The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1912-12-09
Is Used in Waging War on Tuberculo-
sis to Wipe It Out and to
Aid Hospitals.
FIRST STARTED BY JACOB RMS
Received Letter From Norway With
Charity Stamp On Back and
Advocated Plan Here.

Red Cross Christmas seals have
been placed on sale in Bemidji
stores for the last time. These little
stickers, which have been a familiar
| sight on the back of Christmas let
tiers for several years, are not to be
used after 1912. The seals sell for
one cent each and the money derived
from the sale goes to fund used
for the stamping out of consumption
in the state. Seals may be obtained
| at Bankers, Meters and the City
drug stores, Peterson's and Aber--
crombie's, Henry Miller's grocery
store and the Pioneer shop.
Red Cross seals visualize the spirit
of Christmas but why they should be
bought may be answered most effect
lively in the words Of a twelve-year-
old boy in the Duluth schools, who
gave the following as his reason in
composition on this subject:
''The reason I put Red Cross seals
on my Christmas gifts is because
every seal I use counts one cent to-
ward stamping out tuberculosis in
the city and for the maintenance Of
hospitals for that purpose. The seals
are also used to raise funds to.teach
people the value of fresh air: An
other reason buy them is because
my father died of tuberculosis and l
buy them so that other little boys
and girls won't lose their father as
I did. Another reason is that If l
am ever threatened with tuberculo-
sis the doctors will have fund to try
to prevent it,
"How did the Red Cross Christmas
seal originator" is question that is
being asked by many during this
holiday season. Millions of these
stickers are being sold all over the
United States. To Jacob Riis, the
well-known social worker of New
York, and to Miss Emily P. Biasell,
the energetic secretary of the Della
ware Red Cross, jointly belong the
honor of originating our American
Red Cross Christmas seal.
In 1906 Mr.. Riis' interest was
aroused by the receipt of Christmas
tuberculosis stamp on letter from
Norway. He published an article
about this queer-looking stamp and
suggested some possible uses for it
in this country. Miss Bissell at once
saw an opportunity here and pre-
pared stamp, from the sale OF
which her society realized $4,000 for
tuberculosis work. So impressed was
she with this success that she indu-
ced the American Red Cross to take
up the sale in 1908 on a national
basis.
With very little organization and
with hardly any attempt at careful
advertising, the sale that year
brough in, nevertheless, over $780,
900 for NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. work in va
rious parts of the United States. In
1909, with more thorough organiza-
ton, the sale was increased to $3.50,
900 and in 1910 to nearly $4,000.
Last year the sale was increased to
over $33O,OO0 or 33,000,000 seals.
While the American Red Cross
seal dates back only four years,
"charity stamps" from which this
idea originally sprung, go back to
1852, when sanitary fair stamps"
were first used in Boston to secure
money for the care of soldiers
wounded during the civil war. Near
ly 100000 was raised in this way
during the years 1862 to 1865. After
the war this method of raising mon
ey was discontinued in this country
for generation, although it found
vogue in Portugal, Switzerland, AUS
tria, France, Spain, Denmark, Nor
way, Russia, Sweden and other Euro
pean countries. There are now
hundreds of different types of charity
stamps used in all parts of the world,
as many as forty being used in Aus
tria for children's hospitals alone.
Stamps or seals we're first used to
get money for the anti-tuberculosis
crusade in Norway and Sweden in
1904. It was from one of these
stamps that Jacob Riis and Miss Bis
sell received their first ideas for the
American Red Cross Christmas seal.
The stamps can be placed on the
backs Of packages and letters only.