A MATTER OF SPELLING.

Dozerdust, Volume 1, Issue 10, 14 August 1943, Page 1

A MATTER OF SPELLING.

,y> It came to a head a few hours before going to print with this issue. It had to come, Thore had been nagging, backbiting and snarling for weeks. . Even the censor was growing jittery,' The Proofreader flatly refus ed to do another thing, ” We’ll be the laughing stock of the Island. And. I know, for I have not worked for two generals,one brigadier and two colonels for nothing. Besides in all the official publications and in KIWI th© word is spelt NI.kOULI ”,not NAIOULI y

That was enough to get hie n back up”, as the typesetter described his- attitude. He reckoned that it would take a regiment of generals’ to teach the Proofreader anything. And at the mention of the word ” official ”, that was enough to make / him oppose n official " spell -/ ing with all the obstinacy for which he is noted.. So doeprcopied is his dislike of the tribo that he could never be induced to go through even the simplest official marriage ceremony. He stood for ” Naiouli 11 as the Dozerdust spelling.

Then there was thd ” Delivery Man J’ who would insist upon saying, ll Holy. Hell I What doos it matter how we spell it. And ho would bawl in his ranoous voice, ” ’Aint that rite ” to the Circulation Manager who never learnt to spoil? His repl; was>”lt doesn’t matter, so *"* * hi * *=* * * * *-* * * * ****************

long as you put it down S The Art Editor would not give an opinion until he had thought the matter over. The prospect of having to wait so long prompted Major Sucker to say | that life was too short to | allow-people with limited iintelligence n to think things over rt . He favoured tho KIWI point' of view,He • certainly stood for the official spelling, The Editor was for a o clean break with all school masters who had, in his opinion ruled far too long. Spoiling was merely a matter of convention it had nothing to,do with the Labour Party or the Chamber of Commerce, Theuproar that followed v was suddenly i£ appe eared, miracuouslyy by the Art Editor who exclaimed, n I hsjvs it, I have it--— the spelling should be NEIGHOULI 2 Sven the presence of the £adre in camp did not stem the flow 0f,,.., And Naiouli is the spelling.