W

HAT'S the use trying to help the world by precept and example when it does not wish to be helped and refuses to heed your advice? You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink. You can tell stamp collectors that certain stamps are trash, not worthy to be collected and, therefore, omitted from the catalogue, but that seems to make them the more eager to get the stuff. The task of the reformer is thankless and his way is hard.

Years ago the Society for the Suppression of Speculative Stamps was organized with the commendable idea of calling the attention of collectors and dealers to speculative and unnecessary stamps and advising that such issues should not be bought. The intention was admirable but it ended in direful failure. Collectors opposed the idea and rushed to buy the stamps. Those who did not buy then have since had to pay higher prices and blame the S. S. S. S. The intention of the Society was to save collectors from wasting their money on worthless things but it could not save them from themselves.

History repeats itself. In the past two or three years some of the leading dealers and makers of catalogues have tried to help collectors by refusing to list or to handle issues which were not needed in the postal service, were evidently made and marketed for the benefit of officials and favored speculators, and were intended solely to extract money from the gullible public. The dealers who took this position stood to lose money by refusing to handle trashy issues but they were willing to meet their losses for the good of collectors and the purifying of the business. And what has been the result? Apparently it has

made collectors more determined to have the very things they were advised to avoid. They said, in effect, Who are you to dictate what we shall or shall not collect? We want all the new things that are issued. So long as stamps are issued by established governments and are available for postage that is enough for us. If you will not list them in your catalogue, we will buy one that does. We must admit that there is something in their argument. The stamps may not be needed for the postal service and it may be very clear that they are intended to make money for someone, but so long as they can and do pay postage, they are postage stamps and that is what people are collecting.

We have about decided to throw up our hands, yield to the demands of the majority, and give place in our catalogue to all stamps that will pay postage, however unflattering may be our personal opinion of them. But, when we feel that it is necessary, we shall not hesitate to state that we regard them as worthless, unnecessary and to be avoided. Then, if collectors choose to buy the things, the fault will be their own. Possibly we may not recognize congress and exhibition overprints, control marks and things which do not alter the value or use of the stamps. And the fact that we list things in the catalogue does not imply that we will include them in our stock. There are many angles to this subject and we are not yet fully decided as to our course, but the one important question seems to be: Would the stamp pay postage in the country of its origin? If so, the logical conclusion is that it should have a place in a catalogue which assumes to be a guide to postal issues and not merely a list of what the publisher may have for sale.

T

HE peak in stamp-issuing apparently has been passed! The year 1920 comprised the record twelve months in philately's history. Four hundred fewer stamps were issued in 1921, and there was a drop of more than 500 varieties in 1922 as compared with 1921. It is too early yet, of course, to know what 1923's harvest will be, but the present indications are that the twelve months ending with December will witness a falling off as compared with 1922.

Published herewith is a comparative table showing stamps issued from 1919 to date. From the days of the World War up to and including 1920, the number of varieties issued increased year by year. The year 1920 apparently was the turning point, as indicated in the boxed capitulation.

The rabid philatelist may discover one or two points of interest by studying the table.

Consider, for a moment, the situation with regard to surcharges. In 1919, it will be noted, virtually two-thirds of all stamps issued were overprinted ones. In 1920, the surcharged stamps totalled less than two-thirds. In 1921 they dropped slightly more than one-half. In 1922 the percentage of overprinted adhesives was even smaller.

to

But now, thus far in 1923—that is, up to and including all stamps chronicled by Mr. John N. Luff in the October Journal -more than one-half of the stamps are overprinted ones. Probably this may be

attributed in large part to the unstable status of the mark in Germany and Danzig and of the currencies in one or two other countries in "New Europe."

At the rate at which high value stamps, some of them now being expressed in terms of millions of marks, have been appearing in Germany and Danzig, it will not be surprising if more than half of 1923's ultimate total will comprise surcharged stamps.

There has been an amazing number of commemorative issues thus far in 1923 and, with others forecast before January 1, the total is very likely to exceed 1920's total of 143 varieties. The 1923 commemoratives to date, 118 in number, include, it should be stated, some 60 varieties which appeared in Greece to mark the anniversary of disturbances in 1922.

In the column headed "Airpost" is indicated clearly the development of the "flying machine” as a mail-carrying instrument in recent years. The number of airpost adhesives doubled in 1920 as compared with the previous year, and again nearly doubled in 1921 as compared with 1920. In 1922 there was a gain of approximately 40 per cent over 1921's varieties. The airpost output has been comparatively meagre thus far this year, but a number of more varieties are foreshadowed in the coming two months.

It may surprise collectors to note that as many as 27 varieties of war tax stamps were issued in the year after the one in which the war terminated. Even in 1920,

2 varieties appeared. For many of these there was apparently no excuse except that certain governments had found such stamps a profitable source of revenue and so went on issuing them.

Probably there is no significance in the changes to be noted in the yearly totals of officials, charities, postage dues, special deliveries and newspaper stamps. These, except the charities, are issued as needed, without special causes for their appearance. Charities are haphazard affairs, sometimes issued at the whims of postal officials.

The steady decline of occupation stamps from 1919 through 1922 indicates approach toward normalcy in world affairs-gradual readjustment of political and military conditions subsequent to the World War. Occupation stamps have been issued in 1923 for (to name two instances) Castellorizo under Italy, and Memel under Lithuania. The Memel issues are largely responsible for the 1923 total under the heading "Occupation."

Nineteen-twenty was a year of plebiscites following various peace conferences in Europe, with a few "will of the people" situations existing in 1921. These situations having been adjusted, no plebiscite adhesives have appeared since the latter year.

In the table, it will be understood, there are instances where the same stamps are listed under various columns. For example, certain Cilician outputs of 1921 appear in four of the columns-under "Total Varieties,” under “Surcharges," under "Occupation" and under "Postage

Dues."

2c envelopes, and playing card and other

revenues.

It should be stated, in considering Uncle Sam's 1923 output, that the entire current series of regular stamps has been placed, in the comparative table, under 1922, as the series was started in that year. This same rule has been followed with regard to all the foreign stamps.

It is interesting to find that from 1840 to October, 1923, inclusive, more than 65,000 varieties of stamps have been issued and are chronicled in the 1924 edition of Scott's American Standard Catalogue, these including the envelope and revenue stamps of the United States. Of these approximately 65,000 different adhesives, nearly 2,200 have been issued by the United States. This is an average of nearly 775 stamps a year across the eightyfour years of stamp-issuing from 1840 to 1923 inclusive. For the United States alone the average has been a little more than 26 stamps a year across eighty-two stamp-issuing years from 1842 to 1923 inclusive.

Thus it will be observed that in three of the past five years Uncle Sam has exceeded this average; and that from 1919 to 1922 inclusive the world's totals have been from three to four times the average-with the number of stamps thus far chronicled this year about equalling the average.

OFFI

Airpost

FFICIAL advices have been received in Washington regarding the following airposts in various parts of the world: A route taking in Munich, Vienna and Budapest has been inaugurated, with German, Austrian and Hungarian officials attending the opening ceremonies.

Holland is setting aside 1,400,000 florins to finance establishment of air service between the Netherlands and other countries and to meet the losses expected from 1923 to 1926 inclusive.

Mexico's governmental officials have signed a contract providing for air service first between Vera Cruz and Progreso and next between Guadalajara and Mazatlan, to be carried on by the same private company which has been "flying" the mails between Cartagena and Bogota in Colombia during the two years past.