Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1910-12-03
THE RED CROSS XMAS SEALS History of Little Sticker That Is Doing Much to
 Relieve Conditions. 25,OOO.O00 ARE ISSUED Big Sale of Stamps is Promised for the Coming Holiday Season
 Everywhere.
25,OOO.OOO ARE ISSUED

(By Philip P. Jacobs, assistant sec.
 retary, National Association for the
 Study and Prevention of Tubercu.
 losis).
 New York, Dec 2.-Who first thought of the Red Cross Christmas Seal? is a question many persons will ask as they place the pretty seal on the back of his holiday note this year. The stamp or seal has a very interesting history. It has gain ed popularity the world over as an emergency relief measure. In 1869 the first charity stamp made its appearance in Boston, and was des- ignated as the Boston Sanitary Fair Stamp. About the same time a sim liar stamp was issued in Brooklyn with the inscription, Brooklyn San- itary Fair Postage. This fair net ted $400,00O to the Soldiers Hospital fund. Similar stamps were issued in later years during the Civil war in New York, Springfield, Mass, and Stamford, onn. After the war, this method of raising funds was discon- tinued in this country for genera tion, although it found vogue in Port ugal, Switzerland, Australia, France Spain, Denmark, Norway, Russia, Sweden and other European coun- tries. At the present time there are several hundred different types of charity stamps in use in all parts of the world, while seals and stamps for advertising national and local gath erings are also used to a con- siderable extent.
 When First Used.
 Stamps were first used for ant tuberculosis work ill Norway and Sweden in 1904. At Copenhagen in the fall of 1904 a committee of fif- teen met to discuss plan whereby an idea for a Christmas Stamp ad- vanced by Mir Holboel, a postoffice official, might be put into practice.
 On the recommendation of this committee, it was decided to print 2,000,000 stamps and to sell them at 2 cents each (about one half a cent), the proceeds to go toward the erection of a Children's Seaside Tu- berculosis Hospital, similar to Sea Breeze Hospital at Coney Island. The commiss' on provided for pro- fit of about five cents on each sheet of fifty stamps for the local postof- fices, but so enthusiastic did the of- ficials become over their work, that they sold and handled all the stamps and refused to accept any reward. At the end of the season, which last ed only from December Sth to Janu- ary 9th, it was found that 4,113,000 stamps had been sold, or about two for every man, woman and child in Denmark.
 The comfortable sum of 6S,000 kroner (about $2O,OOO) was realized for the hospital. The receipts last year from these stamps in Denmark were five times as large.
 The Danish Stamp was really the inspiration for the Red Cross Stamp in America In July, 1907, Jacob Ris published in ''The Outlook" the story of the Danish Stamp and call ied upon the people in this country to adopt some such device to sup ! port the national antituberculosis crusade. Because of lack of funds and other pressing obligations, the National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis could not accept Mr. Riiss challenge, and no other national body felt charged with the responsibility of undertak- ing so new a venture.
 The seed soWn by Jacob Riis might have died, had not a little group of women in Delaware, headed by Miss Emily P. Bissell, seen the possibil- ities of Christmas Stamp. For the purpose of gaining support for a state Anti-tuberculosis campaign in Delaware, the scheme was launched, and within three weeks from Decem- Nber 7th to Christmas, nearly. 100000 stamps were sold in Delaware, Phil iadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvan' a, and nearly $3.OO0 was realized for the tuberculosis fight.
 Leaders CO-Operate.
 The leaders in this sale were closely allied with the Red Cross So- ciety of Deaware which had taken an active part in the movement. The American Red Cross also gave the Delaware experiment it's support, and the directors of that o"ganiza- tion decided to try the sale of Christ mas Tuberculosis Stamps on a na- tional basis. After some hesitation about the amount of stamps that would be needed, an order for 1,OOO;- 900 stamps of a design by Howard Pyle was given. So successful was