Connecticut Western News

CANAAN'S NAME STOLEN SAYS REP. BENJAMIN

Falls Village Member May Start Legislation to Straighten Out Mixed Up Town Nomenclature That Has Long Been Confusing.

Representative J. Monroe Benjamin, of Canaan (Falls Village,) has in mind a plan which, if he succeeds in carrying it out, will entitle him to a longer feather in his cap than any representative from either of the Canaans has earned in a long, long time. He proposes to take legislative steps to remedy a condition that has always bothered the people of both towns—the confusion of names.

Mr. Benjamin proposes an enactment to require this town to recognize and adopt its own, only and lawful name, "North Canaan," as was agreed upon when the original town was divided, in 1858, and keep its hands off the name of "Canaan," which is Falls Village's own exclusive property. He argues that the present mix-up of names is not only confusing, but an annoyance, especially in the way of be-deviling the mails, and his plan would require a change in the postoffice rules applying to the two Canaans, and a change of name on the railroad time-tables.

"When the town was divided," said Mr. Benjamin, in a recent conversation on the subject, "North Canaan stole our name, and now we want it back, and we want North Canaan to recognize its own name and to call us by our own name which is Canaan."

In a further conversation Mr. Benjamin said that inasmuch as this is an age of consolidations, mergers, etc., he didn't know but it might be a wise idea for North Canaan and Canaan to unite into one town, as they were up to about fifty years ago. "In union there is strength," he said, "and that rule ought to apply to towns as well as to individuals and business enterprises. I'm not sure that I won't start a ball rolling for a consolidation of Canaans."