The record-union., 1896-06-11
NOTE AND COMMENT.

Now that the question of remaining
the streets has again been brought for
ward, the "Record-Union" renews the
suggestion it made some years ago that
all the streets, including the alleys, be
named from the north to the south, in
stead of having the streets known by
letter only The general use of the tele-
phone has now rendered necessary
what before was the suggestion of taste
merely. For there are SO many letters
having similar sounds that over the
telephone they are very often confused.
Indeed, it is within the daily experience
of every user of the two telephone sys
TENS in the city that in giving direc-
ten by wire as to streets known by let
ters only it is necessary half the time
to repeat the name over and over again,
and often to run over several letters of
the alphabet, closing, with emphasis,
on the letter intended to be understood
at the other end of the circuit. By tele-
phone M and N are much confused and
lead to many serious mistakes. We
know of one only recently where a ply
sician was called in the middle of the
night to an urgent case, and went to a
number on n street, when he should
have called on M street, and because of
the delay the patients life came very
near being sacrificed. B and P are diff
cult to distinguish one from the other
over telephone lines. So are and T, E
and G, F and S, H and Eighth, and
E. AS matter of convenience, of taste
and of euphony, therefore, the cross
streets should be renamed, but after a
system that will preserve the present
lat hxri ioif ioJ
thereby one is enabled under our excel
lent numbering system to locate num-
ber instantly Thus as is the tenth
letter of the alphabet, all the numbers
between J and K are of tens, as 1914
1920, etc. If, now, the cross streets are
named after distinguished citizens Of
the Nation, and alleys after physical
features or general titles, we will have
a complete system, preserving the num-
ter and letter features of the present,
and locating the alleys as between GER
tain streets by initial, instead Of hav-
ing to write or speak as now Of "the al
ley between N and Or or 'the alley be-
tween I and J." Suppose, for instance,
that the titles Of the main streets were
established after statesmen, heroes and
jurists Of the Nation, such as Adams,
buchanan, Cleveland, Dearborn, Eus-
tbs, Fillmore. Grant, Harrison, Jeffer-
son, Knox, Madison, Nelson, Osgood,
Polk, Quincy, Randolph, Scott, Tyler,
Upton, Van Buren, Washington, leav-
ing x and 7 streets as now, entitled;
the intermediate alleys could be named
after physical things, animals or any,
thing else distinct from proper names.
For instance, as merely illustrative,
alum or acorn, bath or berry, cave or
coast, dock or dove, elk or elm, fox
or fig, and so on. In this way the initial
would indicate the location Of the alley
without the many words now necessary
TO employ. Thus, Bath street would of
course be between Buchanan and
Cleveland streets. Elk street between
Eustis and Fillmore, and so on Some
such system will answer the purpose,
make the direction far clearer than
now, avoid all possibility Of confusion,
and give to the streets of the Capital
City more euphonious and appropriate
titles