The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-21

POSTAGE STAMP STORIES.
Proofs of All American Stamps Are
Taken.


Taken.
From the Hartford Times
Really It Is surprising that proofs of
Uncle Sans postage stamps should not
have made trouble before. Young Colman,
who was wrongfully arrested the other
day because he happened to have some
in his possession, fell victim to a care
less government policy, which has permit
ted the distribution of such proofs broad
cast That government should deliber-
ately counterfeit its own securities would
seem ridiculous enough; yet the paradox
may almost be said to apply 20 the sys-
tenn as adopted as TO this matter by the
postoffice department. Three years ago
the department made 500 sets of stamps
in fac-simile for distribution among con-
gressmen and high officials Each set in
cluded specimens of all the issues, from
the earliest to the latest They were
printed on thin cardboard being intended
as curiosites merely, and not for the
payment OF postage. Large numbers of
proof sets of our stamps are sent abroad
TO the various countries that belong to
the postal union. Even at the present
time these proofs are given away to IA
Vored persons now and then by the POST
master General Thus IL comes about that
they are by no means rare from the point
of view of collectors, and anybody can
get hold of them by paying a moderate
price. They could be made to serve for
carrying letters by the simple process of
shaving down the cardboard.
OF course, the stamps found In Colman'S
possession even If they had been real ones
and not proofs, would have had no money
value whatever except as curioSlties. They
were merely newspaper stamps, such as
are employed by postmasters in the bust
ness of transmitting matter of that sort
through the mails. In truth, they are not
postage stamps at all, in the ordinary
sense Of the term; they are employed as
a system OF checks and siXty-dollar one
pasted on a letter would not carry il from
New York TO Hoboken. Collectors value
them, partly because they are the most
beautiful stamps issued by this govern
ment. They are not for sale, being used
only by postofiice officials, and the public
never sees them. But Notwithstanding a
strict regulation on the subject. postmas-
ters often sell them, and many of them
are lost incidentally TO the hundreds Of
burgaries OF postoiiices which occur every
year. Some of the stolen ones naturally
drift into the hands of collectors event
ualiy.
II is not very many years since a Sec
rotary of the Treasury authorized the
printing of several hundred copies OF
book containing fac-similes OF the national
paper currency in various denominations.
Books were given away to congressman
and public officials. Counterfeiters got
hold Of some of them, cut out the notes
and pasted the faces and backs together
80 arttully that they had no trouble IN
passing them off as money. Quite recent
" the treasury detectives discovered a big
lot of these books in a junk shop in New
York, whittier they had strayed nobody
knew how. Their cash value, converted
In the manner just described, would have
amounted 10 hundreds OF thousands OF
dollars, some of the fac-simile notes being
OF large denominations. The detectives
promptly confiscated the whole business
and these dangerous records OF a bygone
secretary's foolishness were burned.
one OF the cheerful accusations ven
tured against Colman was that his STAN DIS
wore counterfeit The pOstofiice detectives
have been keeping sharp watch for
bogus stamps ever since the discovery
two years ago OF plot, rather stupidity
Matched, to manufacture United States
postage stamps in Canada and shin them
across into this country. But that was al
most the only criminal attempt of the
kind that has been made within recent
years. There Is not enough money In the
cOunterfeItlng OF etampa 10 ingplra the