That Infamous Period

 

Brother Harry S. Truman had no middle name. He explained his parents gave him the middle initial "S" to honor his grandfathers, and was a combination of the names Solomon and Shipp. On occasion he joked that "S" was his middle name, omitting the reference to his grandfathers; and, when you're the President of the US, people take you seriously, even when you may be joking. From that offhand remark some have contended there should be no period after the "S" and occasionally become smug and adamant about that fact and are quick to point out the ghastly mistake when an author inserts the period. Others will point out it remains an abbreviation for his grandfathers' names, that his middle name was not "S", and as a matter of style, the name should contain a period.

Is there no end to this controversy? Well, Harry S Truman college in Illinois says there is no period. As you go through its website and literature, you will never find a period after that S. The US government, on the other hand, says there is a period after the S and so states in its printing office style manual. Almost all newspapers today, from the New York Times to Truman's hometown Independence newspaper, use the period. But, wait, not the Chicago Tribune that once announced, "Dewey Defeats Truman."

Is there no final authority? Where do you go for guidance to settle this earthshaking controversy? Here's a suggestion… let's go to Harry Truman himself.

My home is just a few miles from the Truman Presidential Library. I am a registered researcher there, have been there many times and gone through hundreds… no make that thousands… of documents. In all of those documents, I have never seen a single Truman signature that does not have a period after the S; Truman also had a signature stamp. It has a period after the S. Any time his secretary typed his full name in a document, there was a period after the S; and the header on his White House stationary has… you guessed it… a period.

Still not convinced? Most Worshipful Brother Truman's final resting place is in the courtyard of that library. As you visit that spot and study the gravestone, you will find there is, indeed, a period after the S – That's pretty good evidence that the period belongs there. It's literally carved in stone.

And now that we've addressed that critical controversy, let's consider another one of equal significance. That Masonic ring on your finger… should the compasses point in or out?