The American Red Cross Bulletin (Vol. IV, No. 4, October 1909)

by American National Red Cross

Rule 6. All express charges and all postage required in forwarding shipments of stamps or in returning unsold stamps will be paid by the Red Cross.

Rule 7. Christmas stamps are to be sold at the uniform price of one cent each. The stamps will be printed in sheets of 100 each and shipped in packages of 10,000 stamps or multiples of 10,000. No broken packages will be shipped. Stamp books will not be issued in 1909.

Rule 8. In ordering stamps as Christmas approaches, it is important to consider the congested condition of business with the express companies and post offices, and the distance which the shipment must travel. By careful forethought it will usually be found possible to estimate needs early enough for orders to be filled in good time. The Red Cross will respond promptly, but cannot prevent express and postal delays.

Rule 9. On or before February 1, 1910, every agent which has sold Red Cross Christmas stamps shall pay to the American Red Cross an amount of money equal to one-third of the face value of all stamps sold by such agent. Any expenses incidental to the sale incurred by the agent will be paid from the two-thirds retained by the agent and the remainder will be applied to local anti-tuberculosis work in accordance with the plans previously approved by the Red Cross.

Societies which sold Red Cross Christmas stamps in 1908 will note that the plan of selling stamps and disposing of the proceeds described above marks a considerable departure from the plan of last year.

This change is the result of careful thought and is believed to be in the direction of better business method and greater justice to all concerned. It seems eminently fair that the important direct work of the Red Cross should in some measure profit from the sale of stamps. The loyal and generous support which the American people have given to the Red Cross leads to the belief that the buyers of stamps will be pleased to know that a portion of the money comes direct to its great work.

In making the societies which sell the stamps its agents the Red Cross is giving them certain concessions which are extremely important. They will require no cash capital or initial expenditures. The provisions for a free supply of posters and printed matter and the payment of express and postal charges by the Central Committee will assure every agent against loss. If all the work of selling stamps is carried on by volunteers, there will be no expense to the agents connected with the campaign. In any event the necessary expenses will be trifling and there is no risk of loss involved in undertaking the agency for the stamps.

The total cost to the National office of the Red Cross of printing and handling of Christmas stamps in 1908 was about $13,000. This amount was repaid from the proceeds of the wholesale price at which the Stamps were sold to agents. In 1909, under the proposal set forth in the rules above, the expenditures by the National office of the Red Cross will include not only the printing and handling of the stamps but the printing and distribution of posters, circulars, etc., and the payment of all express and postal charges upon shipments of stamps and other supplies. Instead of charging these expenses directly to the agents, as in 1908, they will be covered by the one-third share of the proceeds of stamp sales reserved by the Red Cross, as described in rule 9 above.

With a double incentive to the purchase of stamps on the part of the public, an absolute absence of risk or initial expense on the part of agents, and the great favor of the public established last year, the campaign for the Christmas season of 1909 should bring a generous return to all concerned.