point, for he
is one of our very foremost essayists; but his enforced inactivity in
amateur journalism this year has deprived us of any current specimens
save the brief editorial in the February =Pippin=.

The general quality of our prose is by no means satisfactory. Too many
of our authors are contaminated with modern theories which cause them to
abandon grace, dignity, and precision, and to cultivate the lowest forms
of slang.

Papers and magazines have been neither ample nor numerous this year; in
fact, the tendency of the times appears to be a centralization of effort
in THE UNITED AMATEUR; something which is for many reasons to be
applauded, and for a few reasons to be deplored. Those members who feel
capable of issuing individual papers should be encouraged to do so;
whilst those who are ordinarily silent, should be encouraged to join the
contributing staff of THE UNITED AMATEUR as provided by the Campbell
amendment.

The best individual journal of the year is =Ole Miss'=. For frequency
and regularity, =The Scot=, =The Woodbee=, =The Dixie Booster=, and =The
Coyote= are to be commended. THE UNITED AMATEUR has prospered as a
monthly despite adverse conditions. The elaborate September, October and
February numbers put us in deep debt to Mr. Edward F. Daas, while
subsequent examples of good editorship must be accredited to Mr. George
Schilling. It is gratifying to note the increasing literary character of
the Official Organ; purely official numbers are invariably tedious, many
of the long, detailed reports being quite superfluous. It is a strong
and sincere hope of the undersigned, that Mr. Daas may rejoin us at and
after the present convention. The resumption of =The Lake Breeze= would
supply a pressing need. Mr. Moitoret's =Cleveland Sun=, which promises
to be a frequently issued paper, made its first appearance lately, and
will, after much of its "loudness" has been removed, be of substantial
benefit to new members. The "sporting" features should be eliminated at
once, as not only being in bad taste, but exerting a noxious influence
over the literary development of the younger members.

While upon the subject of papers, the undersigned would like to enter a
renewed protest against the persistent use of certain distorted forms of
spelling commonly called "simplified". These wretched innovations,
popular amongst the less educated element during the past decade, are
now becoming offensively prominent in certain