with Bertha, Diana, and Florence, but when it got down to Kathleen, Ophelia, Priscilla, and Sophia the originators of the scheme fled in horror from the thing they had created.

Still another plan, now under contemplation, is to use letters only to designate the short "place" streets already referred to, having the letter in each case to correspond with the initial of the name of the parallel street immediately preceding it,* and to use for all other streets running east and west different series of alphabetical names sufficient to furnish names for all such possible streets to the bounds of the District. It is proposed to stop at W, the remaining letters being difficult to handle, and to have distinct series north and south of the central line of the city. This would necessitate seven alphabetic series or parts of series of names, four north and three south, of which it is contemplated that the first, north, shall consist of the names of distinguished Americans, to take the place of the present letter names; the second to be names of American cities, the third American rivers and lakes, the fourth or partial series unprovided for. For the letter names south the scheme contemplates, first, a series of tree and plant names instead of the present letter names, to be followed by another series and a fractional series unprovided for to extend to the southernmost corner of the District.

It is claimed that this arrangement would discriminate at once between north and south, and thus obviate the need of the N. or S. in letter addresses, while it would also show how far from the center any point might be located. The objections to it, however, are fatal. We cannot get rid of the E. and W. in letter addresses, and experience has shown that there is greater liability to forgetfulness where only one letter is used than when two must be considered. There is no good reason why we should have different series north and south when we have only one system of numbers east and west, and are consequently obliged to take the sectional abbreviation constantly into our calculation.

It is practically impossible to formulate seven alphabetic series of names that shall be entirely distinct and otherwise satisfactory and not be forced and ridiculous in places on account of the very limitations of the case. Certain letters do not fit well in alphabetic series,

* It would be preferable to designate places by the names of the next following streets in order to avoid the difficulty of naming the places below A and First streets.

while for certain other letters there are always a number of candidates equally worthy of a place. This is especially true of any alphabetic series of "distinguished Americans." Under certain letters there is a redundancy of candidates, all equally deserving of commemoration, while under other letters it is impossible to find names, excepting those of persons so obscure as to be practically unknown. It is absurd to commemorate a man simply because his name chances to begin with a K or a V. The circle and other park monuments are the proper mediums by which to commemorate our great men, and this distinction should be reserved for those who are really great, and as there is always a wide diversity of opinion in such matters, the honors should be awarded only by a national legislative body. We may suggest that men who have enriched our country by their writings, explorations, and inventions as much deserve monumental honors as our generals and politicians.

A modification of the "distinguished American" plan proposed was to have four such series, one for each section, so that the name should indicate the section without the addition of a suffix. Το accomplish this it was intended to have one series consist of names of military commanders, another of naval commanders, a third of statesmen, and a fourth of authors, inventors, etc. The objection to this is that it assumes for our entire population, including those of foreign birth, a knowledge of American biography possessed by few even of our educated citizens.

As the sectional system of street distinction entails certain unavoidable difficulties, it may be asked why it is not better to get rid of it entirely by numbering the streets in a single concentric series from east to west of the District, and using some different series in the other direction in regular succession from one boundary to the other, instead of making every series start from the Capitol as a central point? The answer to this is that we must make provision for the possibility, and even probability, that at no very distant period the Federal city will cover not only the whole of the present District, but a great part of the adjoining territory. Artificial boundaries cannot confine the growth of a great city, still less of a national capital, and we may look forward to the day when the numerous suburban villages springing up all around Washington will form parts of one great whole under Federal jurisdiction. A system of street nomenclature which makes the Capitol the startingpoint is the only one adapted to meet the possibilities of such future

growth in every direction. Whenever the time comes to readjust the District boundaries the lines should coincide with the direction of the cardinal points, which is not the case at present.

Another proposition is to discard the alphabetic system entirely and use a numeral system instead, calling the streets running north and south First street, Second street, etc., as at present, and calling those at right angles with them First avenue, Second avenue, etc., to the limits of the District. This plan possesses the merit of extreme simplicity, and enables the stranger at once to ascertain his distance from a given point, which he cannot do under a system made up of several alphabetic series without knowing the order of the several series and making an intricate calculation in addition. For instance, he would know that the distance from Fourth avenue to Fortieth avenue was 36 squares north or south just as certainly and readily as he would know that from Fourth street to Fortieth street was 36 squares east or west, whereas to know how far Maple street might be from Atlanta street he would have to know the proper arrangement of the alphabetic city, river, and tree series, and then perform an intricate operation in subtraction and addition upon the three series to get the distance. This plan overcomes the practical difficulties in the way of inventing and arranging alphabetic series-difficulties which increase with each successive series demanded-and is capable of unlimited extension without change to accommodate any future growth of the city. It is in practical operation to a limited extent in the great commercial city of New York. The liability to confusion between the numbered streets and the numbered avenues is not as great as the liability to confusion under four or more different alphabetic systems. The State names applied to the diagonal avenues sufficiently indicate their distinctive. character.

The committee would suggest the retention of the present system of duplicate numbered streets running north and south and of the present existing duplicate lettered streets running east and west, and that all streets running parallel with the present lettered streets be known in future as numbered avenues, beginning with First avenue and continuing in regular succession. Possibly it might be wiser to begin with Twenty-third avenue, in order to more readily extend the system of the present lettered streets, should such a course ever seem desirable.

It would be unwise to lengthen the names of the present lettered

streets. Besides the confusion which such a wholesale change would necessarily entail for a long time, the present simple letter names are the shortest that can be devised, and any other series would require a constant additional expenditure of valuable time in addressing letters and indicating locations. The difference to a business man between writing a single letter of the alphabet and writing a whole word of eight or ten letters every time he has occasion to address a correspondent is something considerable in a few days or a week, and when we extend this difference to a whole city, with its population of a quarter of a million, it becomes enormous.

If the adoption of a system of numbered avenues beyond a parallel with the present lettered streets should appear impracticable, the committee would suggest as an alternative duplicate alphabetic series of names for such streets running east and west beyond W street, the first series to consist of names of American cities, the second of American rivers, lakes, etc., and the third (partial series) of names of trees and plants. This is sufficient to furnish names for all such future streets to the present limits of the District, and the system may be extended if circumstances in time to come should demand it. The duplicate system conforms to the present method in use for both numbered and lettered streets, and abbreviates the necessity for too great multiplicity of series. In a system of city nomenclature based upon the alphabet there is a logical reason in beginning with the alphabet itself and proceeding successively to cities, next to natural geographic features, and then to natural productions.

We may now consider the essential requisites of the names to be selected. The chief requirement is that they shall be such as can be readily pronounced, or written upon a letter address, without unnecessary labor or loss of time or liability to error; therefore they should be smooth sounding, reasonably short, and the spelling should indicate the pronunciation according to the ordinary rules of English orthography. This last proviso would bar out such names as Agassiz, Des Moines, and l'Enfant, however much we might desire to commemorate the originals. Double names, such as New Orleans or St. Clair, are also to be avoided. K, N, Z, and U are always difficult letters to fill in an alphabetic series, and consequently there is little room for choice where they are concerned.

The following lists of names are submitted for the several series proposed:

First Series.-Letters of the Alphabet.

The present system of letters of the alphabet from A to W, omitting J, to remain unchanged.

Second Series.-American Cities.

In 1889 the following series of city names was prepared in the Engineer Department of the District Office:

To this list, which runs out to the end of the alphabet, there are several objections. Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Philadelphia are too long, Newark is too nearly like New York,, and Savannah is the name of a river as well as of a city. Lowell and Quincy are liable to be confounded with any series of "distinguished Americans" that might be adopted. The long sound of U in Utica is objectionable on account of its resemblance to Yu, and Vallejo is liable to mispronunciation.

For this series we would suggest the following: