The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1899-10-25
MANY MILES OF STAMPS.
VAST NUMBERS WE'RE PRINTED
DURING 1898.
Enough Of the Two-Centers to Go Near
ly Twice Around the EARTH
Nearly Four Billions OF
Them Printed.

Uncle Sam printed just a few post
age stamps during the year 1893. The
number of 2-cent stamps issued during
the year was about 100000. 900. Such
a number, obviously, is beyond the
grasp of the human mind, but perhaps
the matter may be made more clear
by putting IL otherwise, says the
Washington Star.
An ordinary 2-cent stamp is exactly
one inch long. From this fact, by a
little calculation, IL is easy to discover
that the number OF stamps of this de-
nomination issued in 1898, placed end
to end, would extend distance con-
siderably exceeding $4,000 miles. In
other words they would make a con-
tinuous strip of stamps, each one
adorned with the head Of the father
of his country, stretching in a belt
more than once and a half around the
equator.
OF course, though the 2-cent stamps
are those principally used, there are
others. Enough 1-cent postage stamps
have been issued during the year 1893
to stretch from New York city, by way
OF Europe and Asia, TO Bombay, India,
If similarly arranged in one strip. All
other stamps, as to production and
sales, are of minor Importance, com
paratively speaking, but 1t is interest
ing to know that exactly one mile of
81 stamps was manufactured for the
demand of 1898. OF SIS stamps the
production was equivalent to little
more than half a furlong or about one
fifteenth of a mile.
Now, II all the postage stamps print
ed by the United States government In
1903 were placed one on top another
as nearly as might be without putting
them under pressure, how high do you
suppose the pile of them would be?
There is no use guessing; you would
never get 1t nearly right, unless you
went to work TO calculate ii for your
self.
The 3,5OO,00O0OO stamps of all de
nominations printed the current year
the statement. of course, Is approx
mate would tower 10 an elevation OF
twenty-one miles. This Is more than
three times the height of the highest
mountain in the world-Mount Ever
est, in the Himalayas. If the same
number of stamps was piled up in the
form of the ordinary sheets of 100
each it follows that the stack would
be over n fifth Of a mile high.
During the year 1898 the number of
special-delivery stamps sold was
about 5,250.000. 1t is only reasonable
TO suppose that the average journey Of
the special delivery messenger is half
a mile. Indeed, that Is an absurd I'M
derestimate; but let ii 90 at that On
this assumption the total distance
travelled for special delivery in 1898
was about 2,625,OO miles. That is "A
very considerable space to traverse, as
may be realized when ii Is considered
that a messenger boy, in order to ac-
complish that total distance, would
have to go about LOO times around
the world, or five times to the moon
and back.
1t appears from the figures furnish
cd by the postoffice department that
the average person in Massachusetts,,
including men, women and children,
spends $3.50 on postage per annum.
New York comes second, with an ex-
penditure OF 1927, and the district Of
Columbia third, with $2.16. Colorado
is fourth. with S1.93, and Connecticut
Is fifth, with $3.50. The states rank
ing lowest in this regard are South
Carolina, with % cents per capita;
Mississippi, with "a cents; Alabama,
with 35 cents; Arkansas. with 81
cents, and North Carolina, with al