The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-25
NOVEL STAMPS FOR 1907.
1HBYwrLL BEAR FRE MsafEHOy
CFTxBS AND SKATES.

0fTxBS AND STATES.
e~iUSrhsusand Presidential OsRces Asfsgtsa
-JIhs Change ffxpeeesd % Discourage
Post Onnce RobDerfes and Alse 60 I'm
sbie Uncle Sam % Keep Tsb Bsttes.
A number Of reasons have been sug-
gested 70 explain the fact that all the
United States postage stsmps Tor 1901
70 be issued from the 1000 Presidential
post cfiCes win bear each the name q
tho State and city In which the post once
10 situated. Twenty~six Of the 1000 post
Offices viii have these names engraved
upon their stamps, while In tho case Of
the other post Offices the names WIN be
printed across the face Of the stamps after
they have been engraved.
The chief reason for the change h said
TO be the belief that it VIII help to do away
with the big post once robberies and make
1t much easier to trace the criminals. The
post ONCE robbery in Chicago q few yeen
ago is a good example Of the ease with
which stolen postage stamps "a be dis
posed Of, for nc trace Of the perpetrators
was ever discovered, although stamps
worth nearly a hundred thousand dollars
were stolen, and these mostly Of mail
denominations.
At n time the authorities thought
they had found q clue to the robbers. A
Chicago mail order house Q couple OF years
after the robbery received q sS 900 mail
order In payment OF which was-tendered
a package containing that amount Of one
and two cent postage stamps. The order
being so unusual in character, the head
OF the Arm informed the United States
authorities and efforts were made to End
out from whom the order had come, but
without avail. 1t was regarded as fairly
certain that these stamps were a part Of
those taken from the Chicago Post Ofioe,
but there was no way of proving it.
But this is only one OF the purposes the
change is expected to serve, say stamp
authorities. Another is to enable the
Post ONCE Department to determine the
amount Of business done by the dif erent
post offices.
A great deal OF complaint has been made
in the past on the ground that certain
Offices were doing a very much greater
volume OF business than they we're credited
with doing and postmasters have had
more or less trouble in showing that they
needed increased facilities for handling
their mails, as in the opinion Of the Con-
gressional committees having the matter in
charge the receipts from the sale OF stamps
did not warrant the increase.
1t is no exaggeration to say that New
York city's Post Office does millions Of
dollars worth of cuisines every year for
which it gets absolutely 40 credit-that
is, as far as the sale of stamps Is concerned
said Joseph s. Rich. ar authority IN stamps.
Hundreds OF mail order houses each day
receive from out of town points thousands
OF dollars worth Of stamps, all Of which
are bought at interior post Offices.
These stamps remain right here in the
CITY and are transferred to smaller houses
in part payment, and 1901 afterward the
stamps are doing duty on mail sent through
the New York Office, but for which that
Office gets not a cent in revenue.
Chicago suffers in the same way, as do
most OF the Offices in the larger cities where
extensive mail order business is done.
BY this means the Government will be
able TO find out just bow much business
il being done in certain minor Offices where
the postmaster's salary depends upon the
amount of stamps he sells, and there is
still another Use to which the new plan can
be put.
There are many small places having
post Offices to which they are not entitled
by the amount of mail matter that passes
through the Office. For instance, take a
small cluster of houses located not far
from the city. Say they lave a post
master, and the number of letters passing
through each day is small.
We'll, along comes a postal inspector,
looks the receipts and records over, and
comes to the conclusion that the business
lone does not justify the maintenance of a
post Office. Then he tells the postmaster
that there is a possibility Of putting the
settlement on the rural delivery list.
The postmaster goes to one Of the promi-
nent residents n tells him of the likeli-
hood Of losing the post Office.
Now he says, you use a couple OF
dollars worth Of stamps each day in your
business in the city. Suppose that instead
Of getting them there o purchase them
Of me. l will get credit for the sale, and
the postal business here will appear to be
picking up
This is a reasonable proposition; The
resident doesn't care to be deprived Of the
convenience of a nearby office, so he falls
in with the plan.
The same proposition is made to two or
three other residents of the place. They
also agree.
The result is that the next time the in
spector comes around he finds that a ma
terial increase has taken place in the sale
Of stamps, and will then say to himself:
Well, this little place seems to be growing.
I'll just wait and see about that rural de-
livery idea
THE postmaster goes from one resident to
another and induces each to buy from him
all the stamps he uses. By this m~anouvre
ne assures the permanence Of the post
Office at that particular village, although
there has not been the slightest increase Of
business TO justify it..
But some large post Office will handle
the mail matter. and when the postmaster
OF the large Office asks for a greater allow
ance owing to the growing business, he Is
told that the apparent business done az
told by his sale Of stamps does not justify
the increase"
This plan Of engraving the names Of the
city Of issue on postage stamps Ia not en-
tirely new, as it has been followed in Mexi-
co for years. Ir Liberia also the names of