The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-09
NOVEL 1907 STAMPS
INV Ek k/UE O1 31NA4 v
 - THEY WILL BEAR THE NAMES OF CITY AND STATES. Six Thousand Presidential Onices To Be Affeeted--The Change Expected To Discourage POatonice
 Robberlcs and also to
 Enable Uncle Sam
 to Keep Tab.

Co hecp HID.
 A number of reasons have been sugf gesttd to explain the fact that all the United States postage stamps for 1907 to be issued from the 6,000 Presiden- tial postoffices will bear each the name of the State and city In which the postofilce is situated. Twenty-six of the 5000 postofIlces will have these names engraved upon their stamps, while fin the ease of the other post offices the names will be printed across the face of the stamps after they have been engraved
 The chief reasan for the change is said to be the belief that 1t will help to do away with the big postoffice rob berries and make it much easier to trace the criminals. The postoffice robbery in Chicago few years ago is good example of the ease with which stolen postage stamps can De disposed of. for no trace of the perpe- trators was ever discovered, although nearly a hundred thousand dollars worth of stamps were stolen. and these mostly of small denominations.
 At one time the authorities thought they had found a clue to the robbers. A Chicago mall order house Q couple of years after the robbery received & $5,000 mail order in payment of which was rendered a package containing that amount of one and two~cent post age stamps. The order being so un- usual in character, the head of the firm informed the United States au- thorities and efforts were made to find out from whom the order had come but without avail. It was re- aarded as fairly certain that these stamps were a part of those taken from the Chicago postofifee, but there was no way of proving it,
 AI-E l.. .l-. TwE |. VaNa~ nsn the change is expected to serve, say stamp authorities Another is to en- able the postoffice department to de- termine the amount of business done by the different postoffices.
 A great deal of complaint has been made in the past on the ground that certain offices were doing q very much greater volume of business than they were credited with doing and postmas ters have had more or less trouble in showing that they needed increased facilities for handling their mails, as in the opinion of the Congressional committees having the matter in charge the receipts from the sale of stamps did not warrant the increase
 I@ Is no exaggeration to say that New York citys postoffice does miI- lions of dollars worth of business every year for which 1t gets absolutely no credit--that is, as far as the sale or stamps is concerned" said Joseph s Rich, an authority on stamps. Hun dreds of mail order houses each day receive from out of town points thous- ands 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 small Ter houses in part payment and soon afterward the stamps are doing duty on mail sent through the New York office, but for which that office gets not cent in revenue.
 Chicago suffers in the same way, as do most of the offices in the larger cities where an extensive mall order business is carried on.
 By this means the government will be able to find out just how much business is being done in certain min or offices where the postmaster's sal ary depends upon the amounteef stamps he sells, and there Is stiIl another use to which the new plan can be put
 There are many small places haF- ing postoffices to which they are not entitled by the amount of mall mat ter that passes through the office. For instance, take a small cluster of houses located not far from the acity Say they have a postmaster and the nun mum Der of letters passing through each day is small.
 Well along comes a postal tnspec- tor. looks the receipts and records over, and comes to the conclusion that the business done does not justify the maintenance of a postofttce. Then he tells the postmaster that there Is possibility of putting the settlement on the rural delivery list.
 The postmaster goes to one of the prominent residents and tells him of the likelihood of losing the postofflce.
 Now he says, you use couple of dollars worth of stamps each day in your business in the city. Suppose that instead of getting them there you purchase them of me. 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 d nearby office, so he consents.
 @"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 inspector comes around he finds that a material 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 walt and see about that rural delivery idea
 The postmaster goes from one res ident to another and induces each to buy from him all the stamps he uses. By this manoeuvre he assures the per- manence of the postofice at that par tlcular village, although there has not been the slightest increase of business to justify 1t.
 But some large postofHce will han dle the mail matter, and when the of, the large office asks for n greater allowance owing to the growing business, he is told that the apparent business done as told by hls sale of stamps does not justify the in- crease"
 This plan of engraving the names of the city of issue on postage stamps Is not entirely new, as 1t has been In Mexico for years, In Li- bcria also the names of five of the towns are engraved upon the stamps .-..