WE congratulate the editor of The Ladies' Home Journal upon the stand he has taken in an announcement which appeared on the editorial page of the November issue of this widely read magazine, and we feel sure that his millions of readers will gradually if not at once appreciate the wisdom and good judgment which have dictated this reform. The announcement reads as follows:
Can we not get away from the universal use of the words "dead" and "death," and even the harsher-sounding words "die," "dying," and "died"? Aside from the harshness of the words themselves, and they are harsh and cruel in their sound, the words no longer express our belief: we are all fast reaching the belief that we do not die: we are not dead. We pass from one stage to another, and so why should we not say what we believe of ourselves and of those dear to us: that we simply pass away? Any usage, any contributing element, no matter how seemingly small, that will help even in the slightest degree to remove the old-fashioned gruesomeness that has so long associated itself with the completion of our work here and the beginning of our work in another stage, is worth adoption. This magazine will adopt the rule for itself: hereafter the words, as applied to human life, will become obsolete so far as our own expressions in its pages are concerned, in the acceptance and usage of the more truthful and less jarring reference of the passing away of a human life.
Facetious critics of Christian Science have for years made merry at the expense of followers of this faith because they have largely avoided the words "dead" and "death" in their conversation, and it may be that The Ladies' Home Journal will now come in for its share of this derision, but we feel sure that the editor has well considered the stand he has taken and will maintain his position, no matter what such critics may say or think.
