Richard,

This reminds me of a trip that I made many years ago to Hannibal, 
Missouri, the boyhood home of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain).  Next to the 
river was an old historical marker, perhaps dating from the 1920s or 30s, 
that explained the historical significance of Clemens and the connection 
his literary characters had to Hannibal.  Chiseled out of the metal marker 
were all the words that today would be considered racially offensive.  It 
was beyond me why they didn't just consider the sign itself an historical 
artifact, representative of the period in which it was made, accession it 
into their museum collection, and replace it with a new one for public 
display.  Their attempt to not be offensive or insensitive was laudable, 
but even a person who had never read any of Twain's books could figure out 
what words had been chiseled out.  As it were, it was pretty much 
self-defeating.

Harry


Harry G. Heiss, Archivist
Bureau of the Public Debt
Department of the Treasury
149 19th Street, Room W-103
Parkersburg, WV 26101

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304.480.5334  [fax]

"Be nice to the archivist, or he'll erase you from history."
     --Anonymous



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