LET’S STOP CALLING GERMANY “SHE.”

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 1388, 21 November 1918, Page 8

LET’S STOP CALLING GERMANY “SHE.”

A new idea, which will undoubtedly be taken up by others, has been originated by Jl. it. Shuman, of Chicago, J llinois. Mr Shuman writes: “To every man who loves womanhood there comes an unconscious protest every time he hears the enemy nation spoken of as “she. _ * , . “The Prussian nation lias lorteitcd the right to this noble, appellation and a world-wide movement to stop the practice might help to bring an erring people to their senses. “Neither docs the nation deserve the pronoun of manliness, but should be spoken of as if—a thing unlovely—a Frankenstein—a mad gorilla. “So let ns alter our terminology. “Call Prussia ‘lt.’ “Call Germany ‘lt.’ “Call Austria ‘They.’ “Call the Kaiser ‘lt.’ “Call the Crown Prince ‘it.’ “In the case of the last two, the thought is that the Kaiser is not a man but a title, and Ins son a subtitle —hence the lower ease ‘i.’ “And if we must use a personal pronoun in speaking ol the race, let it he ‘the Hun—he.” _ . . “A ship is described in the feminine because of its grace and beauty, but. who would speak of a, cruel, ugly, bark-like German U-boat as ‘she ? “AVli v, then, prostitute the lennnino pronoun by lending it for a moment to the creator of so hateful a craft? “This suggestion is made, not in a spirit of hatred of an unfortunate, because cruelty hypnotised nation, but in a spirit of love for womanhood and defence of her prerogatives. “If all editors of the Allied nations would, by common consent, adopt the neuter pronouns, as suggested, the fact could not long he kept concealed limn thinking people of the enemy powers and the note of scorn that the Jarring pronouns would invariably sound might have far-reaching reflex action on minds benumbed for generations by false teachings of school and press and pulpit. “Let’s call Germany ‘lt.’