The Coolidge examiner., 1935-12-20
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON

launched a nationwide campaign
of mercy which is still being carried on and
which, during the years. has been increasingly
effective in combating one of the most dread
diseases that ever afflicted mankind.
The man was Jacob A. Riis whose work as a
reporter took him into one of the worst sum dis
tricts in New York City. the terrible Five Points,
who became famous a social welfare worker
and whose autobiography. THE Making of an
American" is one of the classics of modern liter
ature The story which he wrote was published In
the Outlook magazine on July g. 1907, and ap-
peared under the title of The Christmas Stamp.
1t read as follows:
IN my Christmas mail, three years ago. there
came letter with story to tell that was queer
I'm this that it was all the outside of It, where
no postmaster, not even Uncle Sam himself, could
prevent everybody from reading and telling OF
it. And 1 guess everybody who saw it did just
that and was heartily welcome. For, in truth,
that was the intention, or part of 1t. And yet
there was but a single word to read, the word
Christmas-Jul, as they still call it where they
speak Santa Claus own tongue At least that
is the way 1t sounds to me when L think OF my
childhood under those northern skies. Ever since,
the holiday mail from Denmark has rehearsed to
me that story with the clear intent that l should
pass it on. And here it is now, at last. did not
mean to wait so long.
'It was in October, 1904, that Committee Of
Fifteen met in Copenhagen to devise ways of
putting in practice the idea of Christmas stamp,
advanced by postal official, Mr.. Holboell. do
not know how much of it was original with him.
There had been charity stamps before. They
are used in Australia, and in Holland whence
there came recently a wall begging people to
buy them for stamp collections. And know that
they were considered in Germany but for some
reason, believe, did not find favor I think l
can guess the reason. They didn't have the right
spokesman. 1t remained for Hans Christian
Andersen's countryman to enlist Santa Claus.
With him as their companion they don't have to
ask anybody to buy the stamps in Denmark.
Their only trouble is how to print enough The
people, the king, and the post otfice-think of
nothing else than how they can best help along
the cause.
This was the upshot Of the committees work
that two million stamps were to be printed, and
sold through the post offices at two Oere each
(about half a cent? during the Christmas season
to be exact, from December to January G.
the proceeds to be used in building a hOspitalSfor
tuberculous children, something like our Sea
Breeze in New York. The government stipu-
lated only that the stamps should be different in
size and shape from the ordinary postage stamps
so as to be easily distinguished from them. The
Christmas stamp is not good for postage; every
other way it is good for the man who buys it and
puts it on his letter; for the clerk who cancels it
with a glad thought for the little waits with
every whack; for the poStman who delivers the
letter with smile as broad and good as
Christmas itself The proof that they like it is this
That they refused to a man to take anything for
their work In the plan of the committee there
was provided small profit of ten oere on each
sheet of fifty stamps, for the local post offices
but it was refused. They all wanted to help.
The newspapers joined hands, that an
other part of the plan Posters telling of it were
put up everywhere. Denmark is small country
and thing gets quickly to be talked of from one
end of it to the other. There run on the
post Office as soon as the stamps were out. The
two million became four, then sig. Business
houses asked the privilege of retailing the
stamps; but that refused. They were told to
buy them at the post offices, and they did. Many
business houses let no letter or package pass out
in the holiday season without the Christmas
stamp. The executive committee of four that was
appointed to manage things had their hands full
giving out stamps They were not allowed to
give out much else. Labor, office rent furniture
everything outside of the actual printing of the
H,amps-was given to them.
"When it all over, it was shown that