The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-07-27

comparatively few person are aware
that there is a Government board for
the express purpose of deciding on
the proper spelling of geographical
names. This board was appointed by
the President in 1890, and is made up
of Professor Mendenhall, of the Coast
| and Geodetic Survey, and nine other
government officials. The purpose
was to secure uniformity of nomencla-
ture in all government publication.
The board has adopted certain princi-
pies of general guidance and has al
| ready settled, as far as the govern
ment is concerned, many disputed
points in nomenclature. During its
| first year it decided over 1000 cases.
Among the departures approved by
the board are the following: The
avoidance, as far as practicable, of the
progressive forms of names; the drop
ping of the final "h" in the termination
@burg;;" the abbreviation of Borough"
to "boro;" the spelling of the word
"center" as here given; the discontinue
ance of the use of hyphens in connect
ing parts of names; the omission
wherever practicable of the letters c.
FL. Court House) after the names of
| county seats; the simplifcation of
names of more than one word by their
combination into one word; the avoid
ance of the use of diacriti characters;
the dropping of the word "city" and
"town" as parts of names. Separate
words, such as Ell Dorado, thus become
Eldorado, Washington C. H. simply
becomes Washington. There will be
no "h" on Pittsburg hereafter in any
Government publication.
Some of the official changes are as
follows: The old spelling, now dis
carded, being given in parentheses:
Barree (Barre), Huntin gdon County,
Pennsylvania; Bering Behring) Sea,
Benicia (Benecia) California; Bentleys-
vile (Bentleyville), Washington Coun-
ty, Pennsylvania; Bern (Berne), Berks
County, Pennsylvania; ;Bernville (Berne-
ville); Bethel (BethaD, in both Fulton
and Berks Counties, Pennsylvania; Bis
marck (Bismark), in all names where
it occurs, Blaine (Blaine), Perry Coun-
] ty, Pennsylvania; Baluchistan (Be-
loochistan), India; Barbados Island
! (Barbadoes), West Indies; Barstow
/ (Barstows and Barslow), Massachu-
setts; Chile (ChilD, South America;
Cape Cleare (Clear), Alaska; Colon
bia (Columbia), South America; Qua
deloupe Island (Gaudeloupe), West
Indies; Haiti HaytD, West Indies;
Helgoland Island (Heligoland), North
| Sea; Hongkong and similar words
/ generally spelled with two words are
made one; Pribilof Island (Pribylov),
Alaska; Puerto Rico Island porto
Rico), West Indies; Saint Croix Island
and town (Santa CRUZ, West Indies,
Salvador (San Salvador), Central
America; Unalaska (Ounalashka, etc. },
| Alaska; Brothers Valley, Somerset
County, Pennsylvania, and all similar
names will be used hereafter without
apostrophe; Gloucester Harbor, Mas
saehusetts, takes the place of Cape
Ann Harbor; Canal Dover disappears
to give place to Dover; Dorrance (Dor-
ranceton), Luzerne County, Pennsyl-
vania; Edgmont EdgemonD, Della
ware County, Pennsylvania, Ephrata
(Ephratah), Lancaster County, Penn
sylvania; Findlay (Findley), Allegheny
County, Pennsylvania; Fishers Point,
opposite Philadelphia, without any
apostrophe; Franklintown (Frankhn)
York County, Pennsylvania; Beirut
Syria; Bermuda (Bermudas); Konge
Congo, Africa, etc.
A Thousand illustrations might be
given of what this government boarc
is doing, but the above will show thai
it is designed to have considerable in
fluence on the spelling of geopraphica
| names