Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1909-07-22
A new issue
OF POSTAL CARDS

The postotfice department is prepar-
ing TO issue new postal card. Post
master General Hitchcock has called
in the expert chemists OF the depart
ment of agriculture and has instructed
them to work cut a formula that Will
give a much better paper than can be
made under the contract now in force.
He says the postal cards issued by
this government are inferior to the
product of almost every othet country
and that it is contemplated to make
improvements in the general style of
printing and arrangement of the type
and designs. 1t may be decided TO
change also the color of the ink and
the tint OF the paper.
The government is issuing 15,oOO,-
coo postal cards month. The present
four year contract expires on Decem-
Der 81 next, and in the meantime the
postmaster general is giving personal
attention to deyisng more rubstant-
ial and ornate card.
Is is probable that the new postcard
will be something Chaste and yet orn-
ate The postoffice department. is 60
ing to do all in is power to produce
card thaT the recipient will rejoice TO
welcome, card that it will gladden.
him to got, quite apart from the mere
writing on it. 1t may not be picture
postcard, but it is to be Just as attrac-
tive au article as the corps Of artists
in the bureau of engraving and print
ing, lahoring over time and courting
inspiration incessautly can evolve.
But recently the postal authorities
awoke to the alarming fact that Uncle
Sam : post cards were behind the 1909
fashions. That fact began to be MOTTO
ed when fanciied cards came in from
abroad, with inscriptions in suudry
foreign languages. 1t is probable that
the inscriptions OH the coming post
Cayd, owing to local prejudice, will be
put in plain English They will be
Uouched of course in the best of gram
mar and wording. Probably the legend
will he something like Address on
this side, - or something of similar
meaning. No one has been able to
think a. YET of any other inscription
half as suitable and fitting
OF course the authorities may decide
to reserve the left hand side OF the
face of the postcard for writing, and
that will oblige them to change the
printed legend slightly. Very likely
the designers, in their search for the
beautiful aud the good, will retain the
head OF President Mckinley on the
stamp.
But it may be that they will find
another we'll known personality to as
sume with perfectly corking enthusi-
asm the labor of travelling about on
his face Just as the duty of orna-
menting the cent has beeE shifted
from the shoulders of the Indian maid
en- to the bust of President Lincoln,
shift may be made in the patron of the
great medium Of open face oommuni-
cation as we'll,
The department expects 10 secure Il
better grade Of cardboard for the cards
without difficulty. The foreign cards,
it is said, in many cases outdo the
American in lightness and in strength
and are white besides. The item Of
weight is to be considered, when it IS
remembered that the postoiiice depart
ment handles some 5000, coo cards a
month That is a card month for
pretty nearly every inhabitant, and in
the aggregate the trifing reduction in
weight that might be effected would
mount up to many, many tons.
The authorities are not worried so
it is heard, by the rumor that the
scheme OF giving up half the face of
the card to writing has failed. Some
annoying persons had it that the pur
pose of the front reservation on the
card was to make room for brief re-
sumo OF the stuff on the rear, that the
rural postmaster might glance through
and get the sense of the communica
tion without troubling TO turn it over.