The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-09-01
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
 4HE picture or souvenir postal card k0 Is probably doing more to make
 the world known to the un- travelled than all tho geographies and gazetteers. There is scarcely village anywhere in the domain Of the postal union that has not had its picture taken for postal card impressing in black or white or in colors and thus its humble fame has been carried over seas and in- troduced to the four corners of the union All the aliens and prodigal sons cannot return for the old home week celebra- tions but thanks to the man who in- vented the picture postal card, they may be reminded of the old home scenes at an expenditure of few cents.
 A manufa curing firm in Newark re- ports that in one week 1900 picture post als were left at the establishment for the employees. These cards were passed from bench to bench to be admired. and the practice interfered so much with the work to be done that the firm notified it's em- ployes that no more of their mail could be received on the premises. An insur ance company, a shoe shop and corset
  rule.
 The sale of 1 cent stamps to put on these picture cards had become enormous. So oongested have the mails become with them that the carriers in many cities are days behind in their deliveries. The vaca- ton postoffices are swamped. Thousands of cards never reach their destination. It is not to be supposed that they are ab- stracted from the malls, for nothing could be cheaper than specimens of the new art. We suspect that the overburdened and distraught sorters in the railway postoflce cars sometimes lose a bundle of cards in sheer desperation by design. Flesh and blood cannot withstand the pictorial de- luge. It is wonderful that the faithful servants who have to face the ever mounting combers of two-for-fiye souve- mfrs retain their sanity
 In cities of the first class the postonioe clerks handle thousands of the cards every day. The transportation and de- livery of them mas become an embar- rassing question. It would not be sur prising if Congress were asked to increase service made ''groggy" by the extra work which the habit causes. We should
 
 ahead of the game by the sale ot l cent stamps to carry the cards. In a day when 1t has a deficit to report 1t cannot afford to discourage such a de- velopment of popular art. There are so many new varieties of picture cards de- signed every day that if the fashion con tinues to advance by leaps and bounds Il may not be long before the postoffice de- partment will be self supporting in spite of the immense sums paid to the railroads for transportation.
 Every cross roads store now has case l full of picture postals; they are part ot | the equipment of every summer hotel; or the trains they sell in sets; in the larger | cities they are the sole stock of some oi | the stores; the street peddler makes s | living out of them; they are the continu | ous chain between the vacatonists anC l the stay at homes: albums are filed witl l them by the artistic as well as by th' | sentimental; they flood the land with { 1 mighty tide of color: the works of thu 1 old masters, the coneeits of comic artists | the solicitations of the advertising tribe | everything pictorial that may hit thu | popular taste or fill long felt want Ii | now exploited by the cheap and con l venient postol card, which at the sam