|
At first such stamps were designated by collectors as"charity" stamps. But the uses to which they were putsoon made the word "charity" a charitable descriptionindeed of their purpose. Before long these stamps wereissued to raise funds for the Red Cross, invalided soldiers,poor children, war orphans, restoration of cathedrals, thebuilding of national monuments and lighthouses and even
to help eradicate a grasshopper plague. There is no endto the purposes that can be, and have been, dreamed upto issue postage stamps with the idea of raising funds for some "worthy" project. The list of countries that haveengaged in this practice is without end and the ideapersists in ever wider circles. Even our own nation isnot completely with clean hands. In 1930 we indulgedthe operators of the airship Graf Zeppelin by issuing aset of three stamps in denominations of 65$, $1.30, and$2.60 and turned over the Zeppelin Co. most of themoney from those that were used to mail letter aboardthe airship. |
|||
|
