r ace saw, in a graveyard at Erfurt, a tomb-stone to
the memory Frau Witwe Lokomotivefiihrer Binder." This title struck me time as over-precise, but is it so far removed from the tal, and American, habit of conferring functional, as opposed Lary, tides? I should go so far as to suggest that the of a patterned nomenclature such as ours discourages an
exaggerated preoccupation with functional or administrative status, and saves us from the many idiotic appellations in which foreigners indulge. Human nature abhors uniformity, and when no traditional diversity exists we create that diversity for ourselves. Even in our
own municipal life there is an increasing tendency to attach titles to functions, and to speak at all times of " Alderman Jones " or " Councillor Smith." But we have not yet reached the stage when the local papers speak with pride or asperity of "Mr. Town Clerk Robinson." Yet that, in fact, is the tendency produced by egalitarianism in this matter of names. My poor Frau Loko- motivefiihrer is not very distant from Secretary Stimson, Senator Weaver, Congressman Wagner, Ambassador Winant, Columnist X., Corporation Lawyer Y., or Hosiery Operative Z. This hideous habit is not confined to the United States or Germany ; one can meet it even in France, where the Third Republic has -officially abolished all- hereditary qualifications. I should much dislike being called " Mr. Member " or " Mr. Deputy," or " Mr. House-of-Com-' monsman," yet the French confer the title of deputy even upon those who have not succeeded in re-entering the Palais Bourbon since 1908 ; and they apply the grave phrase " Monsieur le President " regardless of whether the man be President of the Republic or chairman of the local bank. My main contention cannot, I think, be countered it is this : if you abolish the old titles you will find a whole crop of new titles, infinitely more ungainly than their predecessors, sprouting like weeds to take their place. Let us, there- fore, keep the old names, since they do no harm, and are often pretty in themselves.
* * * *
Previous page
