Cheraw chronicle. [volume] (Cheraw, S.C.) 1896-2005, 1921-10-06

Can we not do the same thing fol
our own children? To raise a monu
ment or to make statue costs much
money, and only the very ds.in-
guished deserve such great honor
But to name q square or a street /:
simple and costs nothing. In hun
dreds of our towns from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, Mark Twain should
have a street Oh, no! He ought tc
have an avenue or a square! Huck'
leberry Finn alone deserves that.
At this point l perceive that some
reader may say:
81 know what this mans driving
at. He is a writer himself. He Is
preparing the way to have street
named after him."
My dear sir, there is street, there
is a railroad station, bearing my fami-
ly name already We used to own
much real estate in the neighorhood
It's about the meanest street | ever
saw, and the slowest trains stop at
the station
| know know so we'll that I'm
sick of 1.-THE justification offered for
such nonentities as Avenue A. They
say these names are efficient" A
man can find his way about better ii
he sees he's on Avenue A with Tenth
Street to the left of him, and Avenue
B in front of him. Well then, in
heavens name, let the man be lost !!
Let us have a little less of efficiency
and a little more of romance and
inspiration. Are we to suppose that
Frenchmen are lost every day because
they get into Victor Hugo Street in
stead of Avenue A, and that they have
TO be found by large mounted con-
stabulary and taken back to their
homes before it gets dark? I,
Shortly after lunch one day on a
railroad that l shall not name, in a
Mid Western state whose identity !
prefer to conceal, we stopped at a
certain place. l looked at my watch.
"Are we on timer" l asked the por-
ter. He said we were.
l looked out of the window. Peo-
pie were on the platform. Automo-
biles were drawn up adjacent to it.
Beyond was a level space. Into this
emptied a straight street. At the far
end of the street was open country.
1t was a business street. At one cor
ner stood a brick building. On the
building high up was the name of
manufacturing company. On the
building low down was a big circus
poster.
fell asleep. Reused by some jar
Of the train, l walked and looked out
consulted my Watcn.
How much longer are they going
to keep us here?" I asked the porter
1--WE just stopped here, suh," sale.
he.
Gust stopped for fifty minutes"
I replied, showing him my watch.
Nav, sub. We just stopped here
right NOW. knowed you vas enjoy.
in pleasant dreams, suh."
AS we moved away l took my last
look a. the stra' GIL stre:t with th,
open country at its far end, the brick
building and the circus poster. But
| did not go to sleep. | watched flat
fields, rolling fields, wire fences, and
crops go by. After while we slowed
and stopped at the next town. Then
l knew that l had not. taken my last
look at the straight street, the brick
building, and the circus poster. There
they were, all of them, out Of the
window. This train could not go
backward or forward or stop, without
that implacable sight greeting the
eye. Every town was built on the
same model
Conductor" said l, as that official
passed, "how much more of this state
have we?"
About four hours"
Dark will be here before that"
said. Until dark, would you mind
keeping me under the influence of
chlorofOrm?'
Say" he exclaimed, and leaned
away from me apprehensively.
81 suppose it might not be legal
| murmured. But J wish l could b."
painlessly rendered unconscious while
this standardized scenery continues. v
Nov, see here" said the conductor,
81 don't want any trouble with YOU"
You'll have none," l sighed. "You
know, and l know, that south OF us
and north of US for miles and Mills
run parallel railroads through fiat
fields, rolling fields, wire fences, and
crops. And you know that the trains
all stop at towns where you look out
and see a straight street, brick fac
tory, and a blue and red poster with
elephants, or somebody about to