Page:Final Report of the Northwest Territory Celebration Commission.pdf/12

 required a quarter of a million books and twenty-five thousand were printed for miscellaneous distribution.

The copy design of the book presented a problem in that it was impossible to prepare and print two books, one especially for school children and the other for adults. Therefore, the effort was composite, with special thought to a book which teachers might themselves read and interpret to the various ages and grades of younger school pupils. The result was a 96-page book—6 × 9 inches—and which earned general approbation from both readers and historians.

It cannot be said that the school teacher distribution was satisfactorily effective. This will be further referred to under School Contests, but to illustrate the point herein concerned, there were at least a dozen cases of refusal of shipments by county and school superintendents to whom books were sent, to be sent by them in turn to the teachers under their supervision. This was so despite all freight charges on shipments being prepaid and letters having been written to all such recipents advising them of shipment and of their function.

There were a considerable number of additional cases where teachers wrote in saying that they had not received their books, wherein investigation disclosed that local distribution had not been carried out.

As to those thousands of teachers who received the textbook, there would remain a considerable doubt as to how many failed to either read the book, or having read it, failed to tell the story to their classes.

All in all, the textbook was and is one of the main permanent contributions of the Celebration. If it were to be done over again, it would certainly be published, in approximately its present form; but a different system of distribution would be employed.

In this project of attaining interest of the nation at large and of the large fraternity of stamp collectors in particular, the celebration was especially fortunate.

Through the interest and cooperation of the Post Office Department and of President Roosevelt, two special commemorative stamp were issued.

The first, known as the "Ordinance of 1787" stamp, was issued July 13, 1937, and first day sales were held at both New York City and Marietta. Ohio. It was a "special delivery size", showing map of old Northwest. Territory and the nation of the period of 1787, with portraits of Manasseh Cutler and Rufus Putnam.

The second stamp was issued July 15th, 1938, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the first civil government west of the thirteen original states.

It was of regular postage stamp size, and employed a picture of the national memorial to the start westward of the United States, at Marietta.

First day sale of this stamp was exclusively at Marietta. Both these stamps were of the three-cent variety and first day sales, as