jails, prisons, post offices, etc.

+483.+ +The words state and territory, when they refer to particular divisions of the country, should be capitalized.+ For example:

The State of New York, The Territory of Alaska, The French Government, etc.

_State_ and _government_ are also capitalized when they are used in place of proper names. For example:

The State is based on exploitation.

The Government has issued an edict of war.

We do not use a capital in such expressions as:

Church and state, state affairs; they occupy a large territory, etc.

+484.+ +In directing letters or other matter for the mail, capitalize all words except prepositions, conjunctions or articles.+ These should be capitalized only when they begin a line.

Exercise 1

Draw a line under each word in the following that should be begun with a capital:

john joffre, lake michigan, day, thursday, friday, spring, august, december, germany, country, france, man, jones, smith, doctor, doctor george, professor moore, girl, mary, susan, methodist, mohammedan, church, party, republican party, socialist, company, national electric light company, river, mississippi river, the red river, ess.e.x county, state of illinois, iowa, railway, new york, new york central railway, the french revolution, novel, the sea wolf, poem, arrows in the gale, american.

Exercise 2

Notice carefully the following quotations and sentences and capitalize every word that should begin with a capital letter.

1. iron, the twin brother of fire, the first born out of the matrix of the earth, a witness everlasting to the glory of thy labor, am i, o man.

2. therefore i say unto you, banish fear from your hearts.

3. but ye, plebs, populists, people, rebels, mob, proletariat, live and abide forever.

4. and they came here from all parts of the earth, the syrians and the armenians, the thracians and the tartars, the jews, the greeks and the romans, the gauls and the angles and the huns and the hibernians, even from the deserts of the sands to the deserts of ice they came to listen unto his words.

5. marx and engels wrote the communist manifesto.

6. its closing words are; working men of all countries unite.

7. italy was the last of the great powers of europe to become involved in the war.

8. john randolph submitted an amendment to the const.i.tution providing that the judges of the supreme court of the united states shall be removed by the president on the joint address of both houses of congress.

9. eugene v. debs spent six months in woodstock jail for exercising his right of free speech.

10. col. the abbreviation for colorado, is easily confused with cal.

the abbreviation for california.

11. the people's college is a college maintained by the working cla.s.s.

12. william jennings bryan won his first nomination for president of the united states by a very dramatic speech delivered in the national democratic convention.

13. marion craig wentworth, a socialist playwright, has written a play called "war brides."

14. the play closes with these words; a message to the emperor: i refuse to bear my child until you promise there shall be no more war.

15. olive schreiner's "woman and labor" is full of fascinating thought.

Exercise 3

Notice carefully the use of capitals in the following quotations, and determine the reason for the use of every capital:

As the n.o.bles of England wrung their independence from King John, and as the tradesmen of France broke through the ring of privilege enclosing the Three Estates; so today the millions who serve society in arduous labor on the highways, and aloft on the scaffoldings, and by the sides of the whirring machines, are demanding that they, too, and their children, shall enjoy all of the blessings that justify and make beautiful this life.--_Frank Walsh_.

"The toad beneath the harrow knows Exactly where the tooth-point goes.

The b.u.t.terfly beside the road Doth preach contentment to that toad."

"When I came here, it was said that the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company voted every man and woman in their employ without any regard to their being naturalized or not; and even their mules, it used to be remarked, were registered if they were fortunate enough to possess names." _From a letter written by Mr. L. M. Bowers, Chairman of The Board of Directors of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, to the Secretary of Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., under date of May 13, 1913._

Master, I've done Thy bidding, wrought in Thy many lands.

Not by my sins wilt Thou judge me, but by the work of my hands.

Master, I've done Thy bidding, and the light is low in the west, And the long, long s.h.i.+ft is over ... Master, I've earned it--Rest.

--_Robert Service_.

It's O! to be a slave Along with the barbarous Turk, Where woman has never a soul to save, If this is Christian work!