cannot write grammatically -- "
We've heard that sort of thing before,
not just in 1956. 1917, Connecticut schoolteacher.
1917. This is the time when we all assume
that everything somehow in terms of writing was perfect
because the people on "Downton Abbey" are articulate,
or something like that.
So, "From every college in the country goes up the cry,
'Our freshmen can't spell, can't punctuate.'"
And so on. You can go even further back than this.
It's the President of Harvard. It's 1871.
There's no electricity. People have three names.
"Bad spelling,
incorrectness as well as inelegance of expression in writing."
And he's talking about people who are otherwise
well prepared for college studies.
You can go even further back.
1841, some long-lost superintendent of schools is upset
because of what he has for a long time "noted with regret
the almost entire neglect of the original" blah blah blah blah blah.
Or you can go all the way back to 63 A.D. -- (Laughter) --