Simplified Spelling Board - Carnegie's Dissatisfaction

Carnegie's Dissatisfaction

Andrew Carnegie, the founding and major benefactor of the board, disagreed with its chosen approach of proscribing recommended changes. Rather, Carnegie believed that the board would be more productive by encouraging grass-roots changes. His beliefs are contained in a statement given to an editor of The Times: "Amended spellings can only be submitted for general acceptance. It is the people who decide what is to be adopted or rejected." For their part, some members of the board believed that Carnegie was too meddlesome in its business.

Signs of a break with the board were apparent as early as January 16, 1915. Carnegie received a letter from Matthews, which included a list of daily newspapers that had adopted the reformed spellings. Carnegie was not impressed. In reply, Carnegie wrote, "Please note, not one Eastern paper. I see no change in New York and I am getting very tired indeed, of sinking twenty-five thousand dollars a year for nothing here in the East." Carnegie was further irritated to learn that his own trusts' annual financial reports were seen to be taking "a step backwards in reference to spelling."

One month later, on February 25, 1915, Carnegie penned a letter to Holt, the president of the board. In this letter, Carnegie wrote that "A more useless body of men never came into association, judging from the effects they produce. Instead of taking twelve words and urging their adoption, they undertook radical changes from the start and these they can never make...." Using spelling that demonstrated his own continuing attachment to certain reforms, Carnegie added, "I think I hav been patient long enuf... I hav much better use for twenty thousand dollars a year."