The New Orleans Democrat., 1876-08-20
sraxEr NAMES.
OeA otay9n ~ NAMING syDBH1g ~
CensAsxD wIrs Ornan CsTfss.
NE nsssalstsisles u Atssst NsmeH.
slssass.-eistssy. nssasy, nythssssy,
osousapAy, Al Tssges.


given = child has upon his future III,
and ohArsoter.i Gall your boy Hsnr,
Clay es William Pitt, and he IL sure u
bs statesman and Governor. X BIZ
own native State knows him too will Il
elevate him 10 that august pONition. he
will onst u on and emtgrate to other
lands and soils where, despite people
and v0t<s. no Will yet reach the guber
nAtorial chair. He must be Governor
ana irrssistable Impulse, the power o
his owa name, urges him on against al
obstacles Of fate. ,it
Names have a similar effect on ths
chafsuier of streets. Let d street opl,
start ont IN life under such an un
pleaaAAt title ~ Club or pickledherrins
street tt~o London thoroughfatesl. and
there y no hope Of any Improvement Ia
UitSiiOgsthrr 10 dirt. bad smells. chssr
l0dgInH. houses and bar-rooms.
In New Ofleabs. We have followed the
exactly opposite System have initiated
those knowing old Norwegian seq. kings
aud dis0Oveters, who Understood far
moro than Miss Juliet, the virtues Of a
maine, punrd the Icy shores Of tho frozen
ocean. M Greenland, and eompltmented
the basfsA hllls Of Massachusetts with
the name gf VinelAnd. We have Virtue,
this muvh TO say against this optimist
nomenslsturc: when couple who live
On Love street get 70 Quarreling. ALWAYS
y domsstic possibility, their little tifFs
seem augmented and mAgnifcd three
fold ~ mere contrast with the streets
suggestive name. Had boys are moro
than asuAlly aH9ravating; when they
happen u dwell on uoodchildren
street. Ho with Virtue and Piety streets,
what man can dwell on Piety street
beiisvsr. The very name Is an Il Insult s e. =
bore. . senstant bugbear. and reminder
y him tAAt he In lacking In that pioty
that kis street boasts OF, and that he IL
virtue.
Yet, withal, New Orleans compares
ooet kvorsbly with other American
cities IN lts street names, 1t and Boston
are The only two cities IN this country
that continue to name their streets, az
X they were respcctable and gentle
manly; the others have gone mad on
utilitalGnism and number theirs M II
they were 30 many conviets IN the peni.
tentiary, who had lost all right and
title to un independent name and wei
only worthy Of being known as No. l or
No. 62<. "a, .1-#.,.t
New York 10 thoroughly numbered.
has u NJ, 81 street. West. ~ First street, |
East. Ftfst Avenue. and SO on up to
Two Hundred and -Sixt y.Seventh street. |
very good systeiu this for u mathe- |
mntioiah. but sometiines little oonfus.
INK 10 those persons who did not figure |
well before the black board In their
younger days. When. for instance. you
strike u Fourthand-a half street, YOU |
begin To think that perhaps this Ia car
ryinx the Joke IA little too Tar. In reduc.
ing htIeets to fractions. and when YOU
nnu Foutth street, next to Eighth, and
crossed by Twelfth street tan eccentric
Wy of arithmetic caused by the streets
varying from the straiRht iine). you are
completely mystited, and no longer put
your trust In figures.
" Our Capital, Washington. has carried
lhis unitarian doctriuc much farther,
and map OF the city might be used
with gr at advantage in our infaptile
schools. All the streets north aud south
aro numbered. First, Second, Third.
etc. |, while those east and west are let.
tered. A, Il. g and ID streets.
But the greatest farce OF all Ii In the
little town Of Williamsburgh. Opposite
New York and OF late Incorporated In
the city Of Brooklyn. In williamsburg.
all the strrets running north and south
along the East river are numbered. 1, 3,
), 4, and 80 on; and all the cross
streets are numbered also. 1st, al, Sd,
jth, etc. You may thus happen to live
ut the corner Of and Ist streets. or al
and !, lst and 2, I'd and ist. 2d and and 80
ON, A man has 10 be particularly sober In
order 70 find his way home at night
Ia such mathematical confusion as this II
In fsct, there is no greater temperance
town than Williamsburgh, simply on
account Of these streets. On the other
hand. they are rather confusing and
a@gravating to strangers, and responsi-
0ie tor avast amount of profanity and
1is Ne , laf Ios III 81 II
II was reported by one Of the earliest I
visitors 70 New Ofleans, French gen.
tlemAn, that the names of the streets
IN this city were looked up In the Hotel
de 0ouvernement as some great State {
secret not TO be given to the vulgar peo- {
Pile, loot they might treat those great |
and august titles with indignity. Sup F,
pose, for instance. the French autbori- |
ttes were living now to see the name Of st. {
Louis, the patron OF France, proianed,
- It has been, by the brawls and politi- {
cal trickery Of the State House? They I
would have considered this as a hereti- I
cal, atheistical, outrageous proceeding. l
'amily OF France, descendants OF that q
.ame st. Louis, and probably have had I
Mr.. Kellogg and his whole gang taken u
nto the calaboose. u
The original French system OF ,m- I
.nclature has clung to New Orleans. c
This Is why 1t is-in name, at least-the
most saintly city In the world, with the |
iingle exception OF Quebec, We havea i
y. Louis, st. Charles, st. John, in fine =
very saint mentioned in the calendar; i
ONE VI them three times over-St. I
'Amee, for instance-and u few saints .
unknown TO the church. 1t has been i
l0ticed as queer coincidence that Il
hese saints are generally in bad com /
any; that ST. Charles street is always Il
ssocisiesi with gamblers, and st. Louis 4
'ith low bummers aud politicians. b
We would also appear TO be OF mill e
ary character. We have a Rampant .
y-the-by. it ought TO he Ramlarls street c
10 des Rml@rtsl-a Camp, an Espla- r
Ade, Place d'Armes, u Barracks, u U