The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1913-12-11
POSTAGE STAMPS

tor of the Bureau of Engraving and
Printing, for U. S. Press Association.
Washington, d. c.
The Bureau, which / have the honor
to direct, prints all of the credit Of the
United States government, which en-
braces checks, drafts, bonds, paper
money, revenue, customs, postage
stamps, and certificates of deposit for
the post Office department.
1t has been our constant endeavor
not only to safeguard our stamps and
circumvent their counterfeiting, but to
make them really artistic. When you
comprehend the small space allowed
for artistic establishment, you
sarily must marvel at the results we
obtain. The difficulty encountered in
designing a stamp l shall touch upon
later on, but let me say that We should
be pleased to receive suggestions from
men who devote so much time and so
much expense adding to collections,
and to whose energy We are no doubt
very much indebted for what we have
to be proud of in our American stamps.
In our great factory each day forty
million postage stamps are manufac-
tured, counted and put up in packages
ready for shipment to the 10000 post
offices throughout the United States.
This daily output would cover approx
mately eight acres of land If laid out
fiat, or make a chain Of stamps 703
miles long when laid end to end.
l do not believe enc could go far
wrong in asserting that the prosperity
of a country and the standard OF the
intelligence of its citizens may be
gagged by the consumption of its post
age stamps. AS an illustration of this
statement, an idea OF the business
growth of the United States may be
cleaned from the fact that the Bureau
of Engraving and Printing delivered
1O,937, 1926, 1887 perfect postage stamps
during the fiscal year, 1913, r~epsesent-
ing a face value Of $1S5, 504, 1852 %
The engraving division Is the corner
stone of the Bureau and the bulwork Of
our securities. In this division every
form of security I have mentioned
above have their origin, and the most
artistic and skilled engravers that the
world produces are employed here.
Steel engraving is the perfection OF
art as applied to securities, 1t differs
from painting and sculpturing, mas
much as the engraver who carves his
work on steel plates must deliberately
study the effect OF each infinitesimal
line. Free hand, with a diamond point
ed tool known as a graver, aided by
a powerful magnifying glass, he carves
away, conscious that n false cut or
chip of his tool or miscalculation OF
depth or width OF line will destroy the
artistic merit Of his creation, and
weeks or months of labor will have
been in vain. In no other form or
printing can the beautiful, soft and yet
strong effects in black and white be
obtained as in steel engraving. The
introduction of cheap mechanical pro-
cess work has superseded the creations
Of our master engraver commercially,
and now we find the art limited to the
engraving Of securities as applied In
the Bureau of Engraving and Print
ing.
The work in this division is classi-
fed and divided so that the ~engravers
become specially skilled in some par
ticular branch of the art. They are
classified as portrait, script, square
letter and ornamental engravers. Each
Is confined to his w specially, and
thus becomes unusually expert, the re-
suit being that not only better work Is
secured but a greater amount Is turn
ed out in a given time, and, what Is OF
greatest importance, increased securi.
ty is obtained. The individual excel
lencies and characteristic s Of a mum
Der OF men are impressed upon every
stamp issued. Therefore, it would be
as difficult for one engraver to make
a perfect reproduction of a govern
ment plate as it would be for the
reader to reproduce an absolute fac
simile Of his or her own signature, and
strange as it may seem, no n has
yet accomplished this feat.
To the credit Of the engravers and
employees of this division, It should
be stated that in the history Of the
Bureau none of its employees has ever
engaged in counterfeiting.
When it is determined to issue a
new stamp, the matter is discussed by
the officials having charge OF the sew.
eral branches OF the service involved,
and the conclusions reached are en-
bodied in a model made by a trained
designer, which Is submitted for he
criticism of the officers who discussed
the matter in the first place. The
model is then modined in accordance
with their criticisms. and u finally ap-
proved by the Postmaster Gsnerai.
The approved design Is pl1osd In