Evening star., 1933-12-31
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| in the Capital. 1t has only one meet
| ing a month, hut each gathering dur
! ing 1898 developed discussions of inter-
! est and Salue.
| Still ano,aer active organization is
| the washington Stamp Club of the
Air, broadcasting from Station VOL.
Under Mr.. KunZe's leadership it has
had wide cultural influence. Its series
of lectures opened with the discovery
period of American history and now
has reached the Revolutionary War
period. The society has maintained a
tirSt-day cover service and has spon-
sored number of worthwhile cachets.
Its programs have been adopted by
several other radio station groups.
The Paul Junior High School Stamp
Club, led by john Henshan and Charles
! Huseman and aided by Mr.: Kunze. held
ar exhibition in June. 1t has had reg
ular meetings, an average of 40 chill
dren attending At present its interest
centers in mounting precanceled stamps
on a large wall map Of the United
States. Miss Eula Thomas is the ad-
wiser
The John Quincy Adams School
Stamp Club, assisted by Mrs. Dorothy
Rus, Mr. KunZe and other friends, has
carried on with enthusiasm. Its exhi-
| bitiOn was a great success and 1t re-
| ceived a letter of greeting and con-
graduation from President Roosevelt.
The Takoma Park Playground Stamp
Club, organized in June, has prospered
| from the beginning. 1t, too, has had
the advantage Of Mr.. Kunzes guidance.
Unhappy features of the years his
| tory were: Mr.. Eidsness' resignation
from the Post Office Department and
| the refusal of Postmaster General Far
! ley and Third Assistant Postmaster
| General Eilenberger to grant the Ma
| tion-wide appeal Of the philatelic
brotherhood to appoint trained and
experienced student of stamps in his
place; the confusion in the philatelic
agency and at first-day sales at Chi
cago and elsewhere; certain 'misman-
| agement at the American Philatelic So
ciety convention; the publication of
inaccurate news reports in a section
of the philS teiic press; the loss of Col.
| McKelvy, N+r. Houston and others who
had done trojan service in behalf of
intelligent collecting, and financial and
economic difficulties attributable to the
depression.
The most notable plus values in the
chronicle Of the period have been:
President Roosevelt's continued interest
in stamps, the generous publicity &C
corded collecting by the newspapers of
the Nation and by the Associated Press,
the North American Newspaper Al
lance Ian e. and other & services j. the ne. pT1dHe
States and many beautiful issues
abroad, unabated enthusiasm and de-
votion on the part of Mr.. EidSnesS Mr..
Kunze. H. L. Lindquist. w o. Wylie,
Al Burns. Cecil Betron. N. S. Noble. r.
A. Barry, r. Mop. Cabeen, R. A. Kim
Bile, F. r. Bruins. G. O. Henhoeffer, Don
Grieve. o. B. Bond, Mrs. c. L. Man
ming and others who have written and
lectured about stamps, and, above all,
the loyalty of the philatelic community
to its hobby.
Joseph C. O'Mahoney, from March 4
until yesterday First Assistant POST
master General, will take the oath OF
office as Senator from Wyoming Tues.
day. He should be a good friend OF
American stamp collectors IN the upper Per
branch of the National Legislature. HIS
| experience in the Post Office Depart
ment has equipped him to be helpful IN
that respect.
Not all readers will be likely to re-
member the fact, but Mr.. OMahoney
once. about 25 years ago, was regular
! contributor to The Star. He wrote for
the Associated Sunday Magazines, a
syndicate in which The Sunday Star
was a member. His articles and stories
were signed u. c. ON 4Aoney," but re-
Gently he confessed that he also wrote
under half a dozen other names. only
nv best efforts" he explained, 'ap-
peared with my proper by line"
Mr.. O'Mahoney was in excellent
literary company in those days. His
! contemporaries as contributors included
! such eminent persons as Rudyard Kip
ling, Eden Phlllpotts. Arnold Bennett,
David Graham Phillips. Jacques Fu-
trelle, Brand Whitlock, Robert Hichens,
Wallace Irwin, Albert T. Atwood, Poult-
ney Bigelow, Hudson Maxim. Otis
Skinner, David Warf1eld, Enrico Caruso,
Carl Hovey, Roy Norton, Ralph Henry
! Barbour and Irwin S. Cobb. 1t was
golden age in American Journalism,
youth, was 'in the swim"
His themes we're various. For ex-
ample, on April %, 1907, he discussed
Trees Old and Curious" while his
subject on June 16 Of the same year
was The Fortunes of Kings"
Asked if he remembered his Star
Sunday magazine career, Mr.. O'Ma-
honey said, Indeed, do. I was work
ing my way through Columbia Univer-
sity at the time and I needed the
checks my pieces brought
After graduation the young journal
| ist migrated West and eventually be-
came city editor and editorial writer
on the Cheyenne State Leader. 1t was
from that post of duty that he came to
Washington as secretary of the late
Senator Kendrick. whose successor he
now is to be.
With specific reference to stamp col
lecting Mr.. O'Mahoney few weeks ago
! declared: Il rejoice in the existence of
| the philatelic public. The truth is that
most Of the services of the Post Office
Department are performed at a loss.
Ever since the department first existed
1t has been required to subSidize vari-
GUS activities The old stage coach was
in effect subsidized, the railroads were
| subsidized and now the merchant ma
rine is being subsidized through the
! department. The stamp collectors are
the only people of whom 1 have any
knowledge who subsidize the depart
ment. Their business is worth about
S1,000,000 year
Every stamp which is purchased for
collection purposes and not for postal
use represents so much clear profit for
the Government, and nobody can deny
that the Government needs that kind
OF help.
Aside from the practical consider
alton. however, l approve stamp COL
lecting because of its very definite edu-
cational value. Stamps illustrate his
tory and geography and make the an
nails Of the Nation known to the citi-
ZenS.
Il especially believe in inviting the
boys and girls Of the country to collect
and study stamps and to maintain
their interest ii them. Philately is a
constructive pastime, a form of helpful
saving and process of education that
is painless and congenial."
Meetings this week include:
Washington Stamp Club of the Air.
Station VOL, Tuesday evening at 7:45.
Mr.. Kunze will speak.
Collectors Club, 1900 R street, Tues
! day evening at g. A surprise program