Evening star., 1953-04-12
| sai~ aesssS

Out OF character WIN the
subject material Of the aver
age stamp. Relatively few is
sues of the past would have
been suitable to carry such q
religious slogan" It would
have been irreverent on some
adhesives-the poultry centen-
nial sticker of l948 among the
number.
But artistic standards like
wise would be involved in COM
pulsory inclusion Of I'm God
We Trust" on every stamp.
The tendency toward simpli-
fed designs now prevailing.
it is contended, is a trend that
should be encouraged. sInscrip-
tions ought to be limited in
the interest of simplicity. Such
commemorative as the Byrd
Antarctic, 1888; Oregon Ter
ritory, 1896; Northwest Ter
ritory, 1887; Constitution Rati-
fication. 1898; Sesquicentennial
of WaShington's Inauguration.
1899; Pan American Union.
1910: Chinese Resistance, 1912:
Army, 1945: Pulitzer. 1947;
California Gold Discovery,
1913; Oregon Territory, 1948:
Volunteer Firemen. 1948: Get
tysburg Address; 1913; Ameri-
can Turner's, 1913; American
Bankers, 1850; Railroad En-
gineerS, 1850; American Chem
ical Society. 1851; American
Automobile Association, 1852,
and Civil Engineers, 1852, were
overloaded with detail the con-
fusion of which would have
been aggravated by further in
truSionS.
Obviously. however, TN God
We Trust" might have been
included in some stamp de-
signs without doing violence
to any other feature. The
Two Jima- Marine Corps and
the Four Chaplains commem-
oratives have been cited as
examples of this classification.
In 1914 the Telegraph Gen.
tennial stamp carried the
question What hath God
wrought?" in complete har-
mony with other aspects of
the composition.
The danger Of the present
drive for congressional action
to compel the use of In God
We Trust" on all postal paper
lies in its arbitrary and OBJ
ligatory character. Regular
postage adheSives are too small
for such a motto as an impera-
tive supplementary inscrip-
ton. Most double-size COM
memorativeS have been dou-
ble-size because of their COM
plexity-the heavy burden Of
detail which they have had to
bear.
A special stamp to empha-
size the contemporary Signifi-
canoe of TN God We Trust"
perhaps might be authorized
with good effect. The United
Nations Conference commence
rative Of 1945, quoting Presi-
dent Franklin D. Roosevelt'S
phrase, Toward United Ma
tions," suggests a legitimate
objective for the current cam
paign in its defensible religious
and patriotic aspects.
Readers are invited to send
their views on this matter to
the stamp editor of The Star.
Excerpts from their letters will
be published next Sunday.
Joseph L. Taylor, rs, we'll
known in Washington phila-
telic circles for many years,
died March %.
The Collectors Club Of WASH
ington will meet at 419 Seventh
street NV, Wednesday eve
ming at 8. Alexander Halper-
son Is to give an illustrated
talk on German booklet
panes. The public is invited.
The Associated Stamp Clubs
Of the Chesapeake area will
meet at BAT North Eutaw street,
Baltimore. next Sunday at 2:30
pm. Visitors welcome.
Mrs. T. L. Baltimore, 1892
Park place NV, writes: "The
proposed series of stamps hon
oring medical men is indeed
interesting and noteworthy.
However, it is inconceivable
how such a list could be COM
piled without including DR..
Charles r. Drew U905-195O),
world scientist, surgeon and
humanitarian, who. while
working for the American Red
Cross, established the first
blood bank in the world"
Members Of Boy Scout Troop
234, KenSington. Md, have Or
ganized their own stamp So
ciety and will meet every sec
ond week to study and trade