Omaha daily bee., 1902-04-13

course, has Glover Cleveland, who, while
living, is ineligible. Stanton, Scott, Hamil-
ton and Zachary Taylor were all portrayed
on postage stamps at one time or another,
but have had to give way to statesmen Of
more recent prominence. Nor, indeed, will
the changes end here, for it is expected
that as soon as the new Mckinley postal
card has served the usual period Of USE
fulness and been retired his portrait will
supplant that of either Sherman or Web
ster. So, too, there have been changes in
denominations. For the 80 and 90-cent
stamps Of some years since the 50-cent
and 81 denominations Of the present day
have been substituted and the 81 and IS
values are comparative newcomers.
Engraving the plates which are used in
the production of postage stamps is a deli
cate operation. Perhaps a dozen different
engravers, each an expert in his particular
line, contributes to a design for a stamp
that is not an inch square. One supplies
the vignette, a second cuts the delicate
scroll work, a third furnishes the artistic
lettering, and so on. The original plate
bearing a stamp design, although baked
until 1t is almost as hard as a diamond, is
never employed in the actual printing. 1t
Is much too precious for that, since, were
1t destroyed, it would in all probability be
impossible to engrave a new plate that
would be an exact duplicate in every deli
cate detail. Accordingly, the original plate
constitutes a steel die, with which impress
sions are made on soft steel, and these
latter, termed replicas, are used, after
hardening, for the actual printing.
Postage stamps are printed in sheets of
400 and all the printing is done in one
immense room, known as the "bee hive"
containing over 300 hand presses, each Of
which requires for it's manipulation the
services Of two operatives-one an expert
plate printer and the other his woman
assistant, whose duty 1t is to feed to the
press the blank sheets Of paper and remove
them after receiving impression. The ink
is applied by means of a hand roller, and,
inasmuch as the varied hues inevitably
tinge the hands and faces and clothing of
the workers, the immense press room pre-
sents a picturesque spectacle OF kaleido-
scopic color.
The Cumming Process.
Cumming the samples is an important
process and those persons who never
moisten a postage stamp without momen-
tary uneasiness regarding the possible pres
ence of germs or other evils would doubt
less be assured, could they realize the in
Vulnerable precautions surrounding the
preparation and application of the sticky
stuff most familiar to the American tongue.
The cumming is done by an electrical ma
chine, and each sheet Of stamps, after re-
ceiving the baptism Of mucilage, is car
ried by an endless chain. operating like a
miniature moving sidewalk, through a long
wooden tunnel, where the temperature is
1870 degrees Fahrenheit and from which the
sheets emerge with the mucilage perfectly
dry.
To meet the different conditions OF the
seasons Of the year the quality Of the gum
is changed quarterly. In winter soft gum
is used, while in summer a harder grade
is applied 10 the postage stamps. and IL is
highly important always to keep a sharp
watch on the mucilage TO insure a quality