The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-03-02
ONE OF THE CITYS NEEDS
AN INTELLIGENT SYSTEM OF
HOUSE NUMBERS.

livery System without a New Num-
bering of the Houses.
While it is generally understood that Sa-
vanuah is fearfully and wonderfully num-
bered, no one can possibly tell how ludi-
crously it is done without a drive through
the streets. There are few men who have
studied the subject more than A. Z. Sholes,
in the course of his directory work
A MORNING News reporter, in company
with Mr.. Sholes, drove over some Of the
streets yesterday that an idea might better
be formed as to the efforts made by west side
residents to locate their homes so that it
will not defy the letter carriers and deliv-
cry wagons to find them. They sue
ceeded, however, in making confusion worse
confounded.
Mr.. Sholes, in closing the preface to his
new directory, vigorously alludes to the
condition of Savannah houses.
THE WORST NUMBERED CITY IN AMERICA
"Year after year. he says, las the direc-
tory has been issued the publisher has re-
ferred to the condition of Savannah as re-
CARDS numbers. In city which has to-day
not less than II 900 residence and business
houses, exclusive of those situated upon
lanes, the directory is only able TO give
STAG numbers, and of these fully one-third
are forced, or, in other words, given in the
directory office, where no numbers really
exist. 1t is a dlscreditable fact that in
a city of such proportions less than one
fourth of its houses are numbered"
THE DIRECTORY NUMBERS,
''The annoyance to citizens and strangers,
to mail carriers and to business men is be-
yond estimate. The directory does its best
TO meet the difficulty by numbering the
house as so many from a cross street, but
every new house constructed upon square
so numbered makes the directory hence
forth worthless as a guide to that square.
1t is to be hoped that the honorable Board
of Aldermen will soon remedy this defect,
and enable Savannah to step down from
the position she now occupies of the worst
numbered city in America"
SOME INSTANCES OF NUMBERING.
The drive yesterday revealed some very
strange medleys of numbers. On some
streets numbers are duplicated. Many
of the numbers west of jefferson street are
made with chalk. Some are made with
pen and ink on common paper and pasted
on doors, transoms and even on the wealth
erboarding Often these are obliterated by
rains On Bryan street, between Barnard
and Whitaker streets there is but one num-
ber-141 West of Jefferson street, on the
south side of Bryan street, there are no
numbers. On Farm street the numbers are
few, far between and without system. Nos.
los, Ill and liz are close to No 10, which
is in black ink, while No. 35, short dis
lance away, is chalk number.
On Indian street lane No. ON the north
side is the next door neighbor to No. 49,
On the south side No 40 and No 36S are
side by side, while the next house west is
No. 100. II these numbers are not enough
TO make letter carrier lose mis- head, there
is nothing that will. On the north side of
Indian lane No. and No. "a are adjoining
houses, while on the opposite side of the
lane is No. 140. No. 20 is right across from
No. and No. 43, the next door neighbor of
No. 6 being No 48.
IN THE WESTERN PART OF THE CITY.
On West Boundary street No. 10 is on
both sides of the street On Bay street III
the Western extension, No. is ON one side
of the street and No. 292 is directly oppo-
site
On Farm street, on the west side south of
Bryan, Nos. %, 105 and az are side by side,
and opposite are Nos. 315 and 3. No. 40 is
on both sides of Farm street.
On Orange street No. AZ is opposite No
81, and east of 81 are Nos 40, IL and 4 ;oppo-
site are Nos. "a and 277. No. 40 is next door
to another No. 4. Nos 25 and IA are oppo-
site.
On the west side of st. Gaul street the
houses run in this way: O. "a, SO, 81 O., 12
bers at all. On the east side of the street
the houses are lettered from &c" to ~"
On Harrison street there are two Nos. 81,
and the rest are badly mixed and dupli-
Gated.
Sims street has three No. Is, and two No.
IS, and the numbers on the south side run
about this way: 8, Z, 2, 3, 10, Q, ION weather
boarding., %, SO, 9, 10, 10, 2, 8. On the
north side is this medley: Nos. II, 0, IL, SO,
z, 454 and II, the last number on piece of
white paper.
ALL SORTS OF NUMBERS.
On the east side of Wilson the numbers
run in this order: 5, z, 0, %, % and 81 on
the west side 6, g. u, 1888, 800, in chalk 8,
for the second time 81, SO and so on.
South of CASTOR, on West Broad, an i'm
portant street, on the east side No. s and
No 1879 designate the two divisions of a
double frame house. No. 5, on the same
side of the street is nearly opposite No 10
and No. 112 From thence to Waldburg
there are but two numbers, 40 and r. du-
plicates of which are squares away near
the Bav. On the corner of West Broad and
the lane north Of Duffy is a solitary num-
Der, 800 although on tho same side of the
street, further north, the number properly
belongs.
Whitaker street is improperly numbered
Mr.. j. Guerard Heyward's residence oppo-
site the park, is numbered 101, while a
SoOTe, DbJW6en JOI6S anu GuSUOl
streets, has the same number.
WHAT THE POST OFFICE PEOPLE SAY.
In an interview with Postmaster Lamar
that gentleman said that it is impossible to
have a perfect delivery system of the
mails under the present condition of affairs.
The Government has asked him to present
the difficulties and obstacles that such sys-
tenn entailed upon the free delivery of the
mails to the City Council and urge it to take
some action. He has done this, and the
Council received ii as information
and as yet has done nothing. When the
postmaster again brought up the
subject all that the Council had TO
say about the matter was that the
REMEMBERING had not been provided for in
the budget As the city grew new houses
went up on vacant lots in the residence part
and extended its limits, and the total alb
sence of numbers made a perfect system Of
free delivery totally impossible. Mail di-
rected to am address on some street where
no number is given entails triple work
sometimes being delivered for the third
time before the right party receives 1t, and
then it is necessarily delayed.
ALDERMAN THOMAS INTERVIEWED.
Alderman Thomas, Chairman Of the
Committee on Streets and Lanes was asked
In regard to the matter and if any pro-
vision had been made in the years budget
g. lasu l.Nf a.a Me- 4