SCOPE OF ITS FUNCTIONS. 19 
been brought to its attention it has decided uniformly in favor of the 
local form. 
Most of the nations of Europe, either through national boards or 
geographic societies, are engaged in the regulation of the orthography 
of geographic names. Their attention has been particularly directed 
toward producing uniformity in the transliteration of aboriginal names 
written in characters other than Roman. These nations have prac- 
tically agreed upon a system of transliteration, which, with one or two 
exceptions, has been adopted by this Board, thus coming into practical 
agreement in this matter with the rest of the civilized world. 
SCOPE OF ITS FUNCTIONS. 
From the wording of the Executive order creating the Board it 
understands and has uniformly maintained that its function is limited 
to the consideration of names as to which there is diverse usage. It 
does not give names to features, though frequently called upon to do 
so. It does not change names, even though in cases submitted there 
often appears good reason for making change. It does not, though 
frequently appealed to, deal with the question of pronunciation. It 
does not determine the generic 'character of the feature whose name is 
in dispute. It does not determine whether a stream is a creek or river; 
whether a body of water is a lake or a pond; whether an elevated tract 
is a hill or a mountain. It does not undertake the wholesale revision 
of the geographic names of any region or district and prepare a stand- 
ard list of such names, though the need for such is obvious and is from 
time to time pressed upon the attention of the Board. 
The Board does not attempt wholesale reformation of corrupted 
names or seek to restore original forms or pure forms, nor does it 
attach much importance to priority. It would be idle to attempt to 
now introduce New Amsterdam for New York, Lake Frontenac for 
Lake Ontario, Cat Lake for Lake Erie, Ouisconsin for Wisconsin, 
Ojibway for Chippewa, Konza for Kansas, or Ke-kan-ma-suk-sepe for 
Kalamazoo. Whatever diverse usage may be found in print, what- 
ever departures from or corruptions of old forms are involved in such 
names, any attempt to restore first forms would not contribute to 
establishing uniform usage. These old names are of interest to the 
antiquarian and scholar, but a stumbling block in the path of the man 
of affairs who wants to know the name now and how it should be 
spelled. As a rule, names are dealt with individually. If it appears 
that present usage is fairly consistent or established as to any name, 
that usage is, in general, adopted. 
All the foregoing are things which the Board does not do. What 
it actually does is to consider, one by one, names brought to its atten- 
tion as disputed. This dispute or discrepant use may exist in print or 
in speech, or in both. The Board, collecting all the facts deemed perti- 
