New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-10-09
WAR OVER INSCRIPTION.
Washington Dispute about Roman
Numerals Reaches NezC- York.

IF was written in the stars that October should
be a month of trouble. Gustave Meyer, the Hobo
ken astrologer foretold it. October and would
he the worst days. he said. He did not know
whether the trouble would take the form OF a bomb
a big wind or a ton OF coal Yesterday was the
9Th, and a block Of granite did It. It was down In
Washington, and it had inscription it,
''AIDCCCCV.' and the question is whether that is
the way the old Romans would have written 1906
or should it be "AICAIF"?
The burning problem struck New-York yesterday
An inquisitive Washingtonan went up to the new
Office building of the House of Representatives
while ago. and that Carrere & Hastings, the
architects, had used the longer way Of writing the
date. He Immediately called for investigation
by Congress Why not the date written
'MCMF.' he asked, or. better yet. 1895? Did not
the architects know that the Romans always used
the subtractive method? What did those New
YORK fellows mean, anyway by coming over to
Washington and trying to tell how to inscrbe a
date? How about ", TX, XIX, XI4, XC?
In the face of this Carrere & Hastings could Only
fall back Yale, Harvard. Columbia and the
french Institute Mr.. Carrere said that when the
question arose in regard TO the New-York Public
Library 1t was referred to Columbia University
and Columbia decided in favor Of the longer form
The date on the Public Library is written
MDCCCCu But still Washington talked and
talked, and yesterday. the insurance investigation
and the Republican mayoraIty nomination being
temporarily off duty New-York had a shy at this
stirring problem.
PREFERS LONGER FORM.
J. Cleveland Cady, the architect, among
those who found it of interest He settled the
question Of Roman or Arabic numerals in short
order The Roman method Of notation was un-
doubtedly INTELLECTUALLY appropriate. he said. for
any building that made any Dretenson to classic
lines And, from artistic point Of view. the
longer form was preferable, as long drawn out
line was always better than clipped one.
Also" he continued. ''the longer form Is prob
ably easier understood by the average mind The
man in the street knows that c stands for 100
and he can count up four C's at a glance where
he would have to stop TO puzzle out the meaning
Of en-. The short form IS however, probably.
technically correct. But on the whole think
should use the long method in this case"
The ability Of the man in the street to tell what
he is reading has Influenced the Roman Catholic
Church in its inscriptions also But the Church
the priests at St Patrick's Cathedral. Up there
the man in the street is credited with needing
something simpler yet than the Roman notation in
any FORM, subtractive or the longer method Give
MN mn me arabic that anybody can read they say.
~ you ON viii notice our churches built nowadays.
you VIII See that the dates are inscribed very
p44!thy III simple Arabic numerals
nus was me problem easily settled there with
a dead language the toga no longer futters in the
breeze; write dates so that he who runs may read.
NO ESCAPE FOR DIR. BILLINGS.
OF course, Dr. John s. Billings, the director of
the Public Library. drawn into the controversy
albeit trhe unw1llngly. But as the library had
for him.
My opinion isn't worth a rap he said, but
should say that either practice is allowable.
don't believe there ever was any settled rule, and
artistic judgment would decide. I should think. We
get old books here with the dates written in so
many different ways that they sometimes al
most undeCpherabe. The shorter form is the more
usual nowadays. however. and better for gen
eral purposes, I should say. But remember my
opinion isn't worth rap Whereof he yet has
to convince his audieuC,
It seemed to be case OF going back 70 the Romans
themselves Did they Invariably take the shortest
way the good OF Washington declared?
Was the rule of the nine. nineteen and ninety
followed out in all analogous numbers? The wash
iugtOutaRs said that because 100 written exc,
1870 should be written Nom According the
"Dictonnare Universal OF Labousse, they
right According to Professor J. c. Egbert, Of
Columbia University. they wrong LabOusse
says specifically that 500 is written en-. Professor
EgbeTt says that the Romans used both methods
but that they preferred the longer way when there
was They used the subtrdCtive method when
the space crowded. he says. but # there were
they would write 1875 MDCCCCN.
Washington is expecting TO hear a good deal
that not . few members Of the lower house, and
some in the Senate, viii want to afr their views
on how to write 1905 in Roman numerals. A rail
road president who was approached Yesterday said
that he thought the subject was possessed of much
general interest and he hoped that Messrs. Esch
and Townsend could be aroused to its Importance.