Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-23

and turned back into the hands Of a gov
eminent agent to be sent to the Post Of
fee Department for destruction. About
100000 stamps are destroyed in this way
every week.
The bureau Of printing and engraving will
start its stamp work with the dies now used
by the contractors. These dies belong to
the government. The contractors report
to the government agent every new die
which Is made, and when that die goes out
or use 1t must be turned over to the govern
ment agent to be sent to Washington for
destruction. BY the transfer process, any
number of dies can be made at comparative
~ small cost from one engraving. There
FORE the government pays nothing for ex-
ira dies which the contractor may make TO
facilitate the work of printing But If the
government wishes to change the design of
us postage stamps 1t must pay the cost or
engraving the new design. 1t cost the Post
ONCE Department several hundred dollars
to have the dies for the Columbian stamps
engraved. 1t cost the contractors 100000 to
increase their plant for the printing OF
these stamps. Third Assistant Postmaster
General Hazen told me at the time that he
expected to get more than the cost of max
ing the change from the stamp collectors,
but In this the department was -disappoint-
ed. If the stamps had been limited to any
issue or a million or even less their value
to collectors would have been so great that
many people would have bought whole sets
of them at their face value, Sl6.26, and held
them for possible increase In price. But
there were printed exactly two thousand
million of these stamps, and with SO many
floating about the trade in them was vir
tually unlimited.
Not only does a change Of design cost a
great deal Of money but change in the
color of any one of the stamps is very ex-
pensive. There is vast difference in the
value of colored inks. When the Post Of
fice Department asks for bids for printing
stamps 1t specifies the exact color and the
shade al ed 10
nomination. 1t would not do to say car
mine" without specifying the character of
carmine by the number given to 1t by deal
ers in inks. 1t would cost s. sheet to
print the stamps in one grade of carmine.
This Is a problem which meets the Post
master General whenever he considers new
designs for stamps. Suggestions from a
great many quarters come to him in every
mail indicating the popular judgment on the
cOlors to be chosen. But the Postma ster
General would make himself quite as unpop-
ular If he paid 81 a sheet for colorins his
stamps as he did by making the popular
denomination forest green.
The Periodical Stamps.
There Is one class of stamps much sought
by collectors the designs for which are
matter OF supreme indifference to the gen.
eral public and which seldom change in
pattern. These are the periodical stamps.
They are so scarce that collectors will pay
from SIS to s25 a set for specimens" that
is. for the stamps with the word "speci-
men" printed across the front of each. The
Post Office Department does not issue these
specimens to all applicants. In fact. their
circua ton Is confined largely to persons
in authority. Possibly your Congressman
would have enough influence with Mr..
Craige to obtain a set for you. Mr.. Craige
Is the third assistant postmaster general
under this administration. and he has
charge of the stamp division of the Post
Office Department If you want to see a
set OF periodical stamps you will find them
In glass case in Mr.. Craige's office. But
II you go to your postmaster he will proba-
bly, tell you that he is forbidden by law to
show the stamps to you. These stamps are
part of the form of bookkeeping used by
the government in handling newspapers
and other periodicals which are carried at
pound rates. The publishers of periodicals
never handle periodical stamps Postage
Is always paid In cash and the publishers
Of important periodicals keep a deposit in
the hands of the local postmaster to prepay
postage. When an edition of the paper is
sent to the post office ii is weighed and the
postage Is computed. The postmaster then
deducts from the amount on deposit in his
office the amount of postage and sends
receipt for 1t to the publisher. Originally
these receipts were in stub books furnished
by the department. When the postmaster
made out receipt for. say, S26.26 he took
from his stock Of periodical stamps stamps
to the value Of s26 % and affixed them to
the stub Of the receipt. When he made his
report he sent the book of stubs to the de-
partment. Now. I'm the large post offices,
the receipts are made in trplicate by The
use of carbon paper. One receipt is given
to the publisher, one Is kept in the post
office for record and the third is sent to the
department at Washington. To this third
copy is attached the periodical stamp or
stamps to the amount of the payment made
by the publisher. Thus the postmaster acts
as the agent of the publisher in buying the
stamps and the agent of the government
tn call aud .
to pass out of his possession at any time.
They could be of no possible value except
to collectors, for even IL publisher should
purchase one of them he could not use ii.
because the postmaster is forbidden to ac-
cept 1t from him. There are nearly 2.250. 900
worth Of these stamps used in a year, yet
the only copies of them which come into
the hands of collectors uncanceled and
not marked with the word specimen" are
those which are stolen from post Offices.
I suppose that the government could have
any collector or dealer in stamps arrested
for having one Of these stamps in his pos
session. on the ground that he was a re-
ceiver of stolen goods. But no such arrest
has ever been made.
The Only Outside Work Now.
The only work which is now left to out
side contractors for printing is the printing
Of certain engravings used in department
reports and the printing of the postal cards
and stamped envelopes for the Post Office
Department. The department has Just
awarded the contract for the printing of
the stamped envelopes. These envelopes
are in only four denominations-one. two.
four and five cents, but they are printed
on SO many finds of paper that there are
sixty-eght varieties. The present contract
for stamped envelopes is held by two envel-
ope companies In Connecticut. The govern
ment sells s12.UOo,0O0 worth of stamped
envelopes and s6OO0.0O0 worth of postal
cards in year 1t is not improbable that
the printing of postal cards will pass into
the hands of the bureau of engraving and
printing II the experiment with the printing
Of stamps is successful. But the making
of envelopes Is a busin esS which will not be
undertaken by the government for a good
many years to come.