Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-17
POSTAGE STAMPS IN WARTIME
Albania Has Issued an Independent Series ana
Philatelists Now Recognize That Country
Other Changes

zeouditou, zauditu and zeoditu. and when,
the new stamps reach America we shail
know the favorite Abyssnian spelhng, Ihls
royal lady took the throne last October az
Empress Of Ethiopia" after the downtau
OF Mohammedanism, which had sousht 70
retain as ruler the youthful LidJ Jeassu'
who succeeded his grandfather, Negus Meme
llk as Emperor upon Menelik's death IN
1918 The coronation Of the new Empress
an aunt Of Lidj Jeassu took place In Fen
ruary but the issue Of the Menellk stamps
bearing her name surcharged upon them
has only now become known in the phlIatenc
world The one-fourth, one-halt, TWO, TOUT
eight and sixteen guerche values are known
to have had the overprint stamped by hand'
and at least one denomination, the four
guerche, was later overstamped with press
and probably other values since have beeh'
The one-guerche denomination appears TO
have been neglected entirely.
"Moral Concession Stamps"
The British hatred for the Hun has been
shared by stamp collectors in King George
land almost since the beginning Of the war.
Dealing in enemy stamps" is forbidden by
law. and British dealers profess an an
tipathy for stamps of German Austrlah'
Bulgarian and Turkish origin. Yet the
American collector has been amused at
times to note the obviously lively interest
evinced by the British philatelic world IN
all stamps produced by the Central Powers
especially those labels issued for use IN oc-
cupied Entente territory.
The latest outburst of British indigna-
ton against Germany that is interesting
American collectors is the decision by Brit
ish military authorities in German East
Africa to surcharge Entente stamps Tor
use by the British in that territory tast
being lost TO Germany, with the letters 'G'
r.. A" Obviously, these letters stahd LOT
German East Africa" The ordinary pro-
cedure of the conquering forces would De
to think Of a surcharge signifying the
British occupancy. What the British In
vaders are doing this time is to surcharge
their own stamps of their colony known as
East Africa and Uganda" with letters
which, on the surface Of things, would IN
dicate in the worlds future history that the
Germans had conquered that British colony
and surcharged &c Il. A" upon its stamps
to mark such a victory.
As the reverse is true, British philately
is gnashng its teeth, criticizlng the British
officials administering the conquered por-
ton of German East Africa and inditing
eloquent sarcasm through the stamp
journals. One British philatelic pubica-
ton has gone 30 far as to protest to the
Government. Another says that the de-
cision to preserve the reprehensible epithet
German for this colony is an extraordinary
moral concession TO the Huns which Will
surprise the entire world" This paper sug-
gests that the letters &c. Z. A" are not
worthy of the device Light and Liberty"
which appeared on the first British East
Africa stamps, in 1890.
Meanwhile the rewly issued British oc-
cupation stamps for German East Africa,
the ones with the &c. f. A" overprint are
in seventeen denominations and form one
of the most interesting and novel of the
war sets
An Air-Post Stamp
II has remained for the italian Govern
ment b issue a special stamp for use on
mail carried by airplane post Letters
have been posted for transportation by such
routes in many countries, including the
United States, but heretofore the ordinary
stamps have been employed. In America
a special postmark has been usually put
upon such mail by way of providing can
collation. Of the stamps, but these oblitera-
tions have not given the stamps any added
phiatelic value such as would make them
desirable for collections.
In May the Italian Government created
an experimental aerial post between Turin
and Rome, with letters and postal cards
carried for the price of twenty-five centesimi
each, or approximately Ave American cents.
To prepay this postage, the Government
employed some remainders of its special
delivery twenty-five centesimi stamp put
forth in 1903 upon which TO overprint the
following surcharge: "Sperimento Posta
Aerea, Maggie 1917, Torino- Roma Roma
Torino."