Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1899-02-09
CUBAN STAMPS.
Uncle Sam Casting About for Suitable
Designs.

Uncle Sam Casting About for Suitable
Designs.
A great many inquiries are coming
to Washington as to the postal system
which will be in operation in Cuba.
For the present, our government ha
taken no steps further than to pro-
vide director general of posts and
corps of assistants, who will admi@>
lister the postal affairs of the island
technically under military authority,
but actually under the supervision og
the postmaster general,
It is proposed to maintain through
out Cuba the domestic rates OF post
age which prevailed there under Span
ish rule. A letter to be delivered with
in the province in which ii is mailed
VII have to carry a 2ls-centayo stap,a,
but letter passing from one province
into another requires 5-eentavo
stamp. On ordinary letters mailed II
Cuba for this country, and on thosH
mailed here for Cuba, the charge will
continue to be five centavos. 70 THIS
rule there will be one exception: a
letter mailed to or by a soldier or
sail." OF the United States will ccSt
only two cents either way, on the
theory that the army is for postal pr
poses part of the United States.
The present fiction of American pos.
tai stations in Cuba will be swe
away and the mails to and fro wiz
be treated on substantially the same
basis as the mails between any
foreign country and the United States
that is. MS if Cuba had already an
independent nationality.
Nevertheless, not only shall we hay
the authorship and control OF the
Cuban postal system, but we shall
provide a series of stamps for Cuban
use as soon as we can get around IT,
it. The postmaster general called
some time ago upon the Bureau o.
| Engraving and Printing for a set OF
appropriate designs, The bureau has
not yet respond, and seems SO
lethargic that the postmaster general
is already considering what can be
done by his own department In this
direction.
1t may be recalled that that was
what finally had to be done in the case
OF the Omaha Exposition series, after
a long and frutess period of wait
ing for the bureau to act. As III the
former instance, so now, the depart
ment is beating the bushes for ideas.
Some of the most characteristic de-
signs for the Omaha stamps We're sug
gestcd by GCVernor-olect Roosevelt.
who at that time had more leisure
than now. A letter sent him the other
day inviting him to make a few sug
gestons for the present emergency
drew from his good-natured, but
very brief, response, that on the sub
ject Of Cuban stamps he was "all at
| sea-"
The shape of the stamps has cone
| in for some discussion also. The
conventional rectangle useu by the
leading nations may finally be adopted
but meanwhile the department is
casting about for something fresh
and new. The horizontal shape used
for the Columbian, and afterwards
| for the Omaha, series is not favored,
because, first it has lost all the charm
of novelty, and, second, because the
adoption of horizontal stamp for
internal-reyenue taxation has led to
| countless errors among the people.
resulting in delays. and sometimes in
serious losses. Two suggestions have
| come In which offer a chance for do
ing something out of the ordinary.
One is that the Cuban stamps be made
tall and narrow-the sugar-cane de-
sign, If adopted, making this appro-
! pirate, The other contemplates a
| circular colored stamp, printed upon
a square Of white. This idea seems
10 have been inspired by an issue OF
one Of the German prlncipalities, per-
! hans IS or 40 years ago.
On the whole subject the department
will be thankful for practical hints
from any source. Meanwhile, the ex-
igency will be tied over as in the case
of the internal-revenue stamps, by
| he use Of our current postage stamps,
sureharged with the proper Cuban de-
nominations. For example, our one
cent stamps will receive "one-cen-
tayo' imprint in high color: etc
Washington corr. New York Post
| Doodle ON THE HOpSON KISS