The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-07-01

UNCLE SAM WILL TRUST.
Those Who Cannot Procure
New War Stamps Can Do
Business just the Same.
SOME BANKS HAVE NONE At ALL.
First of the New Tax in Jersey
City Was Paid on a
Telegram.

Uncle Sam has great faith in his chill
dren. No better evidence of that could
be needed than the intention of the Gov
ernment to trust for the new war tax
those who are unable to obtain the stamps
with which to pay the war tax. Depury
Collector Farmer did not receive any ad-
ditional stamps yesterday or today and
as the law became operative at 12:0l
O'Clock this morning it became evident
that some change must be made or the
wheels of business would be clogged. 1t
was therefore concluded that all those
articles and documents which required
stamps and for which stamps could not
be procured, should be used a memoran
dunn kept of them and when the stamps
arrived they should be affixed.
Some of the banks in this city, among
them the First National nave all the
stamps they need. They say they Sc
cured them from Deputy Collector Farmer
and they were their share of the first
and only small allotment which Mr..
Farmer received from Washington on
Wednesday. The New Jersey Title Guar
antee and Trust Company received some
of the stamps from Mr.. Farmer also, but
they soon ran out. That institution is do
ing business just the same, but as far as
the new tax is concerned, strictly on the
credit. The company mas had prepared =
ordinary revenue stamp bearing these
words, Issued with the understanding
that q revenue stamp will be affixed AID
cancelled when supplied by the Govern
ment This Is stamped upon every
check drawn on the bank, and for that
decoration the man presenting the check
The first letter of credit issued by J. p.
Morgan & Co. of New FORK under the nav
stamp act was received at the offlce OF
the Title Guarantee and Trust Company
this morning. 1t was for $3.000 and was
issued to a customer of the Title Com
pany. On it We're five Of the new stamps:
a one dollar and four twenty cent stamps.
The telegraph companies were in the
same predicament as some of the banks.
They had mo stamps but they took the
messages just the same and collected
count of the money thus received and
turn it over to the Government
Police Court Clerk James Norton, who
represents on the New York dailies III
this city. is perhaps entitled 10 the homer
of being the first one TO pay the new tax.
Mr.. Norton filed a despatch at the main
office of the Western Union Company, at
one minute past twelve, THIS M rnlrS,
and did not think about the new law un-
til notified by the operator in charge, and
he handed up a penny.
Jersey City is not the only place where
there is a scarcity OF stamps. The
country seems to be we'll supplied, except
the districts around New York, Phila-
delphia and Boston. In distributing the
stamps the Government began at the Pa
cifc coast and worked Eastward. Coll
lector Farmer and the banks of this city
have received requests from out of town
for stamps, but none will allow any to
go away from Jersey City.
The Treasury officials at Washington
have no apprehension that business will
be interrupted, even though the stamps
in the hands of the revenue collectors
should not be sufficient to supply the de-
mand. This is due to the suggestion pre-
viously made by the Commissioner of In
ternal Revenue. to the effect that the
people who could not procure the revenue
stamps in time to affix them could keep
a memorandum of the value of the
stamps they should have used and re-
port the same to the Collector of Inter
nal Revenue for their district and he
could accept the payment of the tax and
relieve them from all penalties. The
Commissioner is anxious to have this fact
we'll known, as hundreds of inquiries have
been received from all parts of the coun-
try on this point.
The bureau worked all night last night
sending out the stamps as fast as they
were received from the Bureau of En-
craving and Printing. Thirty millions
were sent out yesterday, making Il total
of 100000, eco shipped already. This means
that within seventeen days the Bureau OF
Engraving and Printing, in addition TO its
ordinary work. has engraved the plates
for the new stamps. transferred and pre-
pared the plates for printing, and has
printed and gummed and delivered 200
These stamps have been sent to Coilec-
tors of Internal Revenue and BY them
will be sold to whoever applies The
banks and merchants have puref ased
ready thousands Of dollars have been re
cefVed from sales.