The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1917-06-27

ington-that In any question OF
priority" between the only two
names under discussion, the In
dian name had the other beaten
by million years.
Generic Term.
This OF course brought him at
once on his own territory-the
authenticity of the Indian word
Tacoma. 1t was a generic term,
he said.
! recalled what had been said
on that subject, but he dismissed
II with the nod of authority: ut
is a generic term. | know-that
Is my business.
OF course he would not have
said that-at least not that way
to George Gibbs or Judge Wicker
sham. am not much on ethno-
logy and 1t was | who changed the
subject.
These things are all aside from
the question:" / said. Under the
terms of the memorial the board
was required to change the name
OF the mountain and to adopt the
new name from proposals submit
ted. You are a man of cool tenn
per- Tell me why they did not
do It"
THE board was possessed with
the idea that It was an attempt to
the mountain. You
know what | mean-tO gain ad-
vertising for a city through the
employment Of the mountain. That
was the idea"
THAT was the controlling
thought, then-and not this stuff
about confusion and VancOuv-
er's "rights?"
THE commercial feature of it
was the thing. OF course those
other points were made"
But there was no evidence that
such was the object?"
mo, but we had the feeling
we got that impression"
ITO be sure" said I, there was
a real estate agent representing
the name Rainier. So far as can
remember that was the only sign
of commercialism at the hearing.
You got the idea from the Seattle
real estate agent who directly
charged 1T in a paper which he
read and which he was ashamed
to place in the record where we
could see it. That's how you got
the impression, Mr.. Hodge"
Beers Name.
"Commercializing the noun
tain, indeed. One of the men,
bers of this board is my authority
for saying that the manufacturers
of Rainier beer, the brewery in
Seattle, 26 years ago was largely
responsible for fixing the name
Rainier Officially" to the noun
tain. But whether that is so or
not they have used it all these 26
years, and for many years before
as an advertisement for their beer.
"Twenty-six years ago. when
that trick was played. both Seattle
and Tacoma were engaged in little
else than selling real estate. Ia
tised the mountain. 1t could not
do otherwise since the mountain is
a part of its sky line.
"As Admiral Glover says the ad-
vertising was handsome and there
fore popular. Seattle, jealous, and
in order to embarrass the city of
Tacoma in its advertising and for
that reason alone, with no interest
or stake in the name Rainier on
its own account, secretly sought
the aid of the board of geographic
names-through the personal So
licitation of a U. S. senator-Wat-
son c. Squire-who lived in Sc
attic. AS Admiral Glover says,
the name Tacoma for the noun
tain was about to be established
in the public mind. 1t has SUBJ
merged the beer-advertised name
Rainier and the name bestowed
by the Indians had come into it's
own-had become a world word,
as Thomas Prosch of Seattle has
said. The cities Of Tacoma and
Seattle were alike engaged in
trying to sell real estate. Tacoma
played the game In the open. Sc
attic sought not only to sell it's
town lots, but it tried to prevent
Tacoma from selling hers. Sc
cretly she sought the aid of the
board of geographic names, and
secretly that board loaned itself
to that unworthy purpose. 1t is
now time to put this business in
plain terms. And, whereas the
majestic mountain was about to
be rescued from its base uses
doubly base when the whole
story is told-it was by the aid
Of that board turned back again
to the dead walls of Seattle
brewery.
Tacoma Openmintled.
And so now the U. S. geo.
graphic board-become so sensi-
tive of the uses of the mountain
so careful lest it be CONNER
cialized,' once more listens to the
whispered voice of someone whose
name we cannot learn-and
CURLY snubs the people of the
state of Washington who came
here with their petition asking
that you give them radiance of
the beer-stained thing. How could
we commercialize It? BY sending
abroad beautiful pictures of it
that the world may know about
it? Is not the government of the
United States engaged in that
very business and asking our