Evening star., 1954-01-03
PhiI0teIic News
By james Waldo Eowcett

BY jones Woldo Fowcett
The storm over the Eisen-
hover administrators pro-
posal to produce postage
stamps by surface printing
continues to rage. Not for 20
years has there been so much
resentment manifested against
8 Government change Of pol
icy in the phila telic field.
Hundreds of collectors have
expressed their diSapproval in
terms of unqualified wrath.
The voices of a small minority
indicating appreciation have
been lost in the turmoil.
But two gestures toward
peace were offered during the
past week. Harry L. Lindquist,
president of the National Fed
Grafton Of Stamp Clubs, issued
q statement reading: THE
Post Office Department has
had a lot of pressure put upon
it to improve our stamps, and
Postmaster General Summer
field has been receptive to all
who have come forward with
what they believed to be con-
structive suggestions toward
that end. He is to be COM
mended for this and for the
open mind he has shown. We
hope, however. that he will ex-
plore the security angle OF this
subject with equal diligence.
lest he should find his at
tempted solution but a pitfal.
If greater beauty and charm
in stamps can be achieved
without greater risk Of coun-
terfeiting, that would indeed
be a forward step; but in truth
stamps which have been pro-
nounced the most beautiful in
the world have been those
which are engraved. There Is
nothing more charming to the
eve than a beautiful engrav-
ing, and stamp miniatures are
q true delight. What is needed
is more freedom Of choice to
the artist and engraver; then
We will have beautiful en-
graved stamps"
"Amateur" Interference Blamed.
The reference to freedom
of choice" of course, is a con-
demnation of amateur stamp
designing by individuals who
have no training, skill or ex-
perience for such work. 1t was
such horrors as the Kansas
City, Detroit, American Chem
ical Society, American Auto
mobile Association, Ohio and
American Bar Association
stickers-all inflicted upon
the Post Office Department by
high-pressure groups - that
made possible the projected
abandonment of steel engrav-
ing. Mr.. LindquiSt spoke for
many non-collectors as well
as for a majority of philatel-
lists when he stressed the mis-
chief created by outsiders"
Meanwhile, Assistant Post
master General Albert j. Rob-
ertson told The Star: Moth
ing final has been done. We
are just exploring the subject.
Nothing may come of it. We
are not committing ourselves.
All that has happened is that
we said we would look at a
multicolored model and we
will look at it. Up to now
nothing serious enough to be
discussed has occurred. The
statement we issued on De-
cember % simply explained
that we were looking into the
possibilities of stamps printed
by other processes than en-
craving. We had been asked
to do this, and we are doing
it. That is all there is to this
matter"
Airmail Stamps in Conflict.
In other quarters, however,
events definitely were being
pushed along to what seems
likely to be an irrevocable de-
nouement. The Eureka Spe-
cialty Printing Co., Scranton,
Pa. definitely has been COM
missioned to turn out an g.
cent airmail stamp showing
the Statue of Liberty in red,
white and blue Offset. This
sample" is to be matched
with an engraved one-color
stamp of the same design pro-
duced in the Bureau of En-
craving and Printing. The
two processes thus will be
brought into a modern equiv
alent of the medieval ordeal
by combat" Postmaster Gen.
eral Summerf1eld has the re-
Sponsibility for the decision
bound to be reached. If he
prefers the less beautiful and
less secure surface-printed
model to the more beautiful
and more secure engraved
model, the result, it now is
clear, is certain to be revolu-
tionary. A sudden and disas-
trous panic in the philatelic
market for all United States
stamps would be one potential
result.
Mrs. Hugh M. Clark, nee
Theresa Scheidemantel, for
many years co-editor of Scott's
Postage Stamp Catalogues and
STAMPS AND COINS.
FREE! Big United States CataIoE. Val.