The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-11
LAST OF HAWAIIAN STAMPS.
The BnIance of $4,000 Worth Goes
I'd In Smoke.

The Postal Department of the late Ee-
public of Hawaii and all that appertains
thereto. so far as the United States Gov
eminent is concerned officially is a closed
incident. The last vestige of unfinished
business was cleaned up Saturday. when
all the postage stamps on hand at the time
the United States Government assumed
cont. d of the Hawaiian Islands were de-
stroyed. The face value of the stamps
destroyed amounted TO SIS goo. and 1t is
said that even more than this amount in
cash had been offered for these stamps
by dealers in New York
When the Hawaiian Islands were official
ly annexed the Postoffice Department sent
man to Honolulu with instructions to
introduce the American postal system in
the islands. AT this time all postmasters
in the islands were instructed to invoice
all postage stamps on hand and submit
report 10 the postal officer. When the re-
cord had been made up stamps OF the Uni
ted States were sent TO the postmaster
and the latter were ordered to forward the
entire holdings of Hawaiian stamps to
the Postmaster General of the islands, who
turned them over to the Treasurer. who. in
turn forwarded them to the Postmaster
General at Washington.
They came in two large boxes and for
several months occupied storage room in
the Redemption Division. The stamps were
In sheets of fifty, 250 sheets in package.
the greater part of the invoice being yet
in the original package as sent TO Hon
olulu by the American Bank Note Com
pany, OF New York. January IA was the
date fixed when redemption would cease
Previous to this time Hawaiian stamps In
the hands of private persona would be re-
deemed By the Postoffice Department, cur
rent United States stamps being given in
their place
To George D. Scott. who has been chief
OF the redemption division for nearly thir-
ty years, and his assistants the burning OF
S5S coo worth OF stamps was only an Incl
dent. Burnings OF this sort are OF weekly
occurrence. To the uninitiated and more
particularly several stamp collectors who
witnessed the destruction. the affair took
on a melancholy aspect.
The furnace in which stamps are burned
was especially built for this purpose It |
is similar in exterior outlines to the ordi-
nary large sized furnace, having an upper |
and lower door The inside is bricked |
up and at the top a screen is provided |
that no unburned portions of stamps may |
escape through the fiue and thus out OF |
doors. The stamps to be burned are strip |
ped OF their wrappers and thrown helter- |
SHELTER into the upper opening. When the |
entire lot is ready for the bake the |
match is applied to the lower door. each |
door is locked with paddock and the |
flames do the rest.
Formerly It was the custom TO burn |
stamps slated for destruction in the Are
place in the Redemption Division: later
they were taken to the Bureau of Engrav-
ing and Printing and run through the |
along with the mutilated cur
rency but the constantly increasing
amount OF this work demanded better ia
cilities. and this furnace was built Six
or so ago. when the department
came to destroy the newspaper
periodical stamps, made unnecessary by
order OF the department. three whole
lays were required to burn the
stamps. the aggregate face value run
ming into millions of dollars. Fifteen
sutficed to dispose of the Hawaiian