The Goodhue volunteer. [volume] (Red Wing, Goodhue County, Minn.) 1861-1864, 1862-10-15
Nice lsittle Govern.
taent sVecuia3Ion.
The following letter has been received by
the Postmaster of Chicagos ::ss

The following letter has sbesn received b
the Postmaster Of Chicago tssas ssas
| Posr 0rr1uE DEPAnrNEsr F1NAnor Orr1or, u
.s WAsHN6roN, Sept. 90, 1862.
Sra The recent demand by the public fool
postage stamps. under IN erroneous: Impress
ion with regard to the law authorizing the
issue Of "postage currency,' has entirely ex
hausted the surplus stock, and the Depart.
ment is now dependent upon the daily man.
ufacture to meet the rtqn;sition Of PostH1as
ters. Sales Of stamps snst4therefore be re-
stricted to such as may be nseded by the
public for prepayment Of postage, the ordi.
nary demand at any office being the guide
1 And, inasmuch as the unadyised use 8
postage stamps IS . circulating medium has
soiled or defaced them in q greater or less
degree, and evil persons, taking advantage
of that circumstance, have put into circula-
ton stamps which have evidently been used
in the prepaymentsof postage, every post
master is instructed to treat as unpaid any
letter placed in q post office for mailing which
may be covered with stamp at all soiIed Q,
defaced, or which has apparently been used
in payment of postage. Such letters will bt
|sent at once to the Dead Letter Office ri
This Departme n, has repeatedly, byespe
cial letters and official announcement, decIar
led its opposition to the sale and use of post
|age stamps for a currency, loreseeins the
result Of such a course on the part Of the
public. vi Respectfully yours, .,ex! 81 Jsz
.. ..,...., =, s....,r,s.[,.,r, A.. n. ZEvERLY,
Third Assistant Postmaster General.
j. L. SCRIPTS, P. NJ: Chicago, Ill. ..@'sH '|@
This virtually prohibits postage stamps as
Ia circulating medium, because, Of course, no
|one will be foolish enoug il to take them afte,
they have become 'soiled, and will hesitate
even about taking them when new, because
Of their liability to become soiled. A bank
note is good only so long as it is redcemable;
postage stamps must come under the same
rule; when they are no longer acceptable in
payment Of postage, they are utterly worth
less. s.., ......,.; z..rt
What will the public do for small change
now that the only available substitute has
been rendered unavailable? The new postage
currency notes have not yet entered the
West as a circulating medium, except in q
very few cases. We have never seen dol.
lars worth Of it in the possession. Of any
one person. What will people do with the
defacrd and .soiled stamps now on their
hands Everybody has got pocket full Of
this modern stump tail, foreshortened close
behind the ears II a stamp is soiled ever So
little, It must not be put upon letter, be
canse it stands an excellent chance Of con
signing the package to the dead letter Office
Obviously, some provisions should be
made by the Government for the redemption
Of de'aced or soiled stamps, or that portion,
at least, which can be readily distinguished
as not being counterie,ts, OR as not having
been used for postage. We are informed
that the amount OF stamps issued by the
Post office in this city during the last quar-
ter exceeds that Of any previous quarter by
.1srty thousand dollars. We have no reason
for supposing that there has Been any mate
rial increase Of postal business in this vicin.
'ty during the last quarter, and the in ference
Is, therefore, that $50 ,OJO worth Of stamps
have beer put out as a circulating medium
during that quarter. Under the strict con :
struction of the above letter, this entire
amount has become unredeemable and
worthless, and our community loses $4,000
outright, while. the Government makes nctt
gain of the Same amount Caieago .Jo2rnaL
THE WovEN' WIyD--0ne nf the most