Evening star., 1948-03-14

4lAS 5SSOAlN 4CDAC Ol I1lC al 1llCu
Forces Philatelist, official organ of
the Pentagon Philatelic Society. con-
tains an eloquent plea for a COM
memorative series of stamps to
mark the 150th anniversary of the
establishment of the Federal Gov
ernment in the District of Columbia.
Subject material suggested includes
views OF important public buildings
in Washington. The series, as pro-
posed, should be released during
the year 1850. Readers endorsing
the project are invited to write to
j. H. Bower. secretary, Pentagon
Philatelic Society, 1920 Fort Stevens
drive NV.
Postmaster General Jesse M. Dom
aldson will take part in ceremony
at the Washington National Airport
at II o'clock tomorrow morning,
when the new international airmail
parcel post system is inaugurated.
Representatives of more than 20
other nations also will attend. The
public is invited.
The Wright plane. flown at Kitty
Hawk, N. c., December IT, 1908,
already has been pictured on a
United States postage stamp-the
&c International Civil Aeronautics
Conference stamp of 1923; but there
Is no reason why 1t should not be
represented again in the commem-
orative now projected for its build
ers-Orville and Wilbur Wright.
Strictly speaking, according to a
recent decision Of the Supreme
Court, the Scent Telegraph Gen.
tenary stamp, bearing the words
What hath God wrought" may be
unconstitutional. 1t might embar-
rass an atheist, and thus violate the
first amendment.
The Postal Bulletin for March II
contains the following statement
under the heading Secrecy of the
Mails: Sealed mail while in the
custody of the Post Office Depart
ment is accorded absolute secrecy.
No person in the postal service
Except those employed for that
purpose in dead letter branches)
is permitted to break or permit to
be broken the seal of any letter or
other matter"
The John Hancock Mutual Insur-
ance Co., Boston, is distributing
copies of a pamphlet on the Pres
idents of the United States which
serves to document the current pres
idential series of stamps. Send
name, address and clipping of this
notice to Paul Murray, Woodward
Building, Fifteenth and H streets
NV.
Elmer c. Pratt, writing in the
Camden Courier Post, says: "Of
the 88 F. D. Roosevelt memorial
stamps so far produced, the United
States issued four. Seventeen other
countries account for the other "a.
However, this Is not the end. Sew
eral other nations have indicated
that they also will bring out Roose-
velt memorials"
The North American Newspaper
Alliance correspondent at Heidel-
berg writes: New denominations
of the. current series of postage
stamps for use in Bizo1ia and Red
Germany went on sale recently and
were sold out in few hours. Nc
shortage is anticipated. however, as
I am officially informed the follow
ing quantities of the stamps will be
issued monthly: 10pfgs, 100000 ;
15pfgs, 100000; 30pfgs. 1,500, 900;
50pfgs, 100000; SIN, 100000; 30pfg
international postcards, 100000. All
these denominations, which are
similar in design to others previ-
ously issued, come from the State
Printing Office in Berlin, headed
by a German director responsible
to the magistrate of the city. Pro-
duction is controlled by the Allied
Control Authority and is not the
concern of the Reichpost, which
only sells the stamps and accepts
them"
New Zealand has released four
beautiful stamps for the centenary
of Otago Province. They are de-
scribed as: 1p, yellow green and
gray blue, arrival of the ships John
Wickhffe and Philip Laing in Port
Chalmers Harbor, 1848; Up, brown
and green, township of Cromwell; /;
3p, purple, First Church Of Dune
din 6p, carmine and blue black,
Otago University. James Berry de-
signed the series. The printing was
done by Bradbury, Wilkinson in
London.
How much do postage stamps
weigh? w. s. Penn, jr., writing in
Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News,
answered.: Ordinary presidential
series, So milligrams, or about 0e
grains; special delivery. 116 milli-
grams; famous American series,
about 40 milligrams."
Collectors of the stamps and
covers of Australia. especially those
interested in postmarks, are ad-
vised that the National Geographic
Magazine recently has brought out
a map of the continent down
under" which carries the name OF
every Australian community pos
sessing a post office.
One of the most important stamp
collections in the United States
soon may come into the market.
President Truman's balcony ha.
made the Scent Franklin D. Roose.
welt commemorative obsolete in the
sense that it shows the White House
as the White House no Longer
appears.
A new edition of the official Gov
ernment Catalogue of Coins, Tok.
ems and Medals is needed, but the
Government Printing Office indi,
STAMPS AND COINS.