Omaha daily bee., 1888-02-26
A Question OF Names.

Mr.. David Dudley Field, uninfluenced
by the ingenious argument of the fair
Juliet that there is nothing in name,
thinks so seriously Of the impor-
tance of giving the prospective new
states approp riate names, different from
those which designate the territories,
that he, a few days ago, addressed
the house committee on territories on
the subject. He especially objected to
the reten tion of Washington and New
Mexico as state names. OF the former
he said that to have state OF Wash
ington would be to invite tremendous
confusion in our letters, as there are
great many counties and postofiices Of
that designation in the country. AS to
New Mexico he remarked that it is not
a name at all, "but only the designation
of an unnamed fragment" He sug-
gested that "Montezuma" would be q
majestic name for a state, though there
were several others that would be ap-
propriate, as s'Monzaua," "Guadaloupe"
and ''Christabal." For Washington he
would substitute Tacoma" yakima"
or "Walula." He protested against
North Dakota and South Dakota, and
thought it would be worth while to
keep the territory out of the union until
it could adopt some exclusive name, as
Yankton or Pembina, or both.
The committee appears to have been
impressed with the views of Mr.. Field,
for in the bill agreed upon authorizing
conventions in the territories to take
the preliminary steps for statehood it
is providhd that the people of
Washington territory and of New
Mexico shall vote on the question
whether the names OF the prospective
states shall be respectively Tacoma"
and ''Montezuma. Very likely there
will be none to disagree with the view
of Mr.. Field that the question of the
name of new state is not merely Of
local importance, but that the whole
people have rights in the matter
''rights of postal convenience and
aesthetic rights''-though we should
say the former was entitled to very
much more consideration than the
latter. This country is unquestionably
rich enough in native names, at once
euphoniOus and appropriate, not to be
compelled to depend on commonplace
designations for our states or
cities. But while it is de-
sirable to draw upon these the neces-
sity OF reasonable degree of simplicity
in the names adopted, so that they can
be easily memorized by all who read and
write, must not be lost sight of. On this
( score there can be. no objection to "Ta-
coma" while there would be to the
other names suggested by Mr.. Field as
| substitutes for Washington, and
although "Montezuma" would present
no difficulty to educated people, there
| are great many who would never be
able to mentally grasp it as whole,
while "Guadaloupe" or "Christabal''
would be beyond the intellectual reach
of large majority. Such names as Ne
braska and Omaha, for example, quickly
become familiar to even the juven-
lie mind, and there is very
large proportion OF the people who as to
a matter of this kind do not grow. II
would not do to wholly ignore such as
unworthy OF consideration. Let there
be given all reasonable regard to the
aesthetic side OF this question of names,
but with due reference to the rights OF
postal convenience" and the intellectual
Limitations of a very large part of the
population.