The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-10-29
REMEMBERING THE HOUSES
Some of the Experiences that the Con-
tractor Is Having.


The REMEMBERING of houses under the
recent contract by the city council began
two weeks ago on the streets running east
and west. and has been completed as far
| north as South Broad street No work has
been done yet on the north and south streets.
| More than 2 200 numbers have been put up
and the work has but fairly begun.
| For the past two weeks the life OF the
contractor who is doing the work has not
been altogether an enviable one Still 1t
| has had its amusing side.
II could write a big book about this bust
ness" he said, land before get through
with it III wish / had the job Of writing the
book instead of putting up the numbers"
Had any troublef'
Troubles no name for it.
Anybody hurtp
mo, but the only reason there has not
been, is that | have too much sense TO no
tice the people who do the kicking. l have
had all sorts Of threats stare me in the face,
but that wasn't putting up numbers, you
know. / have incurred the everlasting
enmity of good many people who imagine
that am running the job. They protest
against allowing the number to remain
over their doors, and when | re-
fuse to remove it then comes
row. Some people wait until |
am out of sight and then they proceed to
remove the new number and put back the
old one" One man has written a long
letter to Messrs. Bennett q Cole telling them
that the whole plan is a big blunder, and he
advised them to send a man at the earliest
possible moment to take the new mum er
down and put the old one back. Another
man has notified the contractors that their
number is tackled ON his gate post subject
TO their order"-he refuses it,
While the contractor was tearing off an
old and rusty number on small cottage in
the extreme southern part of the city an
aged colored nanny hobb.ed out of
the back door and began summoning
assistance against 'de robbers" When she
was told what was being done she Un-
bottled her vial of viturperation and de-
manded him to promptly replace the
luck" She said that she had paid for the
old number and that she had owned it ever
since slavery times. Every time she moved
to new house she carried it with her.
She had lived in twenty different houses
since the war and the rusty number had
decorated the door of every one of them.
1t was part and parcel of her effects. 1t
had given her all the luck she ever had and
she was not going to submit to being
treated in any such a manner by 'de man
nish white man, WHO'D 'auts to impose on de
poor niger jeS kase g kin"
While the contractor was removing the
number on an uptown residence the house
maid came to the door and informed 1.-THE
countrymann that there was bell at that
door and that he might knock there all day,
but unless he rang the bell nobody would
pay any attention TO him.
at is astonishing" said the contractor,
''how some of the most prominent streets
have been misnumbered. Oftentimes /
have found two or three numbers alike in
one block. One block toward the middle of
an east and west street had been numbered
as if there were no other houses on the street.
The first house on the block was No. l. and
the others the succeeding numbers. |
remove all the old numbers that | can, but
a good many fashionable residences have
the numbers cut in the transoms and
doors. Some of them are very artistically
done and no doubt were put
there at considerable expense. |
have found a few residences with
night numbers-that is, numbers cut in
glass on the doors and transoms that are
visible at night only when the hall is illu-
minated. They are the wrong numbers,
| too, generally, aud will be misleading to
| the night pedestrian, who cannot se3 the
correct number"
The numbering will be much more salts
factory after the people understand it. The
particular house. A space of thirty feet is
allowed for house. There are 800 feet in
each block, and if the block has only ten
houses in it, each house has a number.
If there are more than ten houses, the frac-
tional numbers are used and If there are
less than ten houses in the block, the vacant
lot numbers are reserved, and ths houses
are numbered accordingly. BY this means
every corresponding street corner bears the
same number. 1t will be two or three
weeks yet before Savannah will be num-
barad