The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1896-01-21
CRITICISED THE BOARD.
Geographic Names Bureau AZ
tackled by a German Scholar.
OPINIONS OF THE PURIsTs
DR.. Egli Says 1t Looks AS II the Board
Had to Deal Only With Letters.
Miss the Principle Which Forms
the WOrd-OppOsed TO the Power of
Control Given to Local Usage.

The Board OF Geographic Names is gov
ernmental board, appointed to secure uni
formity OF the spelling of geographical
names of This and other countries.
AS originally outlined, the decisions of
the board were mainly for the guidance Of
government employees, but the necessity of
such uniformity in all branches OF learning
was So ma nifest that The rulings OF this body
were at once very generally adopted.
This board has been at work since $50,
but at this time its methods OF arriving al
decisions are assailed.
The purisis, the strongest advocates OF
whose policy are Prof. j. j. Egil OF Zurich,
Switzerland, and Prof. Smith OF PhiIadel-
phia, state that the work OF the Board of
Geographic Names is inconsistent in many
cases, and that its decisions are not based
"n scientific principles or philosophic inyes-
tigation. -.
DR.. Egli, who has been at work for .
number OF years on this question. has COM
piled diciionary or gazetteer, which will
shortly be published. His theories, pub
lished in a German journal noticing, go, are
nntdeDied by the Board orGeog rdphicNames,
for the reason that il is one OF its policies
never Ia enter into arguments. s.s--l-s b
LOCAL USAGE CONTROLS.
II is clear. however that DR.. Egli aud the
Bard of Geographic Names look at the
question from diametrically opposite points
of view. In brief. the board holds that local
usage, the prevalent usage OF the people
living in the neichborhood, should be fol-
lowed.
By this it is not meant that local usage
has absolute control in all cases. Depart
ureshave been made whenever and W herever
for other reasons they seemed wise, but this
general principle has controlled more de-
cisions than any other followed by the
board.
The members of the board hold that unless
its decisions are adopted 10y the people and
generally followed its work is a failure.
1t was constituted more for the purpose
OF securing uniform usage than to restore
corrupted forms to sO-cailec pure ones
The doctor says in his paper: 1T looks
as if the board had to deal only with letters
whether an E or an A was TO be put in
the one case, an o OF a L in another or
whether an II is TO be inserted or dropped.
We miss the principle that the original form
OF the name, the meaning and etymoiogy of
the name, the motive for naming is to be
considered and considered first and fore
most.
I'VE miss the scientific spirit which. in
stead OF cleaving to the form, unlocks the
intrinsic meaning; and accordingly we miss
in the works of government board of
evidence of acquaintance with
toponymic literature. Out of the active
movement which, toward the end OF the
especially in France. aimed at a
reform in the spelling and pronunciation of
names, a single author is men-
toned.
THE Paris reform is said to be instigated
by Ed. de Luxe. The common council of
lit was the town meeting is
said TO have struck out the final T OF
the name OF the locality which should
be restored. In Mississippi river the word
river is said to be the fundamental word,
the determinative, as if the In
dian word Mississippi was not itself COM
posed OF fundamental word and determine
tive. and as il the addition of river was not
a pleonasm.