The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-16
GROWTH OF GREAT
 POST CARD CRAZE In America Alene 2,000,000
 Are Mailed Daily EVERY NATION AFFECTED Originated In Europe, But Has Spread To Every Part of the World-Ef-
 forts to Suppress
 Unfit" Cards.
EVERY NATION AFFECTED
BY FREDERIC j. HAskIN.

and transport mail is about eight cents pound. It requires 120 post cards to weigh a pound As each card requires one cent postage, tine government receives S1.20 a pound for carrying the cards, a profit of SLIP a pound. On letter mail the government makes a profit of about 70 cents a pound while on books 1t loses four cents a pound and on news papers and magazines 1t loses seven cents a pound. The book and newspaper mall causes the deficit. The postcards are pulling the department out of the hole. No count of the souvenir cards mailed in the United States in one day has ever been made, but the total is estimated to be about two million a day, which means $2O GOO day for one-cent stamps added to the receipts of the postoffices Tech ncally, there is difference between postal cards and post cards. The former are the cards prepared by the government with the stamp engraved on the card The post cards are the cards prepared by private persons, and to which an ordi- nary stamp must be affixed. While the post card Is of much later origin, it has become a fad and has driven the postal almost into oblivion.
 The dead letter office al Washington receives every day 10000 post cards which
  cause of imperfect address, or because de- livery has been made impossible for some other reason. In addition to these dead post cards, the same office daily receives 10000 to 15,00O "unmailable' post cards. So it is that every day 600O0 post cards are gone over in the postoffice depart ment. declared dead and dumped into the maw of a blazing furnace.
 The souvenir most pard fad is 10 most far reaching and all prevailing fad that the world has known It affects every spot on the glabe and it is the fad of rich and poor alike. It is one of the few twentieth century time savers that did not originate in America. The souvenir feature was undoubtedly the cause of the first popularity of the pie ture post card in Europe. But after awhile people began to discover in the picture post card a great saver of time, labor and trouble. The vexing question Of occasional correspondence was solved. On post card half dozen words Is enough. If a message of like import should be couched in such abrupt English in letter it would be an affront. But q post card is different, and everybody likes to get post card. and everybody un- derstands.
 Uncle Sani's postoffiee is not the only concern that is making good monay out of the fad The post card business has reached the dignity of an industry. A few years ago the travellers returning from Europe would look upon the little sidewalk stands where post cards were sold in New York and tell tale of the beautiful post card shops of Paris where they sold nothing but post cards Now the United States has caught step. New York has it's post card shops and all the summer resorts last season sup ported such establishments. Washington has seven shops which devote them selves exclusively to post cards. One of these sells an average of S90 worth each day. The post card concession at Mount Vernon, the home and tomb of Wash ngton. is worth something, for the daily average post card sales this past sunl mer was S00
 One Washington post card dealer, who has two large shops and who makes business of catering to the tastes of col leetors. has more than 1T.00O different varieties in stock. He can supply souvenir cards from almost any city on the globe, and will then give you several thousand fancy" cards to select from. There are several hundred different views of the Capitol and more than 30 of the White House. New York multiples views of her sky line and gives a total of nearly a thousand varieties from which to se leet. Thus with all of the greater cities and so on down to the finest villages in the country. No place is so small or so remote that 1t cannot have its own souvenir post cards for the chance visitor to mail away or to keep for his own collection.
 The uniqultous camera is responsible for the spread of the post card fad into tho fastness of the bacllwoods The sale of the photo post card in blank is enor- nous. These are cut to the required size, and have the necessary printing on the face to insure theid admission to the mail at the one-cent rate. The other side Is sensitized and ready to receive any pho tograph. The local photographer in ev- cry village has a stock of pictures of the churches. the court house, the local soldiers monument and such things He sells them at hIs gallery" and leaves Il supply on sale at the drug store or postoffice.
 Maybe the town boasts boy or girl who is a camera flend. What town does not? Then there is sure to he a post card review of all the fine bits of scenery in the neighborhood, of mountain brooks and ruminating herds and the harvest home. If there is historic le- send attaching to some old home, then that old house is as sure to get on 9 post card as post cards are sure to be sent through the mails. There is no es- caping the fad.
 Two 1S-year-old boys. armed with cameras went about the streets of a southwestern town. When they spied q baby playing n a yard they would get snapshot The picture, one of them. would be pritned on post card The boys would again seek the house. ring the bell. inquire for the mother of the baby. What mother could resist buying few of the cards for 10 cents apiece? AS the imprinted cards may be bought for Sl .Sj A. gross, and as films are not expensive the two boy camera fiends made their fun quite profitable.