Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1875-01-14
POSTAGE STAMPS.
How they are Made and Distrib-
uted.

can Bank Note Company from July 1,
1861, until the same day in 1873. That
was for three terms of four years
each. Then the Continental Bank
Note Company at this time offering to
do it for one half the amount required
by the other company, the contract
was awarded to them. The Office of
the Continental is at the corner of
Greenwich and Liberty streets, but as
it was desirable to have the postage.
stamps made in perfectly fire. proof
building, the fifth story of the Equita-
BILE Life Insurance building, on the
corner of Broadway and Cedar streets
was rented by the company for that
purpose.
The Office here is for the use of
Mr., Daniel M. Boyd, the Government
agent, and Mr.. Charles F. Steele, the
agent and super intendent appointed
by the company. The facts given in
regard to the making of stamps were
obtained by your correspondent from
Mr.. Bowen. Mr.. Boyd's assistant
Two passenger elevators run to the
top of the building, and upon leaving
them, the only entrance to the postage
rooms is by means of door which is
constantly locked and guarded by a
janitor, who always sits inside to an
swer the bell, which is just outside
On the right hand side are the Office
and printing room, and away to the
left, in the front of the building, are
the other rooms used in
MAKING STAMPS.
In printing, steele plates are used,
on which 200 stamps are engraved
Two men are kept hard at work Gov
ering them with the colored inks and
passing them to a man and a girl
who are equally busy at printing them
with large rolling hand presses. T hree
of these little squads are employed all
the time, although ten presses can be
put into use in case of necessity At
ter the small sheets of paper upon
which the 200 stamps are printed have
dried sufficiently, they are sent into
another room and gummed. The gum
used for this purpose is a peculiar
composition, made of the powder of
dried potatoes and other vegetables
mixed with water, which is better than
other kinds, for instance, gum arabic,
which cracks the paper badly. This
paper is also of peculiar texture,
somewhat similar to that used for
bank notes. After having been again
dried, this time on little racks, which
are famed by steam power for about
an hour, they are put between sheets
of pasteboard and pressed in hydraul-
ic presses, capable of applying a
weight of two hundred tons. The
next thing is to cut the sheets in half;
each sheet, of course, when cut, con-
tains hundred stamps. This is done
by girl with large pair of shears,
cutting by hand being preferred to
that of machinery, which method
would destroy too many stamps
They are then passed to two other
squads, who in as many operations per-
forate the sheets between the stamps.
Next they are pressed once more, and
then packed and labeled, and slowed
away in another room, preparatory to
being put in mail-bags for dispatching
to fulfill orders. If single stamp is
torn, or in any way mutilated, the
whole sheet of the hundred is burned
About 100000 are burned every week
from this 'cause. For the past
twenty years not single sheet has
been lost, such care has been taken in
counting them. During the process
of manufacturing the sheets are count
ed eleven times.
DISTRIBUTING THE STAMPS
There are 200 postofices through
out the country, and they use in the
course of year 7OO,O0O,OOO postage
stamps A week or two since, a.
900, 600 finished and 87,O0O,OOO unfin-
ished stamps were put into the safes.
The New York Postoffice alone uses
12O, 100000 year, somewhat over
one. sixth of the whole number used,
or equal to the amount required by
5000 other Offices. Four times q year
the different postoffices send an order
for the number of stamps they expect
to have occasion to use during the
coming three months. Of course, if
| they run out during that time, they
are at liberty to send for more. The
Office here in New York is supplied
differently. Twice month an order
is sent for about 100000 of various
denominations. Three cent stamps
are, Of course, in much greater de-
mand than those of any other value.
In answer to the orders the stamps
are made and sent to the offices, and
there counted Immediately in the pres
ence of witness. An accompanying
blank receipt is filed up and sent to
the Third Assistant Postmaster at
Washington, who has charge of this
branch of the Postoffice Department..
The pay of the majority of postmas-
ters is not by any menas extraVagant.
The holder of that position in Guth-
rie, Ind, receives the small salary of
81 per a1num, and many others
who get the same. Others get 50, S3.
81 and $5, and so on up to Sc ,00O.-
Although salary of few dollars is
not in itself of Importance, the hold
ing of such an office generally is. For
instance, in little village the post
master is almost always the owner of
q little grocery store, and the villagers
while waiting for the mail, find it con
yenient to lay in stock of provis-
ions, SO that the postoffice draws Gus
tom. Besides, the postmaster is usu-
ally considered a man of much i'm,
| portance in a small town. I know a
storekeeper who is the postmaster of
a small village in the southern part of
New Jersey, and who gets only Sl2
year for that position. But he
wouldn't resign it for three times that
amount every year.
1t is only the postmasters of large
towns or cities who receive as much as
$4,000. Mr.. j. L. James, the post
master of New York, gets a salary of
$4,000, the largest given, but really
small, considering the large amount of
responsibility and work which it in
volves.-TN.Y. Letter Buffalo Express