Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-08-17
CHANGES IN STREET NAMES
AUTHORITY UNDER WHICH THE
COMMISSIONERS ACT.
Property Holders Who Object to the
COmpilati0n-TwO COmmunlca-
tfons Indorsfng 1t.

tfons Indorsfng 1t.
The compilation Of an entirely new set
OF names for the streets of the suburbs OF
Washington has led to many questions by
citizens as to the authority of the Commits
sioners to rename these streets. The or
der issued by authority of the Commission
ers for the compilation of the names cites
two authorities, rs follows:
Section 5 of the act approved March 2,
1888, to provide permanent system of
highways for the District of Columbia.
This section reads:
THAT the Commissioners of the District
of Columbia are authorized to name all
streets, avenues. lanes and reservations
laid out or adopted under the provisions of
this act
Also the following section of the Dis
tr1ct OF Columbia appropriation bill APP
proved June 80, 1898: That the Commits
sioners of the District of Columbia shall
hereafter have the power and authority
to change the name OF any street, road.
avenue or other highway whenever any
two of such highways have the same
name"
Increased Correspondence.
The correspondence of the Commissioners
since the publication of the proposed plans
for remaining the streets of the suburbs
has greatly increased Most of the letters
received have protested against the plan,
but two came today which Endorsed the
scheme.
S. l.. Lee of 5000 School street northwest,
an director, writes:
1T must be a false rumor that School
street is about to be rechristened by the
Commissioners 14th place, for l cannot
think the Commissioners capable of giving
h srrI1
fragment of the town. ct is not 14th
place, is IT'D However, they say 1t is al
ways the unexpected that happens, so l
cannot forbear raising a faint and feeble
protest, which will, perhaps, have no more
weight than any of us had when as babe 8
at the baptismal fount we were all uncon-
scious of any wrong being perpetrated
upon us.
II think there is something in a name,
and hoped the name of School street, If
changed, would be improved"
petition signed by thirteen property
owners on Holmead avenue northwest has
been transmitted to the Commissioners by
F. A. johnson, who explains that the petit
ton was signed by every property owner on
the street to whom it was presented, and
that several owners are out of the city.
The petition reads:
I'VE, the undersigned property owners
and occupants of property fronting on Hol-
mead avenue, north of Columbia Heights.
respectfully request you to diSapprove of
the proposed changes In street nomencla-
ture, whereby Holmead avenue is designat-
ed as 18th place
1--WE believe and know that this proposed
change, If carried out, would result In
great confusion and much inconvenience.
Thirteenth street proper contains the same
numbers as Holmead avenue, and there
would be a constant mixing up of the two
streets. Holmead avenue is named after
one of the oldest and most respected of
WaShington's earliest citizens It's char
acter is established. We feel and cherish
strong sentiments for the street as it is
named now, and we trust that we will not
be compelled to invoke any legal proceed
ings to maintain the honored name of HoI-
mead avenue. We have always understood
that it was the policy and purpose of the
Commissioners to name certain streets af-
ter some of the older citizens of the Dis
trict. We therefore ask that the name of
Holmead avenue be continued"
Objects to Word Place.
Mr.. Eugene Murray Aaron, in a commu-
nication on the same subject addressed to
the Commissioners, has this to say:
ALLOW me to enter a protest against the
promiscuous use Of the word place and
repetition Of names according to this new
nality in the scheme proposed which must
be painfully apparent to any student Of
the geography of large cities. 1t seems to
me pity that your commission should
.
especially fitted for this work and not con-
nected with the District government. There
is no city in the Union where reside so
many geographers and topographers and
where expert advice could so easily be OBJ
tanned l think all these will agree with
me that the word place is both philolog-
ically and geographically misnomer as
applied to a street several blocks In length
and indefinite possible extension
Amy dictionary of places and personal
names will be found to contain such
great wealth of suggestion for the naming
of streets that the lack of variety in your
system and the duplication of names are
surprising. Those of US living in the sub
urbs who have largely to depend upon the
geographical sense, or lack of 1t, on the
part of the average driver or porter, a
man usually selected for the strength of
his muscle rather than of his mind, are
constantly annoyed by the difficulty of
making it plain TO such men how they may
find certain localities in yet not thoroughly
opened suburbs or subdivisions. The du-
plication of names you now propose will
simply double this difficulty, and that Of
itself should be sufficient answer to your
proposal In this direction"
Concentrations of the System.
D. D. Albert, ST., Of 3417 18th place
writes: II desire to express to you my
hearty commentator Of the nomenclature
Of suburban streets as recently promulgat-
ed. You have made system, order and
harmony where heretofore there has been
just the opposite. At present many will
protest and object to the change Of names,
but in a few years all will commend your
wise action"
Herman w. Smith of 1919 Lydecker ave.
nue. writes: II notice by the papers that
some opposition is developing on Columbia
Heights to the proposed change In the
names of streets. and 1 wish to express
my hearty approval of the proposed
change. l met quite a number of the peo-
pie who live on the heights last evening
and the change was discussed. At first
nearly all were opposed to the change pure
ly from sentimental reasons, but after q
discussion they all acknowledged that the
general plan was good and very desirable
/ do not believe there will be any opposition
to the change after a few months, when
the people have become accustomed to it,