Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-12-01
Ehrntng 0t1at


visited practically every State capital
east of the Mississippi and some of
those to the west of it while here the
| other day. This man has been in Har-
risburg number of times and has
watched the city progress in many
ways. being much impressed by the
treatment of the river front and the
beginning of the park system. Prob
ably you people are not aware of what
the improvement of the Capitol Park
Will call for from you." was his remark.
1t will require the completion of your
river front scheme. the extension of
your park system and general spruc-
ing up of your al chitecture. especially
in that part of the city which will
contain the State park. The eXpendi-
ture the State will make on it's park
Will call for much from Harrisburg; in
fact, 1t will cost the city more in the
END, as 1T must provide a setting and
40 IT'S share. And while you are about
IT, why don't you make the names of
some of the streets here more in line
with your standing as a State capital?
You have State street, and that's about
all. 1t is a fine street, we'll conceived
ana worth while. But why don't you
call your Front street Pennsylvania
avenue or Susquehanna boulevard
something more pertaining to your
Maybe YOU Harrsburgers have a ven-
eratlon Tor the name but think of tho
appropriateness of something else
And, are you going to still call Third
street the highway which, widened
and beautified, will skirt the Capitol
Park on the west? Why not Com
monwealth avenue? Then there is
Second street, which has a name YOU
VIII find in thousands of towns in this
country, but not many of which have
n Nyfl1 II. i
rare. Why not call that Penn street?
You say it would not do because the
city has scheme of numbered streets.
Well. l have looked at your map and
between Fourth and Tenth it's pretty
hard to find them anyhow, and you
nave already named one numbered
street after a famous Harrisburger,
SIMON Cameron. So why can't you
change some more and take appro-
pirate names? Perhaps it does inter-
fere with your traditional names. but
go to other capitals and note the street
names. They signify something in the
history of the States in which they are
located and people remember them
better than If they were mere num-
bers. And say, Mr.. Newspaperman,
Just remember that you let Philadel-
phia take from right under your nose
plan for naming streets after the
counties and the governors of your
State which ought to have been done
NY tne Ndpltal City. It's all right for
you to worship your city and to boost
1t all you can and whenever you can,
but your system of street names out
SIDE or some you have named for In
dian tribes and counties near here and
men who sat up at night to make your
town years ago makes me tired. You
took Philadelphia's plan of 200 years
ago, but you used numbers instead of
history. Get some of that imagination
mat mas made your city so progressive
in material things and your river front
so beautiful and put it into your grid
iron of streets"
The caustic remarks of the visitor
to Harrisburg come rather pat Just
now when there have been added to
the city some properties bearing lines
or streets ornamented with such relics
OF royalist days in Pennsylvania as
Duke and Prince. When it comes
down to street nomenclature, Steelton
thought more of the fathers than this
city, because it has Franklin, Lincoln,
Adams and some others which Harris
| burg has not.
The pressure of work upon con-
tractors and builders was demon
strated yesterday when men rushed
J along house building and similar op-
erations in spite of church bells and
: turkey dinners. Many contractors are
, hurrying things so that they can get
foundations completed or buildings
: under roof before the snow begins to
fly and such a thing as paying extra
rates for holiday work does not bother
| them any longer. Some of the build
: ers say that houses under way are
} already sold.
{ The consolidation of boroughs and
rsfties to secure economy of admins
tration and other things not possible
when they are separate appears to be
much in the air just now. There are
rumors of consultations among the
numerous boroughs in Lackawanna
and LuZerne counties and Greater
PunXsutawney may have some rivals.
Charles NJ Schwab's suggestion that
the Bethlehems unite is likely to lead
to a bill in the next Legislature to per-
nit towns in different counties to get
together. In Westmoreland county
New kensington, Arnold and Parnas.
. sus are planning to amalgamate and
there are moves under way to consoli-
date some of the borough Jewels of
! Allegheny county where municipal
government has been gotten down to a
science.
In the conference on stream pollu-
tfon held here on Wednesday were a.
number of distinguished engineers and
attorneys who came to see Just what
the State proposed to do. In the num-
Der were several men who had been
lawyers but who left the bench that
they might engage in private practice.
Illustrating the greater rewards that
come to men in professional life when
the state does not show q disposition
to keep their services.