Tuesday, June 16, 1964
Summer Nebraskan
Page 3
Comma Causes Crises
Continued from Page 1
of order and joins the
group of intense comma hat
ers. The next try at coping with
comma problems is to ignore
tnem. mis idea fails because
the indoctrination of rules has
included automatically insert-
l n g commas while reading.
Practical, jokers, sometimes.
enjoy, placing, them, in, ob
viously, wrong, places, and
the, result, is, an, irritating,
jumble, of, awkward, pauses.
Thomas Edison is said to
nave lost a number of patent
rights because his secretary
didn't know the difference
between a restrictive and
non-restrictive clause. She
probably would not have ap
preciated the following poem
& much as others. ,
In 1924, Amos R. Wells
wrote "In Praise of Punctua
tion Marks." ; Here, in one
stanza, he comes to the res
cue of the comma when we
want to erase it from dur
minds:
"Dear Comma, most famil
iar, close at hand,
Alert, prepared, you leap
at our command,
Glad, eager, swift, obedient
to our will.
And keen, though small,
our purpose to fulfill."
The versatility of the com
ma, which he praises so
highly, is also the cause of
headaches and heated argu
ments. It may be "obedient
to our will," but our readers
are not so obedient. They can
not read the meaning because
we simply wish it.
Cases in law may be cited
where people went to court
over commas because of a
difference in meaning. Insur
ance companies have such
complex phrasing that in
sureds can twist the mean
ing by bickering over a
phrase. The meaning has been
questioned enough that
BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY
and the judiciary make com
mas as insignificant as possi
ble. They say, "a comma is a
point used to mark the small
est structural divisions of a
sentence, or a rhetorical punc
tuation mark indicated by the
slightest possible separation
in ideas or construction."
(BLACK'S LAW DICTION
ARY, p. 356)
It is a common declaration
in a legal brief that commas
are no part of the English
language As far as lawyers
are concerned, all punctua
tion is subordinate to the
All-State Enrolls
High school students from
every county in the state ar
rived at the University Sun
day to take part in the annual
All-State High School course.
John Moran, director of
All-State, said registrations
hit the 470 mark; a new at
tendance record with 50 more
students than a year ago.
Students registered Sunday
morning and were assigned to
rooms in the women's resi
SUMMER SESSION WORSHIP
SUNDAY, 9:30 A.M.
University Lutheran Chapel
(The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod)
15th & Q A. J. Norden, Campus Pastor
Ftr tM chert whs want mony, a mart cengtnial
Ucatitn r tptcial assittanct In meeting a
. rticular situation, contacts
THE DAVIS SCHOOL SERVICE
SOI Stuart Building Lincoln, Nebraska Phone: 432-4954
Our ttrvlct covers Hit tntlrt U.S.
N fMt tr rhann until vu have received acceptable service
text, and punctuation marks
must never themselves be
permitted to control the
meaning of the text of a
legislative enactment. Still
people are willing to try to
attach significant meaning to
a comma if it means an in
surance .company is going to
pay for a new roof.
It is interesting to note the
role that commas can play
in the courts; cages have
actually been won or lost as
an indirect result of a mis
placed comma. Here is-an
example in which a comma
omission was used by the
defense as part of the grounds
for dismissal of the case. : '
"". . .,. the'?, unknown heirs;
and devises of the dependents,
if any there be, and all other
persons, unknown, claiming
or who might claim any right,
title,.' estate or interest in, or
lien ' or encumbrance upon,
the real property described in
the complaint, or any there
of . ." (from a 1924 case in
New York lower courts).
The procedural error was:
"failure to show a comma
after the word 'estate' in the
above quoted concluding
phrase of the caption to the
complaint and summon."
While this case was not de
clared a mistrial on the basis
of this one comma, it definite
ly added to the strength of
the case.
Publishers deal with commas
realistically. Since, each pub
lisher builds his reputation
upon the way he appears in
print, he must decide upon a
set of punctuation rules and
stick by them. To illustrate
the touchiness of the comma
situation, try asking a maga
zine or newspaper who takes
care of the punctuation and
spelling for the publication. -They
immediately begin look
ing around to see who seems
most capable of weathering a
torrent of angry words from a
dissatisfied reader.
The hierarchy of a publish
ing company provides that the
editor is right unless the
proof-readers and copy-edi
tors have a really logical de
fense for a particular proced
ure. The continual usage of
every-day English makes pub
lishers' constantly aware of
clarity, and quality publica
tions are rewarded for their
extra effort; they are able to
set the rules of modern Eng
lish simply by printing ac
cording to the standards, in
their "house book.'t '--
Once the basic comma rules
are learned, there is nothing
Record Number
dence halls and Selleck Quad
rangle. Classes for .all , sec
tions in 'art, journalism, mu
sic and speech began at 8:30
a.m. Monday. The programs
continue through July 2.
All-State is held annually
at the University of Nebraska
to give high school students
the opportunity to participate
in laboratory and class study
which will help them evaluate
their talents.
r ft I r-1 7 rx : r txi
OPEN FOR NIGHT SCHOOL
OPEN: JUNE 16-17
TUES.-WED. EVE
7:00-9:00 P.M.
C- O ) , O 1
wrong with using your own
judgment. Because the com
ma requires such "tender lov
ing care," it can be the mark
of especially careful writing.
Well-managed usage promises
smooth, easy-to - understand
results, but if you let this
little hot-house plant make
Two Japanese
Two Japanese teachers have
traveled half way around the
world to join 38 secondary
school teachers in a summer
workshop on economic educa
tion June 14-July 3 at the Uni
versity. The Japanese teachers,
Umeo Takeda and Osamu Wa
tanabe, asked to attend the
workshop "because we have
been impressed by the ef
BOB'S BARBER SHOP
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KEEPSAKE LONGINES BULOVA
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you "hot under the collar,"
you can ruin your whole writ
ing style as well as clarity.
Once you have learned the
rules, commas no longer pre
sent a problem; indeed, they
do accept their little half
turned position and become
"obedient to your will."
Join Workshop
forts to improve economic
education in your country. We
believe that we have much to
learn from your long expe
rience in this matter."
Nebraska participants are
receiving fellowships' provid
ed by the Nebraska Council on
Economic Education, accord
ing to Dr. E. S. Wallace, Uni
versity staff member and ex
ecutive director of the Coun
cil. SHEL DON
Love
supplement
Staff members of Love Me
morial Library have prepared
a list of new books for sup
plementary summer reading.
The list is divided into three
parts: humanities, social
studies, and science.
Reviews of the books will
be included in each edition of
the SUMMER NEBRASKAN.
; HUMANITIES. READING
ROOM
Long, Charles H. ALPHA;
THE MYTHS OF CREATION.
This title is the first publica
tion in a series called "Pat
terns of Myth." This parti
cular book explores the vari
ous theories, myths and relig-'
ious beliefs concerned j -.with
the genesis of the universe,
the earth and man. It includes
the primitive ideas of early
man and his contemporary
equivalent, as well as the
oriental, classical and histori
cal aspects of the various leg
ends concerned. The fascinat
ing relationships between
widely divergent- cultures is
illustrated in this book
through the legends and re
ligions dealing with a com
mon factor to all that of
creation.
Woodall, Mary, ed. THE
LETTERS OF THOMAS
GAINSBOROUGH. Letters of
famous men can often be
most revealing of the cha-
acter of the writer. The writer
in this case, Thomas Gains
borough, was a well known
artist ot the eighteenth cen
tury and his letters reflect
the spirit of his times, as well
JTnw I 1 Art
V TECilCOWIECHHISCOPE-
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THOUSANDS OF USED
BOOKS IN STOCK
MORE ADDED EACH DAY
ART GALLERY
, Library Staff Prepares
ary Book List
as showing a most descriptive
way of life in the frustration's
and problems of any artist
in any age. Included are let
ters to relatives, usually his
sister, patrons, friends and
acquaintances. - The flavor of
the writing is in all manner
of style, , ranging from the
flowery and fofmal to the
frank and outspoken;; " , :
Rawicz, Piotr. BLOOD
FROM THE SKY, This trans
lation of a French ; novel is
not light, pleasurable reading,:
but its. impact -jis. surely,
thought-provoking and im
pelling. The, story is the tale
of Boris, a jew, who manages
to excape from the Nazis by
his wit, although not without
losing much at their hands.
Attention to detail and the ef
fects of physical surroundings
on man's emotions bring
about a high degree of reader
identification and make the
horrors f the book even
more unforgettable.
SCIENCE READING ROOM
Sittig, Marshall. CRYOGEN
ICS; RESEARCH AND AP
PLICATIONS. An excellent
foundation in the really new
frontier of cold engineering.
It provides much technical
data in the application of cold
to space research, in biology,
in electronics, in nuclear phys
ics, in the handling of food
and the fabrication of metals.
Easily understood information
on how cold is produced and
measured, where it is studied,
and how it affects the prop
"Ine youngest,
wildest;
ever to surf up A
DARREN! W
DON'T FORGET
r
erties of materials. Many
fine illustrations.
Bergwin, Clyde R. ANIMAL
ASTRONAUTS; THEY OP
ENED THE WAY TO THE
STARS. An entertaining, fact
ual account of the various ani
mals mice, dogs, chim
panzees, bears which have
paved the way for man in
hitch-hiking to space.
Watson, W. H. UNDER
STANDING PHYSICS TO
DAY. A plea for a philosophy
of physics based on actual dis
coveries of physicists rather
than on the old classic formal
ism A readable, well written
book.
; - SOCIAL STUDIES
READING ROOM
Cole, David L. THE QUEST
FOR INDUSTRIAL PEACE.
Drawing on over twenty years
oLexperience in mediating la
bor disputes, the author dis
cusses the factors involved in
collective bargaining. He also
suggests procedures to im
prove the process of achiev
ing industrial peace.
Milbrath, Lester W. THE
WASHINGTON LOBBYISTS.
In addition to studying the
lobbyist as an individual, the
author also studies the role
of lobbying in national poli
tics. Although intended pri
marily for professional poli
tical scientists, the general
reader who is interested In
public affairs will find this
work useful. The author sug
gests lobby groups and lobby
ists have a beneficial effect
on the process of making na
tional policy.
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