Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1925-02-20
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pOintment of an inter-city committee
to promote projects of interest 10 both
Champaign and Urbana, the age old
rivalry between the two cities should
appear upon the surface and take
precedence over all other questions.
The result has been to embarrass the
work of the committee at the outset.
1t might have been expected when
the champaign Urbana" slogan was
announced that the conservative peo-
pie of both cities would enter de-
cided objection, and thereby thwart
the objective at its inception.
Just why the two cities cannot dis
cuss the practicability of a municipal
union before launching an attack,
which is based largely upon tradition
and the prejudioes growing out of
commercial rivalry, is difficult TO see.
Yet the DIRECTORS came Immediately
to the fore and apparently silenced
the discussion before it began.
at is practical and eXpedient,"
say the progressives. Let US alone"
say the conservatives, and fortunate
ly or unfortunately it is the latter
class, which is composed of a very
small minority, who seems to be hold
ing the reigns and will not by any
means permit a stampede.
If put to vote probably eighty
percent of the residents of the two
cities would sanction a municipal un-
ion, but as one editor suggests be-
tween the lines: at will never come
to a vote, because the DeoUle will not
have it."
That is no doubt true, so far as this
generation is concerned, and the ques-
ton may as well be dropped in favor
of more workable schemes.
Apparently Urbana people, at least
the guiding few, have not forgotten
the action of West UTbana citizens
more than sixty years ago when they
held town meeting and appropriated
the county name, and annexed terri
tory which had previously belonged to
Urbana township.
To blot out that incident would be
like erasing an epitaph from the grave
of a moss-grown memory. And to
suggest municipal union brings to the
fore a discussion as to whether
Champaign should yield her maiden
name and resolve her identity in the
older mother city of Urbana, instead
of suggesting that her name be first in
a syllable arrangement denotinH the
two cities.
Bound up in the history of each
city are the traditions of more than
century ago when an area of vacant
lots and long stretches of swamp and
mud interviewed between the court
house and "The Depot" The first
families have handed down these ira
ditions to their posterity, and though
now only an imaginary line marks
the division boundary, the two cities
are as far apart in spirit as they
were in 1860.
The object of this inter-city com
mittee was to bring the two munich
palities into closer cooperation. What
its objective is now is an open ques-
ton.
Just what an alien born resident of
"The Twin Cities" thinks of the situa-
ton may be suggested in the emo
tional content of The Review editor
who has lived in Urbana four years
and worked during the entire period
in Champaign and has been com
PEELED to cross the Wright street
boundary every week day. To him
the situation is not particularly har-
assing. During the four years he has
not suffered any great Inconvenience
other than that which is born Of in
creased taxes and the fear of having
eventually to sell out and move to a
less desirable community. The -separa-
ton of the two cities has not greatly
worried him. On the contrary he has
been genuinely interested in lis
idiosyncracies.
He has revived his interest in
mythology by perusing the columns
of ancient newspaper files in the
Cunningham library. He has written
series of articles pertaining to the
history Of the two cities, data of
(which has been gathered from these
ancient files where a note of intense
rivalry is apparent in every issue.
And on the basis of the knowledge
thus CLEANED he has aided in the
preparation of numerous special arti-
folder recently distributed by the
Champaign Chamber of Commerce
and Farm Bureau.
In this folder the hyphenated name
Champaign Urbana" was freely used
with the deliberate intent of fostering
a closer union of the two cities. IfI
the article had been written for the
Association of Commerce it might as
well have treated of "UrbanaLCham-
naign." Logically, from the authors
viewpoint the latter name is more APP
~ropriate, for he usually wakes up
in Urbana and eventually lands in
Champaign. But just why there
should be such a DISPUTE as to which
city should precede the hyphen is not
easy to determine, unless it depends
upon which side of the Wright street
boundary one lives.
The Review suggests a few inn
portant projects which the committee
may promote with little friction.
First we would suggest that they
arrive at an agreement to use news
pa"er advertising instead of bill
boards. 1t is obviously detrimental to
the interests of Urbana for Cham
paign to erect bill board east of the
Wright street boundary, and vice
versa with respect to the undue lib
erty Urbana merchants may take in
crossing Wright street and erecting
similar bill board advertisements.
We suggest further that arches be
erected on either side of Wright street
at every prominent intersection bear
ing the inscription: This is Urbana"
and This is Champaign" taking
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