The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-03-26
WHY UNCLE SAM
VIOLATED HIS Law
Case Where Government Re-
fused to Accept Unused
Postage Stamps.
EMERGENCY OF WAR THE
CAUSE OF DECISION
Collectors Will Pay Neat Sum
for Specimens in First
Class Condition.
Special TO Tho rrlbrnc.

Special TO Tho Tribune.
WASHINGTON, D C. March 25.-The
only known instance of the reputation
OF its securities by the United States is
In the case OF postage stamps Issued
prior 10 1SG0. Stamps of the Issues of
lsi7 1851 ard 1857 are not receivable for
postal purposes. Neither will they be re-
deemed by the Government Persons who
paid money TO the Government for
stamps prior to 1861 cannot recover the
money nor obtain any service for the
stamps purchased
Worth Money in Market.
However. this position OF the Govern
ment. which probably could not be main
tained under the law, need occasion no
apprehension on the part of citizens OF
the United States Who hold unused
stamps Issued prior TO ISGl. The post
Office officials would decline 10 permit the
use OF a 5-cent stamp OF the issue OF
1871. but Il stamp dealer Will pay s. for
fine unused copy. with the original
gum. letter ranked with a scent
stamp of the Issue OF ISL would be re-
turned Ia the sender marked held for
postage" stamp dealer will pay SOJ
Tor fine unused copy OF this stamp He
l-cent stamp of 1851; $50 for the 4-cent
stamp, and 500 for the 30-cent stamp OF
the same Issue, all unused and with orig
inal gum. Without the gum the stamps
are worth slightly less These stamps
are mentioned merely as Illustrations; All
thc stamps issued prior To 1861 are very
valuable unused Notwithstanding that
the Government has repudiatsd them.
Wanted Them Redeemed.
Only a few days since the redemption
division of the Postonice department. in
| Washington. received from a postmaster
In the south portion or sheet OF the
Scent stamps OF the issue OF 1857, and a
portion OF u sheet of 2-cent Confederate
! stamps of the issue OF lS6g. This post
master requested that he be credited with
| the face value of the stamps returned;
| they had been on hand Tor many years.
| nobody would buy them for postage. and
| there appeared no good reason Tor keep
ing them on hand, 4 he Stamps were I'M
| mediateIy returned TO the postmaster
| with the observation that the United
| states stamps were not redeemable nor
! receivable for postage and that the Gov
/ ernment could not consider the Confed-
| crate stamps
In some manner 4 stamp collector in
| Washington learned OF the matter and
| offered To take tho stamps at their face
| value. This proposition was refused and
| the collector could not even learn the To-
| cation of the postmaster who had sent
| the stamps He would gladly have paid
| the postmaster who had no use for the
| stamps several times the face value OF
| the goods offered Presumably the
| Southern postmaster, finding the stamps
unavailable for postage and unrcdcem-
| able. has destroyed them He would. OF
| course. have been permitted to sell them
TO anybody for any price agreed upon.
Cause of Reputation.
While It Is true that the Government
| did rcpudlate It's own securities in the
| case of the stamps issued prior to 1861.
| and equally true that In the courts the
| ruling would not hold water the occas-
ion justified the act Of the department in
| 1861 in declaring the stamps issued prior
| to that date Unavailable for postage
With the outbreak of the war 1t became
| necessary. In order TO prevent the fraud
VIzV. les 1f
| age stamps in the hands OF Southern
poStmastoTS. TO declare the stamps OBJ
| solcte and uuredecmable This was done
! IN June. lSGl. IN the form OF an order by
| Postmaster-General Blair This was
| preliminary statement and was to the ef-
| feet that no postmaster In any OF the
| seeded States had authority TO sell
| stamps or collect postage and that mall
coming from such States would be re-
| sarded as unpaid matter
| In August. 1861. the department sent
| the following order to al! postmasters In
the United States. a new series of stamps
OF different design and color having been
hurricdly prepared
Offered to Exchange,
You Will Immediately give public
notice through the newspapers and other
wise that you arc prepared TO exchange
sLuTlps Of the new style Tor an eQuiVa-
lent amount of the old issue during
period OF six days from the date OF the
notice, and that the old stamps will not
the, esftcr be received in payment. OF
postage on letters sent from your Office
IT being impossible TO supply all offices
with the new stamps at once, you Will
deliver letters received from Kentucky.
Missouri. Illinois, Ohio. Maryland and
Pennsylvania prepaid by stamps OF the
old issue. until October l; those from
other loyal States east of the Rocky
mountains until October 10, and those
from the States of California and oregon
and tho Territories of New Mexico. Utah
and Washington until December J..
Conficted With Law.
During the later part OF the SOS q
good many of the 3-cent stamps OF the
1857 Issue appeared upon letter mail ana
were passed by postal clerks. rms LED
|, to am order by PoStmaster-Gencral Wan
amakcr to the effect that all stamps Is
sued prior TO 1851 wcre yalueless ana
cautIoning postmasters that all mail
bearing such stamps must be held for
On June 80 1851. Congress passed the
following act d2 statutes ~ The words
obligation or other security OF the United
States shall be held TO mean oil bonds,
certificates OF Indebtedness, National
(bank) currency, coupons, United states
treasury notes, fractional currency GER
tncates of deposit. bills. checks or drafts
for money drawn by or upon officers OF
tho United States, stamps and other rep
rescntativcs Of value OF whatever de-
nomination which have been or may be
issued under any act OF Congress.
People Approved Violation.
In the light OF this law. Mr.. Wanama-
ker's order was clearly Illegal and had
the force OF it been realized at that time
there would doubtless have been severe
criticism The order OF Postmaster-Gen-
era Blair was equally arbitrary and with
out authority OF law. ana mad ~ Geeu
made during a time OF peace would have
been regarded as revolutionary Under
the circumstances then existing the loyal
people approved II as necessary and
proper 1t is not probable that any per
son has suffered any considerable loss. al
practically every body knows that stamp
collectors will pay big prices Tor these
carly unused stampe,