CAPITALIZATION

Capitalize titles preceding names, as, Chief of Detectives Fox, Gen. Bell. Lower-case titles following names, as John Downey, superintendent of police, except these which are capitalized always:

President }

Vice-President }

Cabinet } of the United States.

Government }

Administration }

Supreme Court }

Governor (of Michigan).

Lieutenant-Governor (of Michigan).

Mayor (of Detroit).

Supreme Court (of Michigan).

Judges and Justices of all courts of record.

The names of all courts of record.

King, Emperor, Czar, Kaiser, Sultan, Viceroy, etc.

The Crown Prince.

The Duke of Blank.

The Prince of Dash.

Do not capitalize former preceding a title, as former Senator Wilson. Former is preferred to ex-.

Capitalize the full names of associations, clubs, societies, companies, etc., as Michigan Equal Suffrage Association, Detroit Club, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Star Publishing Company. The preceding such a name is not to be capitalized. Do not capitalize association, club, etc., when not attached to a specific name.

Capitalize university, college, academy, etc., when part of a title, as University of Detroit, Olivet College. But do not capitalize when the plural is used, as the state universities of Michigan, Kansas and Ohio.

Capitalize the first word after a colon in giving a list, as, The following were elected: President, William Jones; vice-president, Sam Smith, etc. Try this menu: Rice, milk and fruit. When the colon is used merely to indicate a longer pause than a semicolon, it is not followed by a capital, as, A tire blew out: the car skidded: we were in the ditch.

Capitalize building, hall, house, hotel, theater, hospital, etc., when used with a distinguishing name, as Book Building, Hull House, Cadillac Hotel, Garrick Theater, Harper Hospital.

Capitalize the names of federal and state departments and bureaus, as Department of Agriculture, State Insurance Department, Bureau of Vital Statistics. But lower-case municipal departments, as fire department, water and light department, street department.

Capitalize the names of national legislative bodies, as Congress, House of Representatives or House, Senate, Parliament, Reichstag, Duma, Chamber (France).

Capitalize state legislature and synonymous terms (legislature, assembly, general assembly) only when the Michigan Legislature is meant.

Capitalize the names of all political parties, in this and other countries, as Democratic, Republican, Progressive, Socialist, Liberal, Tory, Union. But do not capitalize these or similar words, or their derivatives, when used in a general sense, as republican form of government, democratic tendencies, socialistic views.

Capitalize pole, island, isthmus, cape, ocean, bay, river, and in general all such geographical terms when used in specific names, as North Pole, South Sea Islands, Cape Hatteras, Hudson Bay, Pacific Ocean, Mississippi River, Isthmus of Panama.

Capitalize county when used in a specific name, as Wayne County.

Capitalize the East, the West, the Middle West, the Orient and other terms used for definite regions; but do not capitalize east, west, etc., when used merely to designate direction or point of compass, as "west of here." Do not capitalize westerner, southerner, western states and other such derivatives.

Capitalize sections of a state, as Upper Peninsula, Western Michigan, etc., but not the northern part of Michigan, etc.

Capitalize, when used with a distinguishing name, ward, precinct, square, garden, park, etc., as First Ward, Eighth Precinct, Cadillac Square, Madison Square Garden, Palmer Park.

Capitalize Jr. and Sr. after a name.

Capitalize room, etc., when followed by a number or letter, as Room 18, Dime Bank Building; Parlor C, Normandie Hotel.

Capitalize distinctive names of localities in cities, as North End, Nob Hill, Back Bay, Happy Hollow.

Capitalize the names of holidays and days observed as holidays by churches, as Fourth of July, Dominion Day, Good Friday, Yom Kippur, Columbus Day, Washington's Birthday.

Capitalize the names of notable events and things, as the Declaration of Independence, the War of 1812, the Revolution, the Reformation, the Civil War, the Battle of the Marne.

Capitalize church when used as a specific name, as North Woodward Methodist Church, First Christian Church. But write: a Methodist church, a Christian church.

Capitalize the names of all religious denominations, as Baptist, Quaker, Mormon, Methodist.

Capitalize names for the Bible, as the Holy Scriptures, the Book of Books. But do not capitalize adjectives derived from such names, as biblical, scriptural.

Capitalize all names and pronouns used for the Deity.

Capitalize the Last Supper, Lord's Prayer, Ten Commandments, Book of Ruth, etc.

Capitalize the names of races and nationalities, as Italian, American, Indian, Gypsy, Caucasian and Negro.

Capitalize titles of specific treaties, laws, bills, etc., as Treaty of Ghent, Eleventh Amendment, Workmen's Compensation Act, Good Roads Bill. But when the reference is general use lower-case, as the good roads legislation of the last congress.

Capitalize such terms as Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, Union Jack, Stars and Bars, etc.

Capitalize U. S. Army and Navy.

Capitalize names of military organizations, as First Regiment, B Company (do not quote letter), National Guard, Grand Army of the Republic, Michigan State Militia, University Cadet Corps (but University cadets).

Capitalize such names as Triple Alliance, Triple Entente, Quadruple Entente, Allies (in the European war).

Capitalize the fanciful titles of cities and states, as the City of the Straits, the Buckeye State.

Capitalize the nicknames of base ball, foot ball and other athletic teams, as Chicago Cubs, Boston Braves, Tigers.

Capitalize epithets affixed to or standing for proper names, as Alexander the Great, the Pretender.

Capitalize the names of stocks in money markets, as Federal Steel, City Railway.

Capitalize college degrees, whether written in full or abbreviated, as Bachelor of Arts, Doctor of Laws, Bachelor of Science in Education: A.B., LL.D., B.S. in Ed.

Capitalize high school when used thus: Central High School (but the high school at Port Huron).

Capitalize, but do not quote, the titles of newspapers and other periodicals, the New York World, the Outlook, the Saturday Evening Post. Do not capitalize the, except The Detroit News.

Capitalize and quote the titles of books, plays, poems, songs, speeches, etc., as "The Scarlet Letter," "Within the Law," "The Man With the Hoe." The beginning a title must be capitalized and included in the quotation. All the principal words—that is, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and interjections—are to be capitalized, no matter how short; thus: "The Man Who Would Be King." Other parts of speech—that is, prepositions, conjunctions and articles—are to be capitalized only when they contain four or more letters; thus: at, in, a, for, Between, Through, Into. The same rules apply to capitalization in headlines.

Capitalize adjectives derived from proper nouns, as English, Elizabethan, Germanic, Teutonic. But do not capitalize proper names and derivatives whose original significance has been obscured by long and common usage. Under this head fall such words as india rubber, oriental colors, street arab, pasteurize, macadam, axminster, gatling, paris green, plaster of paris, philippic, socratic, herculean, guillotine, utopia, bohemian, philistine, platonic. When, however, a name is comparatively recent, use capitals, as in Alice blue, Taft roses, Burbank cactus.

Capitalize the particles in French names, as le, la, de, du, when used without a Christian name or title preceding, as Du Maurier. But lower-case when preceded by a name or title, as George du Maurier. The same rule applies to the German von: Field Marshal von Mackensen, but, without Christian name or title, Von Mackensen. Always capitalize Van in Dutch names unless personal preference dictates an exception, as Henry van Dyke.

Capitalize the names of French streets and places, as Rue de la Paix, Place de la Concorde.

Do not capitalize street, avenue, boulevard, place, lane, terrace, way, road, highway, etc., as Ninth street, Boston boulevard, Maryland place, Rosemary lane, Seven Mile road.

Do not capitalize addition, depot, elevator, mine, station, stockyards, etc., as Wabash freight depot, Yellow Dog mine, Union station, Chicago stockyards.

Do not capitalize postoffice, courthouse, poorhouse, council chamber, armory, cadets, police court, women's parlors.

White House, referring to President's residence, should be capitalized.

Capitalize only the distinguishing words if two or more names are connected, as the Wabash and Missouri Pacific railroad companies. (In singular form, Wabash Railroad Co.)

Do not capitalize the seasons of the year unless they are personified.

Do not capitalize a. m. and p. m. except in headlines.

Capitalize O. K., write it with periods, and form present tense, O. K.'s and past tense, O. K.'d.

Capitalize Boy Scouts (referring to organization). Make Campfire (referring to the girls' organization) one word, capitalized.

Capitalize Constitution referring to that of the United States. But state constitution (lower-case).

NOTES