diff --git a/moses/src/Makefile.in b/moses/src/Makefile.in
index 0f42549a3..ba32c48bd 100644
--- a/moses/src/Makefile.in
+++ b/moses/src/Makefile.in
@@ -64,10 +64,10 @@ am__libmoses_a_SOURCES_DIST = Arc.cpp FactorCollection.cpp Factor.cpp \
 	HypothesisCollection.cpp HypothesisCollectionIntermediate.cpp \
 	Hypothesis.cpp InputFileStream.cpp LanguageModel.cpp \
 	LatticeEdge.cpp LatticePath.cpp Manager.cpp md5.cpp \
-	Parameter.cpp Phrase.cpp PhraseDictionary.cpp \
-	TranslationOption.cpp Sentence.cpp StaticData.cpp \
-	TargetPhrase.cpp Util.cpp WeightOptimization.cpp Word.cpp \
-	WordsBitmap.cpp UserMessage.cpp NGramCollection.cpp
+	Parameter.cpp Phrase.cpp PhraseDictionary.cpp Sentence.cpp \
+	StaticData.cpp TargetPhrase.cpp TranslationOption.cpp \
+	UserMessage.cpp Util.cpp WeightOptimization.cpp Word.cpp \
+	WordsBitmap.cpp NGramCollection.cpp
 @INTERNAL_LM_TRUE@am__objects_1 = NGramCollection.$(OBJEXT)
 am_libmoses_a_OBJECTS = Arc.$(OBJEXT) FactorCollection.$(OBJEXT) \
 	Factor.$(OBJEXT) FactorTypeSet.$(OBJEXT) \
@@ -77,10 +77,11 @@ am_libmoses_a_OBJECTS = Arc.$(OBJEXT) FactorCollection.$(OBJEXT) \
 	LanguageModel.$(OBJEXT) LatticeEdge.$(OBJEXT) \
 	LatticePath.$(OBJEXT) Manager.$(OBJEXT) md5.$(OBJEXT) \
 	Parameter.$(OBJEXT) Phrase.$(OBJEXT) \
-	PhraseDictionary.$(OBJEXT) TranslationOption.$(OBJEXT) \
-	Sentence.$(OBJEXT) StaticData.$(OBJEXT) TargetPhrase.$(OBJEXT) \
+	PhraseDictionary.$(OBJEXT) Sentence.$(OBJEXT) \
+	StaticData.$(OBJEXT) TargetPhrase.$(OBJEXT) \
+	TranslationOption.$(OBJEXT) UserMessage.$(OBJEXT) \
 	Util.$(OBJEXT) WeightOptimization.$(OBJEXT) Word.$(OBJEXT) \
-	WordsBitmap.$(OBJEXT) UserMessage.$(OBJEXT) $(am__objects_1)
+	WordsBitmap.$(OBJEXT) $(am__objects_1)
 libmoses_a_OBJECTS = $(am_libmoses_a_OBJECTS)
 DEFAULT_INCLUDES = -I. -I$(srcdir) -I$(top_builddir)
 depcomp = $(SHELL) $(top_srcdir)/depcomp
@@ -178,10 +179,10 @@ libmoses_a_SOURCES = Arc.cpp FactorCollection.cpp Factor.cpp \
 	HypothesisCollection.cpp HypothesisCollectionIntermediate.cpp \
 	Hypothesis.cpp InputFileStream.cpp LanguageModel.cpp \
 	LatticeEdge.cpp LatticePath.cpp Manager.cpp md5.cpp \
-	Parameter.cpp Phrase.cpp PhraseDictionary.cpp \
-	TranslationOption.cpp Sentence.cpp StaticData.cpp \
-	TargetPhrase.cpp Util.cpp WeightOptimization.cpp Word.cpp \
-	WordsBitmap.cpp UserMessage.cpp $(am__append_1)
+	Parameter.cpp Phrase.cpp PhraseDictionary.cpp Sentence.cpp \
+	StaticData.cpp TargetPhrase.cpp TranslationOption.cpp \
+	UserMessage.cpp Util.cpp WeightOptimization.cpp Word.cpp \
+	WordsBitmap.cpp $(am__append_1)
 all: all-am
 
 .SUFFIXES:
diff --git a/moses/src/Parameter.cpp b/moses/src/Parameter.cpp
index a95a383fa..bb3c55869 100755
--- a/moses/src/Parameter.cpp
+++ b/moses/src/Parameter.cpp
@@ -141,13 +141,23 @@ bool Parameter::FilesExist(const string &paramName, size_t tokenizeIndex)
 	return true;
 }
 
+// TODO arg parsing like this does not belong in the library, it belongs
+// in moses-cmd
 string Parameter::FindParam(const string &paramSwitch, int argc, char* argv[])
 {
 	for (int i = 0 ; i < argc ; i++)
 	{
 		if (string(argv[i]) == paramSwitch)
 		{
-			return argv[i+1];
+			if (i+1 < argc)
+			{
+				return argv[i+1];
+			} else {
+				stringstream errorMsg("");
+				errorMsg << "Option " << paramSwitch << " requires a parameter!";
+				UserMessage::Add(errorMsg.str());
+				// TODO return some sort of error, not the empty string
+			}
 		}
 	}
 	return "";