THE story of Hayti from the time of its discovery by Columbus in 1492, until the United States Marine Corps took over the task of restraining its rather temperamental population in 1915, has been one of turbulence and violent changes. The aboriginal population of Caribs quickly melted away under the cruelty of its Spanish conquerors only to be replaced by wholesale importations of Africans. French buccaneers establishing themselves on the island of Tortuga rapidly spread to the mainland and in 1697, the western portions of the country were ceded to France. Under French occupation, the immigration of negroes continued, with the resultant development of three classes in the population, white, black and mixed. In 1791, with the weakening of French authority during the Reign of Terror in Paris, the mutual bad feeling among these classes broke out into a most sanguine struggle which continued up to 1800. Under the really brilliant leadership of Toussaint l'Ouverture, the negroes established their supremacy. Toussaint proposed a form of constitutional government under which he was to be governor for life, but was treacherously seized by the French and deported to France where he died in prison. Meanwhile the struggle was continued by Dessalines with an unequalled barbarity which resulted in the utter extermination of the Whites. The French General Leclere evacuated the island in 1803. From then on Hayti was ruled by a numerous succession of Emperors and Presidents. In fact there were so many of them that the problem of "what to do with our ex-presidents" would have become a pressing one had it not been solved by the simple expedient of assasination. 1880, Hayti joined the Postal Union and from then on it is possible to follow its still turbulent history in its many stamp issues. In In 1915 a treaty was concluded with the U. S. making Hayti a virtual protectorate of this country. The marines are still there and it is said that when a revolution is reported it is the custom to send out a leatherneck sergeant and eight men to suppress it. The stamps of Hayti are as interesting as its history and they tell much of the story of the first negro republic. BRITISH GUIANA OUR BRANCH, 178 Fulton Street, New York City Offers the following at liberal reductions from Catalogue: Of Topical Interest By Kent B. Stiles RUSSIA is going into the stamp-selling royal heads the revolution was business officially on a broad scale, according to a copyright despatch from Walter Duranty by wireless from Moscow to the New York Times. The despatch reads: “One of the largest postage stamp deals on record has been concluded between the philatelic department of the Soviet Government and a New York business man, Maurice Sherman. The contract, ratified by the Council of Commissars, gives Mr. Sherman a monopoly of the sale in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America and France of all the stamps ever issued on Russian soil, amounting to upward of 20,000 different varieties. "The stamps include not only the various revolutionary or counter-revolutionary issues, but stamps of the former empire and some 5,000 varieties issued by the Zemstvos, or Provincial District Councils, prior to 1885, after the manner of the Wells Fargo and other express companies in the United States in the middle of the last century. "The contract, made for three years and renewable by mutual consent, further gives Mr. Sherman monopoly for the same countries of the sale of all bank notes issued in Russian territory and all catalogues of literature dealing with stamps published here, as well as of foreign philatelic catalogues, literature and accessories in Russia. "Mr. Sherman will leave Moscow for Paris and New York within a few days with several thousand samples of stamps and banknotes, which, taken jointly, give a picture of the history of the Russian dismemberment and recovered unity of Russia in the past six years. "There are stamps of Kamchatka's first revolutionary government, which was so short lived that they were issued for only three days; stamps of the Kerensky régime surcharged with the red star of the Soviets; stamps with the Czar's head half obliterated by the Soviet hammer and sickle in grim presage of the harvest of reap. soon to "The early Soviet issues went in for propaganda-a hand with a sword cutting the workers' chains or the Communist St. George killing the dragon of capitalism. Later came the famine series, one large oblong stamp showing the food pouring down the Volga, and another a skeleton putting a hand on a peasant's shoulder. In the series issued to commemorate this year's exhibition appear a Fordson tractor, harvesting machines and a birdseye view of the exhibition itself, with the pavilions of the chief component countries of the Russian federation. It is notable that there are no stamps bearing the heads of Lenin or other Soviet leaders, whereby hangs a tale. "A year or two ago Lenin learned that such an issue was being prepared, and immediately ordered the plates destroyed, saying angrily : "Do you think I am the Czar that J want my head on the stamps of the Russian republic?' "This led to the detection of several gangs of forgers flooding the European market with spurious Bolshevist stamps. The Soviet representative in Vienna a few months ago secured the conviction of eighteen persons concerned in the production and sale of a forged series bearing the heads of Lenin, Trotzky, Boudyonny. The money ranges in denominations from the single ruble issued in Petrograd in the winter of 1917 to the 10,000,000 bill current in Moscow in the early part of last year. "The series shows the fall of Russian currency to 'astronomic' figures; then its slow recovery as the zeros were cut off succeeding issues up to the present 'thousands,' representing the old thousand million, and finally the 10-ruble ethervonets, whose gold value has been maintained above sterling for the last six months. "Established primarily to aid destitute children, who receive a large proportion of the profits, the Soviet Philatelic Association has lately received thousands of let ters from stamp collectors abroad to promote relations with whom it has opened large offices and showrooms in the centre of Moscow. The sale and exchange of stamps and literature with private foreign collectors on a small scale are not exIcluded by the monopoly given Mr. Sherman." Will Mr. Sherman be received with open arms when he arrives in America? The Times despatch mentions 20,000 "different varieties." It is certain that not all of these have been officially recognized by philately. When it is considered that the 1924 edition of Scott's American Standard Catalogue lists only 972 major and minor varieties, including those for use at Russian offices abroad, it would appear that Mr. Sherman's stamp selling path is not going to be any too rosy. Some of the issues mentioned in the Moscow story have been banned as unauthorized adhesives, and others as so speculative in character as not to warrant chronicling not alone in Scott's catalogue but in some of the catalogues recognized as standard ones in countries in Europe. In a note following the Times story the following appears: "Maurice Sherman, representing American fur concern in Moscow, last February made a contract with the Foreign Trade Monopoly Bureau to buy $1,000,000 worth of furs in the open market and agreed to pay the bureau upwards of $750,000, which included export duties. He has never engaged in the stamp business, so far as could be learned last night.” an small has been the dispatch of letters since the Reds took control of the country that used specimens, meaning those that have been on letters really sent and received, will be comparatively rare and therefore valuable from the collector's standpoint, while he will regard very much askance those suspected by him to be made for him alone. "Whether or not the American who has bought this curious monopoly will make a lot of money out of it depends upon how the collectors decide to look at his wares. He has an enormously extensive stock, his varieties running far up into the thousands, but he will have some difficulty in proving that they deserve a place in the precious albums or on the still more precious cards." I Yankee News from Abroad T will be a surprise to American collectors to "learn" from British sources that an Armistice Day commemorative stamp was to be issued at Washington. The London Times says that a "significant" adhesive "is a special 5 cents denomination of the United States in a symbolical design representing a military transport bound for Europe passing the Statue of Liberty," supposed to have been issued at Washington on Nov. II. We understand that the British Government contemplates a commemorative reminiscent of the combined attack by airplane, tanks, submarines, bicycles and messenger boys on Berlin in 1914. The London Times will please copy for the information of British philatelists. British Colonials WE reprint the following from the Lon don Times regarding color changes and other colonial philatelic developments: "Many changes of colour in current British Colonial stamps, bringing them into line with the revised colour scheme, are announced for early issue. The Antigua 22d. stamp changes from blue to orange; the British Solomon Islands 3d. from purple on yellow to blue; the Brunei 3c. from green to red; the Malta Id. from orange and blue to blue-purple; the Montserrat 21⁄2d from blue to orange; and the Nigeria 3d. from purple on yellow to blue-purple. |