postage stamps. Subsequently, Venezuela was admitted to the Union in October 1879, her adhesion coming into force on December 22, 1879, on which day it was ratified both by Congress and the Executive. It appears, however, that the new postage stamps inscribed "VENEZUELA" and consisting of but 5 denominations, as those of 2 and 3 Bolívares were not printed, had not yet been placed in circulation on June II, 1880, for the new Postal Law enacted on that day decreed that prior to their being given out to the public the then current issue (ie., the unified type of postage and revenue stamps) should first be used up. Another change of the monetary system taken place in the meantime, whereby Centésimos and Venezolanos were replaced by Céntimos and Bolívares, made it necessary to have a new series of "EsCUELAS" stamps issued. They differ but little from the preceding issue, but do not bear the surcharge in diamond type. While no documentary evidence can be adduced to prove that they were allowed to do postal service, it is safe to assume that they actually were used for potsage, at least on inland correspondence.

The

Two kinds of new stamps were created by a Presidential decree of April 14, 1882. Those bearing the inscription "ESCUELAS" were to prepay postage on inland correspondence as well as to collect part of the internal revenue, while those inscribed "CORREOS DE VENEZUELA" had to be used exclusively for mail going abroad. next issue, decreed on November 28, 1892, by the then Dictator, General Joaquín Crespo, likewise consisted of two different kinds with the same purposes as stated above; merely the inscription on the revenue and inland postage stamps was changed from "ESCUELAS" (Schools) to "INSTRUCCION" (Education). It was March 28, 1895, that General Crespo, who meanwhile had assumed the presidency, reduced the "ESCUELAS" and "INSTRUCCION" Stamps to their original purpose abolishing definitively their postage character to take effect on July 1, 1895.

on

Since that time, every Postal Law stipulates that postage must exclusively be paid by means of postage stamps valid at the time being. Whenever new stamps are issued, it is explicitly pointed out that those with the inscription "ESCUELAS" or "INSTRUCCION" are to serve merely for collecting internal revenue, which up to

1915 provided in part the funds for gratuitious elementary education, while the stamps inscribed "CORREOS" are the only ones available for postage.

As will be seen from the above statements which, as mentioned before, are based wholly on official data, all Venezuelan stamps inscribed "ESCUELAS" or "INSTRUCCION" could, up to July 1, 1895, legitimately be used for postage, if not exclsuively, at least in addition to their purpose of revenue stamps. They are, therefore, fully entitled to be included in postage stamp collections and catalogues. On the other hand, the stamps issued thereafter should find a place among postage stamps only in so far as they bear the inscription or surcharge "CORREOS." Consequently, the "EsCUELAS" and "INSTRUCCION" stamps No. 136 to 143, 144 to 151, 156b, 157 to 165," and 237 to 244 listed in Scott's Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, by rights do not belong into the Catalogue; they should also be excluded from postage stamp collections.

It is true that, notwithstanding the Presidential decree of March 28, 1895, there exist "ESCUELAS" and "INSTRUCCION" stamps that have been used postally. The reason will in some cases be that in small out-of-the-way towns people in charge of the scanty Post Office duties either at first could not comprehend the new regulations, or they did not pay much attention to them. Furthermore, it has often happened, as has been admitted by the Postmaster General in his annual reports, that revenue stamps were mistaken for postage stamps because of their resemblance in color or design. And last but not least, in Venezuela, too, there were and still are obliging and mercenary Post Office clerks, and there always have been a good many others without any knowledge whatever of Post Office laws and regulations.

Undoubtedly quite a number of collectors will claim to be in possession of revenue stamps issued after 1895 which, in their opinion, were used for postage as they do not bear the typical pen cancellation but have been cancelled by a rubber or metal stamp. This sort of cancellation is no proof at all, however; for in 99 out of 100 cases it will turn out to be the date stamp of a revenue or customs office, if not the firm stamp of a bank or business house.

Caracas (Venezuela), July 13, 1923.

**Mostly overprinted Bavarians.

"Because it is now impossible to get enough German postage stamps on an envelope, the German Government has given up the use of stamps. Officials of the Post Office Department were notified today that the cost of printing the stamps also is greater than their face value, and that letters coming from Germany hereafter will bear only a cancellation indicating the necessary postage has been paid. A letter from Germany now at the lowest unit of rate costs 200,000 marks to deliver in this country."

It transpires also that, shortly before stamp-issuing was abandoned, Germany put forth the following varieties: "5 Tausend" marks on 40pf orange, numeral; "15 Tausend" on 40M green, harvesters; "30 Tausend" on 10M blue, harvesters; "75 Tausend" on 400M green, numeral-and a 100,000M scarlet in the numeral type!

C

OMMENT on the "Made in Germany" article which appeared in this department in the June Journal continues to be received from various sources. One of the more interesting of these comments comes from Dr. E. Kalckhoff, a reader in Germany, whose letter, bearing a postmark dated August 24, was prepaid by stamps to the total value of 10,000 marks, including a 100-mark stamp indicating that the communication moved part of the way by airpost.

It will be recalled that in the June Journal appeared a box showing Germany's stamp issues resulting from the World War and aftermath. That box, prepared early in May, or nearly five months ago, set down 175 varieties of German stamps which had appeared from 1916 to May, 1923.

Above is printed a new box-prepared for the Journal by our German friend, and including stamps issued up to approximately the first of August. Dr. Kalckhoff's summary sets down 265 varieties, as compared with the 175 in the June Journal, and it may be noted here that some weeks

have passed since his box was prepared and it is known that during the interim other German stamps have appeared, including 8,000M, 10,000M and 20,000M denominations.

Dr. Kalckhoff in his box groups the various issues differently than the way they were classified in the June Journal. And he includes the former Bavaria and Wurtemberg stamps overprinted Deutsches Reich, together with the latest adhesives for the municipal administrations in Wurtemberg. All these ought properly to be included among German-produced stamps, he points out, for the reason that they were issued by the "Reichpost," the post offices of Bavaria and Wurtemberg having merged with the "Reichpost" in April, 1920.

Commenting on whether all of these 265 varieties were necessary, Dr. Kalckhoff believes that nearly all were with the possible exceptions of the ones he classifies, in his box, as "occasional issues," "airpost" and "official."

"The flood of real postage stamps is the consequence of the ever-increased postal rates caused by the depreciation of the German money," he declares, and he offers the following table illustrative of the increases in single letter rates:

honored 'Germania' (woman in armor), gave way, after more than twenty years of service, to more modern devices selected by artists. But artists' taste is not always the people's taste; thus some of those designs were soon abandoned.

"In April, 1920, the post offices of Bavaria and Wurtemberg were merged in the 'Reichpost' and ceased to exist. But the State printing office ('Reichsdruckerei') was not able to supply at once the necessary quantities of German stamps; therefore the last Bavarian issues were overprinted, in Munich, Deutsches Reich. The same happened with the official stamps of Wurtemberg.

"Besides the increases of the postal rates, the depreciation of the money and the consequent raising of prices and wages forced the administration to other changes. The costly and slow process of intaglio printing gave way to the cheaper and quicker letter-press or offset printing; the sizes of the large stamps were reduced; and two-color printing was abandoned.

"Thus all of the many changes of the German stamps since 1918 were due to the necessities of the service. In fact, very few stamps of the long row were created with an eye to collectors-namely the values of 5, 15, 30, 80, 120 and 160 pfennigs of the numeral and laborer types with the new watermark 'network,' and the large sized 200, 300, 400 and 500 marks with the old watermark 'Rhombuses.' For these stamps there was no need. They were manufactured on the proposition of the official stamp-selling agency.

"Certainly the frequent changes have stimulated collecting, and a great many stamps were bought up and stored by speculators. But the gains from these sales did not induce the post office administration to create new stamps, for these continual changes are a burden on the 'Reichsdruckerei'-not compensated by the few millions of marks, which hardly count in a household that reckons with hundreds of billions.

"The reasons for the changes are given in the foregoing. As these reasons will be valid still for some time to come, we shall have to expect many other changes."

In connection with the German stamp situation it is interesting to read in the British press-subsequent to the writing of Dr. Kalckhoff's letter-that Germany is abandoning postage stamp issuing as a re

sult of the continued depreciation of the mark. A Berlin despatch to the London Daily Chronicle says:

"In a few weeks' time no more stamps of any kind are to be issued. So the postal authorities have decided. As the mark jumps up and down-mostly down-it is necessary to be forever printing and issuing new stamps. No sooner is a new stamp ready than it is useless.

"It is impossible any longer to keep abreast of this state of affairs, and so stamps are to be abolished, and the people are to return to the methods of seventyfive years ago. Letters will have to be handed in at the post office and paid for.

"This system has been in vogue some time with regard to parcels. The general public (not to mention stamp dealers and collectors) will protest very strongly, and doubts are expressed if the old system is possible under modern conditions."

The Sept. I increases in rates mentioned by Dr. Kalckhoff is alluded to in the Chronicle despatch (dated August 26) as follows:

"On September Ist new postal rates come into force. It is interesting to note that for the first time letters from Germany to England will cost about the same as letters from England to Germany. The new rate will be 225,000 marks, which is very nearly 21⁄2p.

"Even with the new 20,000-mark stamps, it will be necessary to stick twelve stamps on an envelope-eleven of 20,000 marks and one of 5,000."

By "the new 20,000-mark stamps," the Chronicle alludes to fresh German surcharges the old 30pf and 40pf and the 3M, 8M and 10M, long out of use, having been converted into 8,000-mark stamps by means of overprinting; and the 12M, 25M, 40M, 200M, 300M and 500M having been transformed into 20,000-mark stamps, also through overprinting.

Here are eleven newcomers not included in Dr. Kalckhoff's foregoing table, and the Chronicle states that "other surcharged issues will be available within' the next few days-certainly a windfall for philatelists."

Throughout Berlin on August 25 there were "long and patient queues at the post offices," the Chronicle despatch reads"Not even at the Reichsbank in the worst days of the mark famine, or at food shops when supplies were scarce,

have the queues been bigger. Everybody wanted some of the new stamps, which will soon be rarities, and stamp dealers bought up large quantities for the home and foreign market."

It remains to be seen whether the 8,000 and 20,000 mark stamps will ever be rarities. Meanwhile a 10,000-mark, violet, showing the Cologne Cathedral, has appeared.

Newspaper despatches from Germany recently have been foreshadowing a revision of the German currency system, much along the line of the changes in Russia. It is a safe conjecture that any such revision, if a stable one, would result in the restoration of stamp-issuing in Germany— if, indeed, it is being abandoned as the London newspaper states.

While on this subject of German stamp doings we will say we are loath to continue the controversy we started in the "Made in Germany" article in the June Journal and continued in the article headed “A Couple of Opinions” in the September Journal, as to who really started the World War. But a very fine letter comes in on the subject from Mr. K. E. Parker, a New Britain, Conn., reader. Mr. Parker received a medal for his war work on behalf of the United States and is an American. In pleading, in his letter, against placing the blame on William Hohenzollern, Mr. Parker says he is "merely trying to be fair and throw off the fanaticism in which I, in common with the rest, indulged during the war.' He urges:

"The war is over, we have made peace with Germany, and it is time we stopped picking on the poor fellows. They did enough in France and Belgium without being saddled with anything else. Your article sounded like a 4-minute speech (consuming 15 minutes), and was beautifully adorned with Booster and Babbitish terms."

Elsewhere in his letter Mr. Parker says that "The Kaiser can, at the most, be accused only of dumbness."

Conceding that the Kaiser was guilty of at least that, let's end the controversy right here.

New Filipino Issue Promised

Munoz Agricultural School of the island possession. The announcement reads:

"Fabian de la Rosa, one of the best known Filipino painters, has been asked

called "the mystery stamp," the mystery being as to where the supply has gone. "Tellin the Public"

Philippine stamps. A fund of 10,000 pesos has been authorized for preliminary expenses of the issue."

Prior to this announcement Mr. Hill sent to Leonard Wood, Governor - General, through the American Chamber of Commerce, a suggestion that the Philippines be given a new issue in line with the recently distributed U. S. series. Informing the Governor-General that "the postage stamp's greatest ability lies in sticking to one thing till it gets there," Mr. Hill urged a new issue as one means of publicity for the islands as part of the familiar "See America First" propaganda as illustrated by the views on some of the new U. S. stampsNiagara Falls, Statue of Liberty, Golden Gate, Arlington Amphitheatre, the Capitol at Washington, etc.

Mr. Hill's idea, as expressed to General Wood, was to have the lower values of any projected Philippine set representative of the native industries, with the higher denominations showing such scenes as Mt. Mayon, described as the most symmetrical volcanic cone in the world; Pagsanhan Falls, Baguio Zigzag, Pasig River, etc.

It may be stated that General Wood, in a reply to the American Chamber of Commerce, indorsed Mr. Hill's ideas and so communicated to the Secretary of Commerce and Communications.

It remains to be seen, however, what the Filipino artist, Fabian de la Rosa, presents in the way of designs. There was some talk, at the time of the printing of the newspaper item in July, that the series would contain largely portraits of eminent Filipinos. The current designs have been in use since 1906.

Mr. Hill states that he is informed by a correspondent in Fiji that the Fijian "new issue" will not contain the 22n ultramarine. By "new issue" it is assumed he means the stamps with the Multiple Crown and Script C. A. watermark, several values of which were chronicled by Mr. Luff in the recent March and May numbers of the Journal.

From India Mr. Hill has received word from philatelic friends that India's 12a chocolate (Scott's No. 99), issued in 1919, has become so scarce there that it is being

which was shown at the international philatelic gathering in London in May, and which was described in detail in the June Journal, is to be put on display, by order of the Postmaster General, in some of the American cities. A despatch from Washington says:

"Professional philatelists and amateur stamp collectors have been so much interested in the American stamp exhibit which recently captured a special prize at the international stamp exhibition in London that Postmaster General New has decided to put the exhibit on display in several large cities. It will go first to Indianapolis, thence to Chicago, Buffalo, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore. It will be shown for a few days also at Marion, Ohio.

"The exhibit is made up of various hued stamps, mostly of the newer series, many of which are not yet in general circulation."

Displaying the exhibit at Marion, Ohio, is in tribute to the late President Harding. It will be recalled that a few days before the exhibit left Washington for London it was shown to Mr. Harding by W. Irving Glover, Third Assistant Postmaster General, who said later that the President called it an exhibit worthy of a great country.

IN

The Harding Stamp

N another way the Government paid a tribute to Mr. Harding's memory-by issuing the 2 cent black, with his portrait, name, and date of birth and death, within a few weeks after his passing.

Three hundred million copies were printed, and they were first placed on sale at Marion, where 200,000 were disposed of to a mourning public on the initial day.

Perhaps no American stamp in history has received wider publicity in the daily press. In several cities the newspapers published illustrations, in ignorance of the ław. In other cities the local postal officials gave out a statement to the papers that this was the first black stamp the Government had ever issued. In one city, St. Paul, this statement appeared, on the authority of the local postal officials, whereupon a St. Paul collector gave the situa