The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-10-17
s,RrEr NoMENCLATURH.

N3kEtA NOMENNlh ~ wv
We -ea 10 stated in recent English paper
that IN London there are score, Of streots
which all rejoice n the same pNtronymlc,
their chriateners seeming TO iroat highways
much as they 10 highwaymen-siving them
an appellalou derived from some common
illustrious ancestor, IA Jack Sheppard or
u ok Turpin-and onlynumberng them occa-
sionaly as the nrst, second or third, &C., in
descent from their prototype Indeed, the
Turpins and Sheppards fare better than
the streets, inasmuch AZ their ancestral
name Is after oil only an alias, taken
in their honorable emulation Of the great
original possessor, and because, also, they
have bona .fde baptsmsl cognomens besides;
while the streets are only gifted with one and
the same name, undistinguished by numbers,
letters, or other marks Of difference. John
street, TOR instance, in London seems ubiqui-
tous; and though no two thorOughfares with
this name are at all alike, or bear even a
family resemblance, yet are they all equally
Johns, and only Johns.
We are by no means free from this ab5urdity
of repetition IN our street nomenclature, with
only this difference, that our mania seems to
run In reproducing the memory Of our de-
parted great as frequently as possible, by
placing their family appellations on our corners.
In our own city we have several PENN streets,
courts, and "places;' at least two WASHING
TON ditto, ditto; an equal number of JEFFER-
son, MONROE, and MIFFLIN streets; a couple
of CAEPENrEB streets, with courts, &C., TO
match; two or three GEoB0Es; an indefinite
| number of FRANKLINs; and any quantity Ol
pathological offerings at the ehrines Of lesser
personages, including the numerous families
of SmitlR Jones, and Brown, nd Ubit,m.
Now This patriotic and lrind-hearted way o.
honoring our ancestors is attended with con.
siderable inconvenience, as well "a liable TO nc
little ridicule from the sojourning stranger
who may not share our reverence, and who
may well turn up his nose at the Joneses and
Thompsons who are 40 Unfortunately
handed down TO posterity upon the corner
walls of our highways. We approve highly of
this method of perpetuating the memory OF
the ulustrious dead. Let every city, town, and
village have a WASHINGTON street, JACK
son street, a CLAY street, a WEBSTER street,
and. # there be enough, let the whole host of
statesmen and warriors of our past find each
monument in a thorOughfare, but let each
have but one apiece in any one community.
| Let there be no confusion ofhonors."
And finally, if the munflcence, public spirit,
| or other virtues of less widely known citizens,
such as the aforesaid Browns, Smiths, or
Joneses, shall render their fellow-townsmen
anxious 20 commemorate them by street-con-
secration, whenever there be more than one
such noble Roman" in the same town, lei
them either add the first name or initials, as
80. B. Smith street. or "Tlmothy Jones'
street or let them be numbered according to
seniority, as Brown street No. 1, No. 2, &c
Really, we think that among the various propo
sitions for reform, there is none more practl
cally easy, and at the same time Of indubitabl
utility, than this Of street nomenclature; and
thorough revision Of our system of names will
60 good way towards encouraging curthe
improvements in our city.