Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-07
MILES OF STAMPS.
Some Idea of the Millions That Were
Issued Last Year

Uncle Sam printed just a few postage
stamps during the year 1898 The number
of 2-cent stamps issued during the year
was about 300. 100000. Such a number,
obviously, is beyond the grasp of the human
mind. but perhaps the matter may be made
more clear by putting it otherwise.
An ordinary 2-cent stamp is exactly one
inch long. From this fact, by little cal
culation, it is easy to discover that the
number of stamps of this denomination is
sued in 1898, placed end to end, would ex-
tend distance considerably exceeding 30 =
ovo miles. In other words, they would make
Il continuous strip of stamps, each one
adorned with the head of the father of
MS country, stretching in belt more than
once and a half around the equator.
OF course, though the 2-cent stamps are
those principally used, there are others.
FL ough l-cent postage stamps have been
issued during the year 1888 to stretch from
New York city, by way of Europe and
Asia. to Bombay, India, if similarly ar
ranged in one strip. All other stamps. as
to production and sales are of minor i'm
pcrtance comparatively speaking, but it is
interesting to know that almost exactly
one mile of 81 stamps We're manufactured
Tor the demand of 1898. OF IS stamps the
production was equivalent to a little more
of a mule.
Now. If all the postage stamps printed
py the United States government In 1888
were paced one on top another, as neatly
as might be without putting them under
pressure, low high do you suppose the nile
OF them would be? There is no use guess
ing; you would never get it nearly right.
unless you went to work to calculate il for
yourself The 100000 eco stamps of ali
denominations printed during the current
year-the statement. of course is apnroxi
mate-would tower to an elevation of TWEEN
ty-one miles. This is more than three tip,es
the height of the highest mountain in the
world-Mount Everest, in the HimaIayas
II The same number of stamps was raled
up in the form of the ordinary sheets of
100 hundred each. 1t follows that the sfack
would be over fifth of a mile high,
During the year 1898 the number of sne
claI dehVery stamps sold was about 3 90 =
uD II Is only reasonable to suppose that
the average journey of the special delivery
messenger is half a mile Indeed that IS
an absurd underestimate; but let II 90 at
that On this assumption the total dis
lance Travelled Tor special delivery in 1898
was about 262o,ooO miles. That is a very
considerable space to traverse as NAV he
realized when it is considered that a mos
senger boy, in order to accomplish that
total distance. would have to go about /. lao
times around the world, or five times to the
moon and back
1t appears, from figures furnished bv the
Post Once Department, that the ayera ye
person in Massachusetts, including men
women and children, spends $3.50 on Dos
tage per annum- New York comes sacond
with an expenditure Of $2.27 The District
Of Columbia third with 81. Ia Colorado is
fourth with S1.93. and Connecticut Is fifth
with $3.50. The states ranking lowest In
TINS regard are South Carolina, with %
cents per capita: Mississippi, with "a cents:
Afaba ma, with IS cents: Arkansas. with 81
cents, and North Carolina, with Il cents.