The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1898-12-23
CASUAL OBSERVATIONS.
Street Names Should Be Posted on
Every Street Corner.

Affairs Would Be In Better Shape If Ex-
isting Ordinances Were Erfsrced-Ths
Aimshouse should Be Located Near the
i County Seat
Strangers have great difficulty
in finding our Morristown streets,
and Morristonians themselves are
often at q loss to know where a
particular street is. How many
of our citizens can say for certain,
without thinking over the matter,
where the following streets are:
Centre, Plum, Willow, Locust
avenue, Hazlet street, Clinton,
Budd, Fairyiew place, Race street,
Morton or Division
We venture to say that few of
our residents could tell exactly
the location Of these streets, OF for
that matter, where many of our
old streets are. The absence of
signs on street corners leaves peo-
pie in ignorance of the names of
streets that they pass by or pass
over. Who knows where Park
place begins or ends? And where
is Exchange place? The L. A.
W. has been trying to do mission
work on the sign post question
among farmers in the back woods,
but there is a far richer field for
their operations in this good old
town.
All this in face of town ordi-
nance providing for the proper
marking Of our streets. We un-
derstood that copies of the char
ter and ordinances are somewhat
scarce and difficult to obtain, so
we suppose none of our aldermen
have been so fortunate as to Sc
cure a copy.
~
And then if you are so fortunate
as to find the street, what about
the number? When the town was
small, people distinguished one
house from another by the name
of the family who lived in it, and
the family names have chung to
the houses even when the families
have disappeared. But the town
is now SO large that we don't all
know each other, and even the
Oldest resident is often puzzled to
know where a particular number is
on street. A good many people
do not know their own street
numbers, and yet all these diff
culties would be obyiated if the
Board of Aldermen would enforce
an ordinance passed December 2,
1887, from which we make the
following extract:
"That the owner or owners, oc-
cupant or occupants of each and
every dwelling house, store or
other building, which now fronts
or hereafter may front upon any
of the streets or public places
, within the town of Morristown,
shall cause the same to be proper
ly numbered in accordance with
the directions and requirements
of this ordinance. The numbers
to be in figures of at least three
inches in height, placed conspicu-
ously on the front of each dwell
ing house, store or other building.
The numbering shall be done IN
such manner as the Mayor and
Street Committee Of the Common
Council may in writing, order and
direct Refusal to comply with
this ordinance renders owners or
occupants liable to a penalty of
, ten dollars.
What fine thing it would be
for the place if our Town Fathers
would devote their time to en-
! forcing the ordinances we have,
} instead of making new ones to be
laid aside and forgotten, as this
one has been. To some this may
) seem a small matter, but Post
master Breese informs us that
the mail sorters and carriers are
seriously delayed by the want of
complete system Of street NUM-
bers. Whatever hinders the dis
tribution Of mail is injurious to
the welfare of the town.
In sEyerybody's Column will
be found an interesting communi-