Evening star., 1945-02-25
1tanPs
By James Waido Fs.uceff.


By James Waido Favcsff.
Constantet v. Batoon, senior AZ
sistant in the office Of the Presi-
dent Of the, Philippine Common
wealth, has defended the policies
and practices Of the Philippine Phi
latelic Agency in letter to the
Editor Of The Star, - follows:
"In the first place, as far rs W.
could ascertain, not single issue Of
Philippine stamps during the Amer
lean regime has been 'demonetized.'
Philippine stamps, like United
States stamps, do not become obso-
lete IN the regular manner as do
machinery and equipment. Put :
3-cent Victory issue Of 1919 on .
letter and I am sure 1t viii take
the letter just Is promptly - will
the latest Scent issue. -
Secondly, it Is true that the war
put 4 temporary stop to the legiti-
mate use Of Philippine stamps, but
did it stop their philatelic use? Did
collectors stop collecting the stamps
Of Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark
and other occupied countries, or
did they throw away the stamps
Of these countries from their col
lections because such stamps could
not be legitimately used in those
countries? Was there any decision
declaring Philippine stamps UP to
the outbreak Of the war with Japan
void and worthless? Or, more i'm
portant philatelically, was there
any ruling by the philatelic powers
that be, such as Scott's Catalogue,
to this effect?
Thirdly, the Philippine Phila-
telic Agency has been set up solely
to serve customers who cannot con-
veniently order their stamps from
the Philippines If it sells to deal
ers, that is its business; but the
same or even better service Is given
to collectors, especially those who
personally come to the agency. 1t
does not sell stamps, at . premium
or discount, and 1t has never put
stamps on sale ahead OF the release
Of those stamps In the Philippine
post offices. What the buyers do
with the stamps they buy at the
agency is not the agency's business.
nor that of the Philippine COM
monWealth government, either. Does
the United States Philatelic Agency
ask the buyer what he intends to
do with any stamps that he buys
from 1t?
Il can't help wondering If Mr..
Fawcett's objection to these re-
prints as he enormously calls
them, might be due to some ac-
emulation Of these stamps which
would considerably decrease in
value with the appearance Of the
new stamps. If such be the case,
there need be no apprehension on
the part Of any collector, for these
stamps would be an entirely new
issue. The fact that they are going
to be overprinted with the word
Victory means that they will be
entirely different from any other
issue. For this same reason, the
stamps will not properly be called
reprints
The stamps to be overprinted
may date back to 1885, as far as
design Is concerned, but that does
not prove obsolescence. They would
still be stamps that were In use
in the Philippines up to the Pearl
Harbor sneak attack. Is Mr.. Fawcett
aware that 2-cent and 4-cent and
other denominations, dating back
to 1876, were accepted for postage
IN the Philippines, Is long Is peo-
pie kept putting them on lettersl
And many were still doing this ur
to the end Of 1e41. The new stamp.
are going to be overprinted with
the word Victory to distinguish
them from prewar stamps, OF
which, there is no doubt, many
must have been saved In the Philip
pines. -"
|. "As to the rarely used values
the denominations will be justified
by the use for which they were
intended. The Philippine postal
system does quite q stable parcel
post business, which will certainly
increase as soon as 4 near-to-nor-
NAL communication with the United
States has been established. The
SO value, which obviously must
be the one under criticism as II
has no equivalent value in United
States stamps, had been extensively
and conveniently used for gold ship.
ments.
Finally, why should there be q
kick about the price Of thess
stamps? The Philippine Philatelie
Agency is going to sell them at face
value, the same price that ona
would pay for them at any post
office In the Philippines. But the
agency Is not asking anybody to
buy the stamps, much less forca
them to. II Mr.. Fawcett does moi
want to put up the $l728 thak the
stamps will cost, he does not have
to worry. The Philippine Phila.
telic Agency will not ask him;
that's fact"
Mr.. Batoon's communication was
written from his home address
typed on four pieces Of plain letter
paper and did not disclose his Of
ficial connection with the Philip.
pine Commonwealth government.
It is rumored that the Allied Mil.
tary postage stamps prepared for
use in the liberated areas Of Italy
were not manufactured In the Bu-
reau Of Engraving and Printing q,
commonly supposed, but in the PLAN
Of . well-known New England print.
ing corporation. The War Depart.
ment, 1t Is said, does not wish the
matter discussed "for the duration. .
Readers approving the reprintinl
OF the Korean stamp are invitee
to write to the Stamp Editor Of tn,
Star; those opposed are asked Il
communicate with Robert I. Fellers
u L