The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1892-01-15
POSTAGE STAMPS.
The Mon Who Collect Them Mako
Trouble for the Department..

Trouble for the Department..
No one has ever yet sent in mill
lion cancelled postage stamps to the
postotfice department. although 200
letters are received annually request
ing information about the prize OF
$500 which the government is sup.
posed to offer for this number, says
the Washington Star How this pop
ular delusion originally started no one
can tell. For twenty years 1t has pre-
vailed, and during all that time peo-
pie have been making collections for
sale to Uncle Sam. Presumably, no
one has thus far secured the de-
sired million, At all events,
the packages Of old stamps sent to
Washington as installments never con.
tain more than few thousand; 90, 600
were the most that ever came in one
bundle. Ordinarily the collector gets
tired by the time 4, 900 or 3, 600 have
been got together. Children mostly
are engaged in this interesting but
fruitless pursuit though many wom-
en-, both young and old, take it up for
awhile and bother everybody they
know for contributions OF stamps from
old letters.
People are constantly writing to the
department with requests for stamps
to put in their albums, both domestic
and foreign. Sometimes they say
that the dealers charge more than
they can afford. and so they appeal 10
the postmaster general. Awhile ago
the postoffice used to sell specimen
sets OF its issues, unused, but that was
discontinued in 1884.
A very interesting album is kept In
the stamp division, containing sets OF
all the stamps that the government
has ever issued. The book is worth q
lot Of money merely for: the face value
represented by its contents. On the
first page are the two stamps OF Uncle
Sans issue in 1847. One Of them Is
for five cents, with a head Of Franklin,
and the other is for ten cents with
Washington's bust. Before that year
letters were distributed by mail in
packages with accompanying way
bills, and the prices charged for post
age varied according to the distance.
On another page OF the scrap book are
found the first perforated stamps,
which appeared in 1927. Up to that
time the stamps had 10 be cut apar
with shears. The perforations ther
were made much finer than they are
now. 1t is said that the British gov
eminent paid large sum for the idea,
but the United States did not give 6
cent for its use.
@Another page in the p-book II
occupied by the stamps OF 1869, which
were SO very beautiful that the print.
ing cost too much and they had to be
discontinued Whereas Uncle Sam'G
postal tokens at the present time are
less handsome than those OF almos
any other nation, these were among
the most exquisite ever issued. The
fifteen-cent brown bore picture OF the
landing OF Columbus in blue. The
twenty!four- cent green was adorned
with the Signing of the Declaration
in purple. The three-cent stamp hat
lovely design representing a shield,
eagle and flags in red, white and blue
The twelve-cent sort was in g. Gen.
with a steamship on it, the three-cen
denomination was ultra-marine, with
q locomotive, and the two cent brown
showed man on horseback. All these
colors cost money and where STAMP
was printed in two tints 1t had to &C
through the presses twice. According
ly the entire series was soon sup
pressed.