Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1866-01-26
Big B or Little B-DuBugue or Bubu0ue.

AS the manner of writing the name
of " Dubuque" is still discussed by per-
haps one man in a hundred when the
error of the capital b " is mentioned,
we Will present the facts of the case, aud
the reasons for the adoption of the
present form of writing and print
ing the word. OF course we assume
that the capital " y " is an error. Some
have even contended that it should be
written DE Buquc, for the reason that
de-" signifying "ofn in French, is
used as Il prefix to names in that lam
guage, but it is then used only as "a part
of the name and Is written with small
I'D, or, as printers call it, with a low
cr case O." No one will claim that
Du " in Dubuque is an English or
American corruption of ode" The
spelling Of Dubuque as a French
name is "debuc land without the
capital "B."
Julien Dubuque himself, in bonor of
whom our city and county is named,
being an educated man, at least in good
penmanship, wrote his name in a neat,
legible hand, according to the correct
English form" Dubuque" We have
seen his own signature of the date of
l796-many years before the bIunder of
using the capital "B" in the name was
committed.
In the papers referring to the Dubu-
que claim case commencing about 1906,
and continuing, at intervals, i'm the
published records of the commissioners
to adjust Spanish claims within the
Louisiana purchase" including Iowa,
the name is generally printed "Dubu-
que" though from some blunder of "A
copyist, proof reader, or of some one
who believed himself wise beyond his
time, 1t is IN one instance printed "DG-
buc," and in one or two Dubugueu
Twenty-Five years after the death of
Dubuque, and after Dubuque's mines
were occupied and the site of our city
also occupied by population sufficient
to support newspaper, the Dubuque
Visitor, in 1886, adopted the capital B,
which, though an error, appeared to
sanction that form of writing the word.
But the correct manner soon prevailed
and except q uery few Of the early set
tiers and several clerks who like to dis
play good pen on the use of capital
letters, and the frequently erroneous
late editor of the IOUa 1aauls, and q
few other persons, we know of no au-
thority for the big B i'm Dubuque. All
books, newspapers, laws, records and
maps published in and out of Iowa for
the last twenty years have used the
name Dubuque in the right form, and
that is enough to establish the OrthOg-
raphy; and the pronunciation is, on the
authority Of usage and ustom, estab-
lished as Dubuqus, and not "Dubook
AZ some eastern geographers and gaZet-
teers have it.
The documents in the final decision
of the L. $. Supreme Court, i'm the claim
case in 1852, good authority, show the
name written and printed Dubuque"
and so it is written everywhere except
by the persons alluded to. This may
seem like making too much of big B
or little b, but a recent publication
having inserted big Il so prominently
we did not wish to let il stand for au-
thority, and hence, without the least
waspisll spirit to sting anybody in print,
we enter our protest against the wrong
use of the capital "B " in all printing
or writing of the word and name "Du-
buque. Dubuque Herotd.
In the vicinity of Oskaloosa, Iowa,
there are twelve regular collicries in
operation whose magnitude brings them
under the requirements of the excise
law, to take license and pay monthly
duties to the Government, and more
than score of Others that pay duties
license. Still others are being opened,
and the word failure has not in any
instance occurred. In October there
was returned to the internal revenue
Office, and duties paid on l0l 900 bushels
of coal. In addition to this there il a
quantity of fine coal not liable to duty
under the excise law-say 10, 600 bushels
would make for one month Ill 900
bushels, or about one lialf-acre of coal.
THE Des Mones correspondent Of the
Dubuque Herdtd says, speaking of the
organization of the Legislature, "sol-
diers stand no chance for ofiices.n TO
show how finished q ''whopper this
statement is, we VIII Just remark that
every officer of the House, from Speak
er to poorkeeper, has seen service in an
iowa regiment. nt.--Stdtc Register.
Mr.. ALLISON, of Iowa, has succeeded
in getting all order Issued from the War
Department for the immediate muster
out of the Twelfth Iowa, now stationed
If Memphis Tennessee