Los Angeles herald., 1908-12-28
RED CROSS WORK
HAS A HISTORY
IDEA SAID TO HAVE 0RlGl-
MATED IN AMERICA
PLAN COPIED BACK FROM EURO
PEAN iSATIoNs
Sales of Little EmbIems to Aid Fund
for Fight Against Tuberculosis
First Carried On in
Boston

There is an interesting history at
tached to the Christmas stamps which
are being sold by the Red Cross So
ciety for the benefit of the fund with
which the society is carrying on its
campaign against the white plague.
Although the recent use of these
charity stamps has been copied from
Europe, the idea originated in America
and is essentially a property of the
Red Cross society, for in Boston at the
fair of the sanitary commission held
during the civil war these stamps were
first sold, the proceeds going toward
the work of the commission among
wounded soldiers. The Red Cross So
ciety was itself an outcome of the SAN
itary commission, which sold the nfst
stamps.
1t was not until thirty years later
that the idea was used in Europe. In
1892 Portugal produced the first pri-
Yate stamps for the Red Cross. Some
of these stamps, called service stamps,
were permitted to be used for actual
postage.
Many other countries followed Por-
tugal in the use of charity stamps for
obtaining funds with which to fight
disease or famine and to advance the
Switzerland, Australia, Great Britain,
Uruguay, France, Spain, Denmark,
Norway, Sweden, Russia, Argentine,
Austria Finland, Germany, Italy,
Baden, Bavaria, iceland, the Neither
lands, Poland and Roumania have well
coined the charity stamp.
In some countries the stamps were
issued as postage, which would actual
ly carry mail, while at other times
they We're purely charity stamps, such
as the Red Cross is selling this Christ
mas In Germany and Austria there
have been issued a special kind of pri-
vate stamps, the Wohlfahrtsmarken
the sale of which is intended to sup
port associations working for the good
Of society.
So tremendously has the interest in
these stamps grown that at present
there are several hundred different
types of charity stamps i'll the diner
ent countries. There are, or nave
been, twenty different types of stamps
in Roumania, thirty in Italy, fifty in
Germany and more than three hundred
in Austria and its dependencies
One of the most attractive stamps
issued was that sold in Great Britain
for the Prince of Wales hospital fund.
A gold, blue and red stamp was issued
for the benefit of the ConSumptiveS'
home in New South Wales. In Dem
mark a Christmas stamp, bearing the
ri lures of the king and queen, was
printed in blue and black. The Nor
W gian stamp had a six-pointed star
on a plain ground and was printed in
| blue and white The Russian stamp
was violet and yellow. The Iceland1c
stamp, in gray and blue, showed an
eagle on a dark ground. A French
stamp for the benefit of a seamen
hospital was in red, white and blue,
-. H. q Of a n
| flag bearing the red cross. The Polish
stamp, in yellow and violet. showed a
dark silhouette of a city on yellow
background.
The Swedish National Anti-Tuber-
culosis association was the first to use
the stamps for fighting the white
! plague. Although the stamps, which
were printed by the association, were
not considered as postage, permission
was obtained from the government to
sell the stamps through the postoftices.
| The stamps were affixed to the ad-
dressed side of letters, parcels and post
cards, and were stamped according to
the exigency of the work at the post
office.
Norway and Denmark granted SINH
lar postoffice privileges for the sale OF
| the stamps. The association paid Tor
| all ezpenses connected with the stamps,
and also gave 10 per cent commission
on their sale 10 the poSpOulc6 ClSI MS
The sale was greatest during Christi
mas and New Years, but continued
throughout the year. There were
| 6, 675. 900 stamps sold in 1904. The sec
ond stamp issued by the Swedish Tu-
berculosis association bore the picture
of King Oscar II. The stamp was sold
two years later with gold over print TO
celebrate the golden wedding OF the
king and queen. In 1906 the st. George
and the dragon stamp was Issued by
the association, on which was pictured
st. George representing Science Staying
| the dragon Of Disease.
In America the Delaware branch OF
the National Red Cross society was the
first to adopt the idea of the stamps.
The Delaware branch issued Christmas
stamps last year with such success that
the national organization adopted the
plan for this year. The stamp now
being sold at many department stores
stationery stores, etc, and on the news
stands was designed by Howard Pyle,
and is most attractive. The stamps are
one cent each They will not carry
letter, but any letter will carry them;
'sBuy a stamp" says the society ana
l ~ lit tn MD 'CrI1n