Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-08-22
RAMBLINGS.
HE rambled in his walks,
And likewise in his talks,

l heIambieu IN MS Walk1,
And likewise in his talks"
| glance at one of the recently issued mans
OF the District and adjacent territory can
hardly fail to suggest to q reasoning person the
desirability Of a reform looking to curtailme nj
In the names of some of our nearby settle
ments, both existing and prospective In this
| respect there is great room for improvement in
the euphony Of applied nomenclature, as we'll
| as an economy Of words which latter point is
no small item in the use of language nowadays,
whether written or spoken. Take Blsdensburg.
Hyattsville, and Tennallytown, for examples.
why not call them instead Bladen, HYATT.
and Tenley, respectively The name in
each case would then be shorter, pref
tier. and actually more distinctive than
now. Why add the unsightly and unne-
cessary sufix? You might as well say WASH
1ngtonville, Chicagotown or Cincinnatiburg
linen; again, why Iwining City and Armsleigh
park at the other; and, even if there we're, the
SIMPLE name Twining and Armsleigh would be
oetter IN every way. And why "Pali-
sades OF the Potomac?'' There are no
Rahs sSsrs there for that matter, and;
be sufficient, without adding "of the Potomac"
since there is no other river here and no other
place hereabouts likely to be called Palisades.
ana SO on one might go through long list. As
ior tne divisions Of the city now commonly
oesignated as Georgetown or West Washington,
south Washington, and East Washington, they
ought to be spoken of simply as west-side,
south side, and east-side, respectively, thus
identitylng them as integral parts of one city,
as they actually are. About the only reason
that can be urged in favor of retaining the
present names in any of the instances cited is
that people are used to them and it would be
difficult to make the change The reason is not
worth cent. A man may be accustomed to
carrying corn on his toe or a wart on his nose
for long time, but likewise he soon gets ac-
customed to being rid of it, once it is gone,
and feels better for the radiance. As to max
ing the changes, if the city papers were to act
IN the matter the public would soon get into
while would be wondering how the old ones
held on 80 long.
This word ''palisade," by the way, seems to
be about as badly misapplied in ordinary usage
as that other word 'lurid, which is almost never
used to express its exact meaning, and gener-
ally directly the opposite. In this instance the
name was probably borrowed from that rocky
shore Of the Hudson SO styled, above and on
the opposite side from New York; but why that
was 80 named it would puzzle somebody wiser
than the dictionary makers to tell
A railway division superintendent has been
discovered out west who recently made an in
spection of his division on foot! As the rules
of the organization require that this work shall
be done in a well-stocked private palace car,
with congenial company, it will go hard with
this unprlncipled villain when the Federation
OF Associated Amalgamated and Affiliated Rail-
way Division Superintendents meets in the
fall.
X X X *
Many things they do better in France. Among
them, conspicuously, the matter of passenger
travel in cities. In Paris, for example, no pub
lie conveyance is allowed to carry more persons
than can be comfortably seated therein, while
fares are considerably lower than the
average rates in our larger cities.
1t is constantly said that the same thing
cannot be done in this country. The answer to
tEis is that it can. The differ ence, in this re-
spect between France and the United States is
that there corporations Of that character have
to be, and therefore are, satisfied with divi-
dends on the capital stock actually invested.
whereas here the public is obliged to paw a
handsome dividend, not on invested capital,
but on watered stock, exceeding any
where from two to fifty times in
amount the original bona ide invest
ment. II the street railways of Washington
were run SO as to pay only fair return on
their original cost, instead Of on their present
inflated value-due of course to excessive
profits earned-passenger could be carried
anywhere in the city at a rate not exceeding
three cents, and possibly as low as two cents
each. Take the avenue line. for example. Its
actual cost per share originally, that is, the
amount actually paid out as its capital
stock. by the original holders was, if reports
be true. about twenty dollars per share, or
something less than that, whereas its shares
now command about twelve times that figure
The difference between 20 and 240 in this case
is therefore ,Udter. But you will be told that
the stock is worth much more now because
the company has a much larger and more
valuable plant and more profitable business
than it had then. True. But who paid
for this? Why the public. to be sure in
the way Of needlessly large fares. which, in the
form OF unpaid dividends. went for better
ments. The stockholders never put their hands
In their pockets for penny to pay for this. 1t
to pay n heavy interest on the money it had it.
self contributed. It's good deal like making
your mother pay you round sum for having
taken care of You while you were little.
4
A correspondent of one of the New York
papers suggests that cards with the legends
following be placed in the vacant advertising
spaces in the street cars Of that city:
"Hogs detile this car with tobacco Juice"
"Cads stare impertinently at ladies in this
car
"'Swine cross their legs and sprawl sidewise
on the seats in this car"
'Blackguards use foul language in this car"
pigs carry ill-smelling cigar stumps in this
car"
While there isn't. perhaps, the same need for
such signs in Washington that there is in New
York, they nevertheless wouldn't be greatly out
OF place here. This is getting to be a pretty
big town, and there are lots of fellows here
who think it is great thing to ape the bad
manners and vices of larger places. 1t shows
that they have Travelled and observed things,
you know.
San Afflicted Household writes to say that
'if the Entomologists who are or have been in
session here with the other renowned scientists
of the world will kindly explain to the suffer-
ing public where the prevailing and pervading
invasion of feas came from. where they are
going to, how long they are likely to stay, and,
above all. how to get rid of them, then and in
that case the names Of the Entomologists like
that of Abou Ben Adhem. will lead all the
rest" The subject is accordingly commended
to the careful consideration of Professor Riley
and his learned confreres.
X X X X