some other word that will take the article's
place. However, never begin a story like this: "Supreme Court of the
United States decided----" or "Young man in evening dress was arrested
last night----" or "House of John Smith was destroyed yesterday----".
Obviously something is lacking and, if no other word will supply the
lack, use the article, _the_ or _a_. When the _noun_-beginning is used
the reporter must never forget that two or more nouns, however
different, if subject of the same verb, require a plural verb. The verb
may be active or passive, whichever is more convenient, but rarely is
the object of an active verb put first--simply because English cannot
bear this transposition of subject and predicate.

2. _Infinitive._--Other parts of speech aside from nouns may be subjects
of verbs and so other parts of speech as subjects of the principal verb
of the lead may be placed at the beginning of the lead. An infinitive
with its object and modifier may occupy the first line as subject of the
main verb; e.g.:

| To rescue his own son during the |
|burning of his own house was a part of |
|yesterday's work for Fireman Michael |
|Casey, who, etc. |

Here the infinitive "to rescue" and its object are the subject of the
verb "was," and the construction is perfectly grammatical.
Unfortunately the English language has another infinitive which very
much resembles a present participle--the infinitive ending in _-ing_;
e.g., _rescuing_. Without an article this part of speech must, of
course, be used only as an adjective, but with an article it becomes an
infinitive, to be treated as a noun; e.g., _the rescuing of_. It would
be perfectly grammatical to begin the above lead in this way: "The
rescuing of his own son ... was the work, etc." But it would be
ungrammatical to begin it thus: "Rescuing his own son was the work,
etc." For in the second case the word "rescuing," if used with an
object, is not an infinitive but a participle, and must be used only as
an adjective, thus: "Rescuing his own son, Fireman Casey performed his
duty, etc.," or "In rescuing his own son, Fireman Casey performed his
duty." The two uses should never be confused.

3. _Clause._--Another expression that may be used as subject of the
lead's principal verb is a clause--usually a _that_-clause. For
instance, "That the entire wholesale district was not destroyed by f