The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1908-11-20
The Red Cross Christmas Stamp.

the Kings head and the word Jul
the same as our "Yule' on 1t. 1t was
not good for postage. only as stick
er" for Christmas letters, POSTCARDS
and packages. The proceeds from IL
were to go toward building a tuber-
culosis hospital for little children. 1t
succeeded beyond all expectation, four
million being sold at an oere, or half
accent apiece Denmark has continued
it since to maintain tuberculosis work,
and the sale in the native land OF
Hans Christian Anderson has doubled
each year.
America needs such a stamp, but
her post-office officials cannot issue
or handle it under the present postal
laws: and a special act of congress
would be necessary. Jacob Riis, HIM
self Dane wrote an eloquent arti-
Gle. published in the Outlook of July
6. 1907, urging government action In
the matter, but there were too many
difficulties in the way. 1t seemed
hopeless to try, but at this junction
the Red Cross. which exists for just
such emergencies. took 1t up.
The Red Cross Is great national
organization. with branches In each
state. formed to act in times of crisis
and TO render aid in war, pestilence
and famine tuberculosis, the great
white plague, is the most terrible
pestilence in the known world, claim
ing one death out of every seven. The
Red Cross has taken up tuberculosis
work, therefore, as part of its peace
activity The present time is one OF
crisis in the war against consumption.
Each state needs education and awak-
ening in the subject, and money for
the work The Red Cross, therefore,
with the approval of the postal author
tiles took up the Christmas stamp
last Christmas, and tried it in one
state.
This was the little state Of Della
ware-very small, very conservative,
not given to enthusasms, and having
only a few shacks in woodland
meadow near Wilmington as a tuber-
culosis hospital. The state as whole
was ignorant and uninterested on the
subject, yet the stamp, printed and
put on the market only eighteen days
before Christmas, amazed everyone by
its sensational record. Fifty thousand
had been printed to sell at one cent
apiece They went in week, and
! then the stamp got into Philadelphia,
where the Pennsylvania Red Cross
welcomed it and backed 1t, and the
Nortl American gave it splendid aid.
The Delaware schools sold 1t, the
| Women's clubs in Delaware took It
up, the newspapers gave columns to 1t,
I the department stores, banks, drug
i stores and hotels sold it. 1t was sold
I In the corridors of the Wilmington
federal building, by permission from
1 the government, though not the post
office itself The presses in the last
few days before Christmas ran night
and day to supply the demand. People
used tae stamps on packages and let
tiers, and business firms on their cor
respondence. Nearly four hundred
thousand were sold, and nearly three
thousand dollars cleared from this
small unobtrusive penny stamp.
With this money the Delaware Red
Cross first brought an educational
anti-tuberculosis exhibit to Delaware.
which was visited by twenty thousand
people in ten days. The clubs.
oranges, city boards teachers, clergy
men, labor unions, state officials, were
all specially invited on special DAYS.
and tae whole state was walked nm
A nurse was sent to the sanitarium.
and a free dispensary supplied with
milk and eggs, drugs, and visiting
nurse for the consumptive poor and
this las gone on all year. One thou
sand dollars has been set aside as a
nucleus toward building hospital
< Delaware Is now decidedly interested
in tuberculosis work, and all this
was done in eighteen days, by penny
! stamp.
] The American National Red Cross.
this year, has decided to issue the
/ Christmas Stamp in every state. A
beautiful stamp has been especially
designed by Howard Pyle. the famous
artist. 1t bears wreath of holly and
Merry Christmas and "Happv New
I Year 1t will be on sale at the Red
! Cross headquarters In each state. and
1t probably can also be obtained from
local dealers in almost every town
after the first of November. 1908 II
will be sold in sheets, like an ordinary
stamp, and also IL snail books. nine
for ten cents, ,wenty-four for twenty.
five cents, forty-eight for fifty cents
like the government stamps.
The Christmas stamp is not good
for postage. 1t will not carry any kind
of mail, but any kind of mail will carry
It. Each one who uses this holiday
stamp will help to stamp out The
white plague" 1t has been printed
tais time by the million to supnlv tho
demand, SO any quantity can be or.
dered, but cash must be sent with
each order, this rule having been fol.