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Rate Increases

HE following, also quoted from official text distributed from Washington, will account for recent and coming new-value adhesives in the five countries mentioned:

"The unit rates for mail matter in Germany, Austria, Italy, Portugal and Greece recently have been increased on a currency basis to the approximate amounts specified in the convention of the Universal Postal Union. These rates vary from a 150 per cent to a 300 per cent increase over the previous charges." Speaking of "Fair" Stamps— ΤΗ

HE American Bureau of the Russian Agricultural Exposition, in New York, is responsible for the following, of interest to collectors:

"The Russian Government has been asked to issue stamps to commemorate the forthcoming fair and it is quite possible that these will make their first appearance at the opening of the great fair August 15th and be sold up to and including the last month of the fair, or until the end of October, 1923.

"The Berlin headquarters of the Russian Agricultural Fair has already begun the issuance of stamps for publicity and advertising purposes. These stamps are similar to our Red Cross and Tuberlosis campaign stamps and most artistic in design. They are being affixed to all mail sent out and are eagerly being sought after by stamp collectors."

The latter part of the final sentence is important if true. For the Russian Agricultural Exposition the foregoing paragraphs are good pubilcity if any journals outside of the philatelic press can be induced to give the text any space. The exposition is to be held at Moscow and is designed to establish "a trade contact with the 90,000,000 Russian farmers who want and must have modern agricultural implements." every Russian farmer buys a stamp the Soviet Government ought to be able to lure in a ruble or two.

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A Bolshevik Subsidy SPEAKING of the Soviet and philately, some interesting information appears in a recent issue of Stamp Col

"Soviet Russia has declared postage stamps a State monopoly, and a central office has been established in Moscow under the name 'Pomgol'-i. e., 'aid for the hungry' or 'amelioration of famine sufferers,' for whom special charity stamps have been issued. At the head of this undertaking is the Bolshevik member, F. Tschutschin.

"This central office carries on the State monopoly by confiscating, for the benefit of the starving, every stamp consignment that is sent from and to Russia. Every legal export of stamps is interdicted and is punished by severe penalties concentration camp or six months' imprisonment.

"The central office at Moscow has established its own sale agencies in Mannheim and in London, by which the Soviet stamps, old and new issues, are sold at exorbitant prices.

"The exchange of postage stamps is allowed but not more than one copy. or one block of four of each kind, and no higher value than 2,000 frs. (Yvert catalogue). The consignment must go through the central office, and is liable to heavy taxation. The whole system is extremely cumbersome.

"Under the circumstances real and honorable dealings in Russian postage stamps is quite impossible. All stamps that come from Russia have to be smuggled out; therefore the high prices that are demanded and paid for Soviet stamps are justified. For all that, these prices are lower than the prices that are demanded at the central office.

"It is questionable whether, and how much of, the results of this State monopoly go to the benefit of the starving. The Russian choas is widespread

One can say that Russia, as stamp maker, is grinding down philatelists. But, as in all things, so in philately: Soviet Russia is the land of boundless possibilities The central office at Moscow publishes its Own paper, The Moscow Philatelist (in Russian, also a few copies in German)."

ONDITIONS in Germany as flected by recent newspaper despatches carry us in spirit back to the days before Uncle Sam officially began issuing stamps. Postal rates have been repeatedly increased in the Teuton Republic, as witness the recent "high mark" denominations which have been issued of late. A despatch cabled by The Associated Press correspondent in Berlin arouses conjecture by philatelists as to whether "private carrier" stamps are being employed in Germany. news story reads in part:

The

"Dodging the payment of postage is one of the great pastimes in Germany, and the Federal postal authorities are hot on the trails of business firms and others who have inaugurated their own special mail delivery services. The first victim pounced upon by the Post Office Department sleuths was none other than Lord Mayor Boess of Berlin.

"It was found that Berlin's municipal administration had organized its own corps of letter carriers, in order to do away with the buying of postage stamps. Informal complaints that this violated the postal regulations failed to move the city officials, and the case was taken to court.

"With the Lord Mayor on one side and the Postmaster General on the other, this fight has resolved itself into a battle much the same as the contests between the feudal barons and the heads of minor States .

"Pending further action against the Berlin officials, the Postmaster General is directing his attention to a large number of commercial establishments which are suspected of carrying out the same practices. It is declared the Government is losing billions of marks annually through evasion of stamp windows by various concerns."

It is another instance of the downtrodden worm turning. The German postal authorities have been raising rates to prohibitive heights. The world's collectors may purchase these "high mark” values-Germany's stamp authorities expect it and probably will not be disappointed-but selling them to local business interests is apparently something else again.

Two Color Press

ACCORDING

Times, the Darmstadt (Germany) firm which supplies the German Government's printing office at Berlin with stamp-making presses has perfected “a new type of two-color rotary press for printing postage stamps. The Times reprints from the Darmstadt Tagblatt the following information:

The new machine prints, counts and perforates with precision 12,000 twocolored stamps in a minute, or 6,000,000 stamps every eight-hour day. The perforations are said to be so exact that the finest gauge cannot detect the slightest variation between one row of perforations and those of each new sheet. The adjustments are such that any misuse of the machine for falsifications is impossible.

The press is so constructed that the stamps can be printed in any one or two colors from rolls of gummed paper, which either can be rerolled or separated into sheets of 100 stamps, as desired. The paper is fed into a cleaning machine consisting of two brush rollers, thence over a stretching roller to the precision rollers. From them the paper goes to the printing rollers and the perforating mechanism, and finally to the rewinder or sheet cutter.

If this new machine is what the Times says the Tagblatt says it is—a marvel-it will probably be used by the German postal authorities-with twocolor stamps offered in return for philatelists' money.

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HE writer has noted some rather violent attacks upon Mr. Brisbane because of his criticism of stamp collecting. As relatively few collectors have taken notice of the criticism, suppose we try letting a few stamps answer for us.

We must first point out that there is no game or amusement from which the player has the right to expect his money back. Therefore, how much a child should be allowed to spend on the "movies" or stamps is peculiarly the province of the parents. In the case of an adult, the amount expended upon the theatre, stamps or any other amusement, will depend upon the inclination and purse of the individual. Therefore, what is an extravagance cannot be decided by argument.

The answerable part of Mr. Brisbane's criticism is that stamp collecting, like biting one's nails, is a bad habit, acquired in youth and which some continue after they are grown.

In other words: "Are adult stamp collectors playing paper soldiers when past the age?"

Now, without studying heraldry, I know that Washington, on our stamp of today, does not face "left," but "right," exactly as if he were an actual person in front of me.

With this in mind, we consider the five cent value of our 1902 issue (Catalogue No. 334).

We see the two sections of our country "acclaiming" (palms) Lincoln. Both allegorical figures face us "frankly" (unashamed). On the dexter, or stamp's right is the blond (Northland). On the inferior side is the brunette or South. We now consider Portugal type A48. Here we see the dexter allegorical figure acclaiming (palm); while the opposite figure facing dexter, is crowning (laurel). The personage is a navigator because of the navigator's globe on his dexter side. The globe of the World, on his inferior side,

Below are

is turned to present Africa. the dates “1394" and 1894." The catalogue says the series of stamps is in honor of Prince Henry. Pausing a moment to glance at the picture and date "1419" on a stamp of type A47 we can then read:

"Upon the five hundredth anniversary of the birth of Prince Henry, Africa acclaims and Portugal rightly crowns him. This because his discovery in 1914 introduced or joined them."

This stamp also calls our attention to the fact that the Portugese are a Roman Catholic, Christian people and the stamp alludes to the five wounds of the Saviour. As this stands out clearly when not interwoven with allusions to other events, you can see it better on the current stamp (type A64).

Well, are not the designs of stamps made for collectors? The Portugese flag says that every Portugese vessel, that sails the seas today, honors Prince Henry. It carries his navigator's globe on its flag.

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Our attention is now called to another Portugese stamp (type A51). Upon the "honorable" side we see the religious leader preaching to the creatures in the sea, inferior side. The catalogue says that the personage is St. Anthony of Padua.

What is the picture expected to convey? Religion? I think not. What attracts creatures in or out of the sea to a speaker? Eloquence. Now we can read. "St. Anthony was so eloquent that even the creatures in the sea came to listen." Follow my example and ask some Roman Catholic friend if the Portugese St. Anthony was not pre-eminent because of his eloquence. You will quickly learn how highly informative your stamps are.

Now any person must admit that these few stamps of Portugal have told us something. They are only representative of thousands of other stamps. Some are of greater interest, some less.