Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-09-29
EVENING CHAT

| Offer of a Market street moving
| picture theater of a prize for the most
appropriate name is refreshing
change from the ordinary method OF
bestowing name on a theater. Some
time ago In this column comment was
made upon the surprisingly few names
appropriate to Harrisburg, the State
capital of Pennsylvania, the county
seat OF Dauphin and the center of the
lower Susquehanna valley, were borne
by its numerous hotels. There are
ABOUT dozen which are distinctive,
localized or which mean something.
The tendency In larger cities and in
many of the growing towns of the
state Is to give names to hotels and
ltheaters that mean something. But
not here. We have named hotels aft
er hostelries in many a land and our
theaters likewise. Hotels and theaters
called Majestic, Colonial, Metropoli-
tan, Star, Plaza and the like are to be
found in thousand places in the
| United States. Senate, Commonwealth,
Dauphin. Harris. Bolton mean some-
thing here and the use of a proprie-
tors name lends personality to an en-
terprise, but it does seem a little hack
neyed to put up a $4,000 theater on
the latest ideas of safety, convenience
and comfort and then call it National.
For all the originality some of our
names for more or less public places
we might as well call them the Green
Pine or the Ripened Corn.
Purchases of mileage books at the
Union Station and at the Reading
ticket office here indicate that there
are good many thrifty persons in
this city and vicinity who do not pro-
pose to contribute any more to the
railroads than necessary. On October
the rate for the thousand mile
books" will go up $3.50 and the way
some people are stocking up for
months ahead. The books are good
for year and two cents a mile looks
good to many. Some of the depart
ments at the Capitol have taken Faith
er Time by the front hair and bought
books for those who must travel in
official business, among them men
connected with the Public Service
Commission which has charge of the
railroad end of affairs. Business houses
and manufacturing companies are also
getting stocked up with transporta-
ton.
Did the stork five or six years ago
backslide trifle on his Job? School
Board authorities are loath to go on
record with such an accusation, but
they do contend that there must be
some answer to the unusual difference
in the number of six-year- who
enrolled at the opening of school this
month as compared to that of other
years. The returns of the various
primary grade teachers have just been
compiled and they show that only 915
small men and ladies were enrolled at
the beginning of the present term.
And in 1913, for instance, there were
942-twenty- more!
Some automobile thieves are going
to be bored full of holes If the con-
versation of a couple of owners goes
for anything. One man was sitting in
his car in Market street yesterday
when another car owner came out of
store with small box. Man No.
asked If he was buying a gun.
Il am. and it's big caliber," was
the reply.
Il bought one Saturday and two
other fellows l know have been prac-
ticing at marks on their garage doors"
said No. 1.
One of the things noticeable among
the crowds which gather around bull
letin boards and eagerly discuss the
war news is that nine-tenths of the
arguments, outside of the fact that
this or that side is going to win, are
over pronunciation. Apparently every
one seems to know where the points
of interest are to be found and their
relative position to Paris, Brussels
Berlin or other big cities, but no one
seems to accept the other fellows
style of pronunciation. Leaving out
such impossible places as Przemysl
and the like there appears to be no
end of room for argument about the
way names of French rivers, German
cities, Belgian provinces are pronounc-
ed and the man who has been abroad
has big advantage. However no one
can convince another just how to pro-
nounce some of the names in Austria
and the Balkans. That is where the
gazetteer comes in.
Not long ago a native of Belgrade
was appealed to for the correct man
ner of pronouncing some of the names
figuring in the Austro-Servian end of
the row. He started off by calling
down his questioner for putting a vi
in Servia, insisting that it must be
called Serbia and then proceeding with
such weerd naming of towns, provinces
and rivers that one of the men said
that he intended to Americanize the
names and let 1t go at that. Which,
it might be added, miffed the man
from the country of the Karageorge-
witch. who has trouble saying Sus-
quehanna and who could not say Con-
odoguinet to save his life.