Show HISTORY OF THE RED GROSS STAMP Little Stickers Originated Many Years Ago and Are Now Very Popular The Red Cross Christmas stamp doubtless the most prominent little fac lao factor factor tor in the holiday activities of or the United States today traces its ancestry back bade to Boston where stamps or stickers were first sold in this coun country countr country try tr to raise money for philanthropic purposes in 1862 The United States sanitary commission conducted a great fair or bazar and used the money for sick and wounded soldiers in the civil war Some resourceful person con conceived conceived elved the idea of selling stamps as one means of swelling the proceeds of or the bazar From Boston the Idea spread to many other cities In the east It was not long until the stamps were used for so many purposes that the public lost interest in them and an the idea was soon forgotten The Red Cross stamp had its origin in the fall of at 1907 when It was used to raise money for tor work This was suggested by Miss Emily P BIssell of Wilmington Del who got the idea i ca from an article In the Outlook written by Jacob Riis on the Christmas stamp of ot Denmark where the govern government government government ment issues the Christmas stamp the money being used for tuberculosis work It was tried by the Delaware state branch the sale being confined to Delaware and Philadelphia Last year the American Red Cross decided to na nationalize nationalize nationalize the Christmas stamp and Howard Pyle a prominent artist con contributed contrIbuted contributed the design State branches of the Red Cross became general agents of the little red and green stamps with their messages of or good will With much misgiving an order for a million stamps was placed But the idea caught on and spread like a Ii prairie fire The Red RedCross RedCross RedCross Cross offices in Washington were del deluged deluged deluged with orders from over the coun country country country try A second million stamps were or ordered ordered ordered dered Another printer and then a third were put to work The American Red RedCross RedCross RedCross I Cross was fairly smothered under the demand and the printers were swamped Exasperating delays occurred and good people all over the land lost their tem tom tempers tempers pers because they could not get Christ Christmas Christmas Christmas mas stamps and because the Red Cross had not the foresight to prepare for the avalanche But there will not be delays this year for the Red Cross made its first order stamps and is pre prepared prepared prepared pared to turn out many millions more moreon moreon on short notice The sales bales of the stamps In Salt Lake are In charge of Miss Jennings 49 North Second West street and are on sale at atthe atthe atthe the drug stores book stores and dry goods stores |