Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1899-02-17
MILES OF STAMPS.
some Idea of the millions That were
Issued Last Year.

lHbOtU Aubt AcNA'
Uncle Sam printed just few postage
stamps during the year 1893. The num-
Der Of 2 cent sta issued during the
year was about 1850, 900, OOO Such. y
number obviously is beyond the grasp
Of the human mind, but perhaps the
matter may be made more clear by put
ting il otherwise.
An ordinary cent stamp Is exactly
one inch long. From this fact by a III
tie calculation it is easy to discover
that the number Of stamps of this de-
nomination issued in 1898 placed end
to end would extend distance consid-
srably exceeding SO, 600 miles In other
words, they would make continuous
strip of stamps, each one adorned with
the head of the Father of His Country,
stretching In belt more than once and
n half around the equator.
OF course, though the 2 cent stamps
are those principally used. there are
others Enough 1 cent stamps have
been issued during the year 1898 to
stretch from New York city. by way OF
Europe and Asia, to Bombay if similar
" arranged in one strip All other
stamps, as to production and sales, are
of minor importance, comparatively
speaking, hut it is interesting to know
that almost exactly one mile of 81
stamps was manufactured for the de-
mand of 1898. Of So stamps the pro-
duction was equivalent to little more
than half a furlong. or about one-tf-
teenth of q mile
Now, if all the postage stamps print
ed by the United States government In
1898 were placed one on top another as
neatly as might be without putting
them under pressure how high do you
suppose the pile of them would bel
There is no use guessing; you woHld
never get 1t nearly right unless you
went to work to calculate it for your
self. The 8. 500. 600, 600 stamps Of all
denominations printed during the cur
rent year-the statement, of course, Is
approximate-wo would tower to an eleva-
ton of 21 miles This is more than
three times the height of the highest
mountain in the world-Mount Everest,
in the Himalayas. If the same number
of stamps was piled up in the form OF
the ordinary sheets Of 100 each, 1t fol-
lows that the stack would be over
fifth Of mile high.
During the year 1898 the number OF
special delivery stamps sold was about
$3.50. 900. 1t is only reasonable to sup
pose that the average journey OF the
special delivery messenger is half a
mile. Indeed that is an absurd snder-
estimate. but let it 60 at that On this
assumption the total distance Travelled
for special delivery in 1898 was about
2.625. 900 miles. That is a very consid-
cradle space to traverse, as may be re-
allied when it is considered that a mes
senger boy, in order to accomplish that
total distance. would have to go about
100 times around the world. or five
times to the moon and back.
II appears from figures furnished by
the postofice department that the aver
age person in Massachusetts,, including
men, women and children, spends -. 80
on postage per annum. New York
comes second with an expenditure Of
t2.27. the District Of Columbia third,
with $216. Colorado is fourth. with
81 90. and Connecticut is fifth, with
81. 80. The states ranking lowest in this
regard are South Carolina, with 20
cents per capita; Mississippi with "a
cents; Alabama. with 35 GRnts; Arkan-
sas. with 81 cents. and North Carolina
with Al cents. Washington Star.