The star-independent. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1904-1917, 1914-12-01
TROUBLE IN SCARCITY
OF WAR STAMPS


General in Washington, through the
State Attorney General s Office at the
capitol
Even copies of the provisions of the
act itself, given in briefest form, are
not generally available to the public,
because. a large enough supply has not
been received here from Washington
All the provisions of the stamp tax act
cannot be fully understood and en-
forced until more complete information
comes from the federal government au-
thorities, according to the local tax col
lectors.
Realizing the difficulty which private
shippers would encounter in trying to
get revenue stamps to carry on trade
to-day express companies laid in a sup
ply of some kinds of the stamps and
these were sold to patrons of the COM
pany. Express companies are not re,
quired to do this by law. Stamp sup
plies were laid in merely as an accom-
mediation.
Express Companies Give Aid
There would have been many disap-
pointed persons to-day 9 milk and
bread shipments are made out of Har-
risburg at all hours during the night,
and after midnight the new revenue
stamps had to be used. Private ship
pers, under the law, are supposed to
get the stamps from the revenue offices
which could not supply them. The ex-
press companies placed themselves in a
position to help shippers.
The American Express Company had
on hand supply sufficient TO care for
the business going out of the Harris
burg office to-day and an order for more
stamps for use tomorrow was for
warded to Washington. The Adams
Express Company supply came through
the superintendent of this district,
from Lancaster, according to the cash
ier of the local office this morning.
When asked if concerns other than
those that use the express made appli- |
cation to the Adams Express Company
for stamps an employe in the cashier s |
office said:
Several of the banks received sup
plies from this company this morning.
Of course, they are shippers, but TO
very small extent, and the stamps will |
be used for other purposes" "
The revenue Office has been one of
the busiest places in the city for the
last forty-eight hours. There are but
three men in charge, and they combined |
yesterday and last night to care for the |
needs of more than a thousand anxious |
tax payers, continuing their efforts to- |
uay to meet the requirements of hun |
dFeds of men and women. They did |
not leave the office until 2 o clock this |
morning and expect to work until after
midnight tonight. Additional electric /
lights have been put in for the strenu-
Gus workers.
Deputy Bricker Rushed
The whole routine of the revenue of
nee has been upset. The regular work.
such as collecting the ordinary tax on |
cigars and tobacco, can be done only at 4
hastily snatched intervals. The bulk
of the business to-day OF Deputy Col
leetor Bricker, who has gotten not a
moments rest, has been to deal out
quantities of stamps worth fractions of
cent, keeping a record of all sales, in
eluding the names of purchasers. He
has been giving out steady stream of
information on misunderstood points of
the stamp tax act, and not least of his
duties has been to make change for
purchases of all odd amounts imagin-
able The revenue Office has become
over night combination stamp empor-
lum, information bureau and bank
The revenue Office has been selling
what stamps it has in stock, but that
supply is limited. It has only proprie-
tary stamps, or stamps to be used on
perfumery and like articles, and only
some of the denominations of those. 1t
has been called upon constantly all day
for documentary stamps and has sent
all applicants to the Harrisburg Nation
al bank, which has gotten several thou
sand dollars worth of the stickers d-
rect from Lancaster. the distributing
point of this district. Other banks in
the city have barely enough of the doe
umentary stamps for use on their own
documents and have not put the stick
ers on sale to the public.
Telephone Company's Troubles
At the local postoffice little is known
about the revenue stamps and it is
thought unlikely there that the stamps
viii be placed on sale over the postof-
fee counters, although that plan was
followed during the Spanish
war, when a similar stamp tax was lev
led by law.
As for the tax on telephone messages,
s. B. Watts, local manager of the Bell
Company, this morning told how the
company had prepared to collect the
tax.
1.-The preparation for the collection
of the one cent tax on all messages of
) cents or over has been big job for
the telephone company" said Mr..
Watts. :" A special piece of mechanism
had to be devised and placed on many
coin box telephones. This meant chang
ing thoysends of coin box telephones in
the system, a tremendous job in itself.
The tax of one cent is to be inserted
as sffireeted by the operator in the quar- :
TER slot of the coin box by the person
who sends the message.
Especial preparations for billing
regular subscribers correctly for the
tax imposed on their messages of 10
cents and over also had to be made.
New collection routines had to be pre-
pared and new systems of accounting
worked out The telephone company has
advised all telephone users of the new
law and the methods put into effect
for collecting the tax. Notices giving
full directions have been placed on all
public telephones and all subscribers
have been advised by means of cir
cular enclosed with their monthly bills.
This circular explains the method of
making the charge for the tax and
gives digest of the law relating to
it. -
20 l. ]