[Originally published in Philatelic Era in 1892.]

There is a curious feature of post-office business of which the public never hears. When the big publishing houses, whose mail goes as second-class matter, pay their bills to Uncle Sam, they simply receive a receipt from the postmaster. But the Superintendent of the Newspaper and Periodical Department must buy stamps at the post-office covering the amount of the bill and paste them in a large receipt book, where they are punched or cancelled by the postmaster or clerk, and sent on when full to Washington D.C.

The stamps are especially made for this purpose run from 1c. to $60.00. The $60.00 is an artistic design. It is about twice the length of the ordinary stamp, and has upon its face an engraving of Pocahontas. The superintendent buys his through the week as he requires them, and in such denominations that half a dozen will cover a bill of several hundred dollars. Every Tuesday he spends several hours in pasting in the stamps. These stamps are all burned by the P.O. Department at Washington every three months.