Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-08-08
Does Our Country
Need a New Name?
One Writer Calls 1t ga Country
Without u Name" - Reasons
Why the Name "Amcrica" Is
Sufficient as Well as Appropri-
ate,
BY GARRETT p. sERvIss

ley. writing % in ascieSneeh VI under the
title "A Country Without Name"
AYERS that that particular federation
Of American States which begins with
Maine and ends with Washington
needs a name more than it needs
the idea that it is unjustifiable arro-
"America" to designate the nation
whose full official title is United
States of America"
these things. and there can be no
doubt that the adjective American"
Is universally recognized abroad as
we'll as at home to designate a citizen
noun America" applied exclusively
to the United States has not been so
universally used, but the. tendency
SO to use it has increased enormously
I since the present war began. How
the matter was regarded abroad Just
before the war is plainly shown by
this statement in the eleventh edi-
ton Of the Encyclopedia Britannica
"Officially the name is United
states of Ameria. but "rhe United
States (used as singular and not
pluraD has become accepted as the
name OF the country. and pre- eminent
usage has now made its citizens
Americans in distinction from the
other inhabitants of North and South
America"
1t is always desirable, as Profess
sor Hayes Indicates, that country
should have a name Gonsistinf OF a
spending adjective can be formed.
But we by no means present a soil.
tary example of an Official national
name consisting of several words. and
Americans is precisely what inhabit-
ants of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland" do when
they call themselves British. only
their case is more, complicated than
ours. since those who come from Ire
land. call themselves Irish. :,
descriptive or iocaiizing word in our
long national designation, and since
it's employment by us in it's adjective
form has met with universal accept
making similar use of the noun noun.
whether by preference, convenience or
courtesy have in this sense; left tse
designation of Mexico is "Bstados
Unidos Mexicanos," or Republica
MeXicana"; that of Argentina is Re
I'll is "Estados Unidos do Brazil"
All the other North or South
American States use their own par
ticular names. Canada. for instance.
has never shown any desire tosbear
any other designation. and the Ca
madam does not feel, and has no rea-
son to feel. any jealousy of the eX-
elusive use the WOTO America To
designate a citizen of our Republic.
So, it does not appear that our
country or our countrymen have need
of any other names than those which,
mon consent of mankind" they al
ready bear. At home we call our
selves Americans and speak of our
country as the United States; abroad
everybody is rapidly learning to dis
tinguish our country by the exclusive
name of America, so much so that
the American abroad seldom uses the
term United States in conversing with
Europeans.
There remains, of course. an in
convenience. and to some extent
source of confusion, especially for the
historical writer's of a remote future.
in the double application of the name
America, to designate, first con-
tinent, and, second, a particular part
of that continent, but the names of
the old continents were often employ
ed in the same way, and that without
producing any very serious misunder-
turtles. when the double designations
had ceased. Thus Asia" meant for
the Greeks, at one time, both the
great eastern continent generally and
the region centering around Ephesus
Even if it were desirable, it
would be impracticable to give our
% oRe Word fT~ In tRe neH FIRST eoRriseo place we
could not agree upon a choice, even
'Washingtonia" would not suit every
body. 1t is true that Bolivia took
the name of it's deliverer, SimGn
first flush of Bolivar's reputation and
of the peoples new enjoyment of
freedom. We could not imitate. the
example of the American missioAary
who bestowed upon the settlement of
enfranchised negroes in Africa the
name of Liberia" first. because we
are not a new community; second. be-
cause an invented title, like that.
based upon an abstraction, would be
ridiculous.
Such things must grow up by ira
dition and have their roots in the re-
mote past. "Columbia" would be no
besides, It is already appropriated.
We could hardly choose name from
among the tribal designations of the
red men. for none of their tribes or
nations occupied more than limited
part of what is now the United
States.
We must, in fact. admit that the
other countries on our side of the
world have had better fortune than
ours in this matter. Canada is a euph-
hawk Indian origin. found by the
French at Montreal. and happily
adopted for the whole country.
Mexico is a Spanish rendering, or
ing the place of the war god. Brazil
seems to have derived it's name from
the legendary island of Brazil Nlater
identified with one of the AZores), be-
cause it was found to produce a red
wood resembling brasil wood Chile
and Peru are of aboriginal origin. Ar
Rentina is an invented name based on
the Latin word for silver, as Dio de
la Plata. the name of it's chief river,
means silver river in Spanish.