2 UNITED STATES BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES. 
The President of the United States : 
Sir : The United States Board on Geographic Names, constituted 
under the executive order of September 4, 1890, has the honor to sub- 
mit to you herewith its first report : 
ORIGIN AND HISTORY. 
The necessity for a Board for inducing uniform usage and spelling of 
geographic names in the publications of the Government has long been 
apparent. 
There are several bureaus and departments engaged in the construc- 
tion of maps and charts, and the publication and dissemination of 
geographic information. Prominent among them are the Coast and 
Geodetic Survey, which is making charts of the coasts of the United 
States, the Hydrographic Office of the Navy Department, from which 
emanate charts of foreign coasts, the Geological Survey, which is mak- 
ing a mother map of the United States, the General Land Office, which 
compiles from its plats maps of most of the States and Territories, the 
Post-Office Department, which decides the names of all post-offices, 
etc. Besides these there is scarcely a bureau of the General Govern- 
ment which does not have occasion in its reports and other papers to 
use geographic names, to a greater or less extent. 
It is well known that there have existed among these bureaus differ- 
ences of usage concerning geographic names. Indeed, even among 
different publications of the same bureau, usage has not been uniform. 
It has frequently occurred that the same bureau has used different 
forms at different times and in different publications. In the winter of 
1889 and 1890 this matter became a subject of conference among a few 
of those most deeply interested, and it was decided to attempt the 
removal of a serious and growing evil in the publications of the Gov- 
ernment. With this purpose in view, a voluntary association of repre- 
sentatives of some of the bureaus interested was formed early in the 
spring for the purpose of considering and deciding upon the proper 
names or the spelling to be adopted in such cases as should be brought 
before it, and thus gradually to bring about uniformity in the publica- 
tions of the bureaus represented in respect to geographic names. 
There were represented in this association the Coast and Geodetic 
Survey, the Hydrographic Office, the Geological Survey, the laght- 
House Board, the Smithsonian Institution, the Departments of State 
and War, and the Post-Office Department. 
After several meetings, in which much was done in the way of de- 
termining methods of procedure and adopting general principles for 
guidance, as well as the consideration and decision of more than a hun- 
dred cases, it was recognized that the importance of the work of the 
association and the difficulties of an administrative character which 
might be anticipated, required that its organization should be strength- 
ened. Under these circumstances executive authority coidd alone se- 
cure adoption in all Government publications of the decisions of the 
association. The matter was therefore brought to your attention and 
the association was clothed with the necessary authority by the following 
EXECUTIVE ORDER. 
As it; is desirable that uniform usage in regard to geographic nomenclature and 
orthography obtain throughout the Executive Departments of the Government, and 
particularly upon the maps and charts issued by the various Departments and bu- 
reaus, I hereby constitute a Board ou Geographic Names, and designate the following 
