From the Stamp Specialist: Guam Guard Mail, Part Two by H. F. Bowker (From The 1939 Stamp Specialist, with images added) Continued from SNO June 2012 All the cancellation stamps used by the Guard Mail were destroyed when the affairs of that service were liquidated after 8 April 1931. While no record of the manner of their destruction is available, it is understood that they were burned in the furnace of the Naval Station power plant, in accordance with the terms of Naval Station Order Number 286, announcing the discontinuance of all service on the first anniversary of its establishment. U. S. NAVAL STATION GUAM COMMANDANT’S OFFICE NAVAL STATION ORDER NO. 286. 21 February, 1931. 1. On 8 April, 1931, after one year of satisfactory opera- tion, the Guam Guard Mail will be discontinued, since at that time it will have been replaced, in whole or in part, by service of the U.S. Post Office Department. 2. All unused stamped paper will be turned over to the Naval Government of Guam, without charge, for sale, the proceeds from such sale to be used for the amortization of indebtedness on land and buildings used as public recreation places. All equipment, other than cancellation stamps, will be turned over to the Government of Guam for such use as it may see fit. All cancellation stamps will be destroyed in the pres- ence of the Superintendent of the Guam Guard Mail, in order that their use in the future may be rendered impossible. Willis W. Bradley, Jr. Commander, U. S. Navy, Commandant, U. S. Naval Station, Guam. Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 22 If you enjoy this article, and are not already a subscriber, for $12 a year you can enjoy 60+ pages a month. To subscribe, email [email protected] A press release dated 14 January 1931 indicates that the Naval Government of Guam was in the stamp business, supplying cancelled specimens as well as mint stamps. On account of the many requests of stamp collectors for used Guam Guard Mail stamps, it is requested that mer- chants or others who receive letters having cancelled Guam stamps thereon and who don’t make a practice of saving these stamps, forward the envelopes complete to the Gov- ernor for future use. These will all help to put Guam before the world at large. A second and third shipment of Philippine stamps were ordered for the third and fourth issues. Copies of the let- ters of acknowledgement and the certificates regarding the overprinting follow: NAVAL GOVERNMENT OF GUAM GOVERNMENT HOUSE, GUAM 1433-705-30 August 16th, 1930. The Director, Bureau of Posts, Manila, P. I. Dear Sir: The 20,000 two-centavo and 80,000 four-centavo Philip- pine postage stamps forwarded with your letter of 9 July, 1930, to the Supply Officer, U. S. Naval Station, Cavite, for further shipment to the Government of Guam have been received and have been surcharged for local use only. The letter of the officer-in-charge local mail service certifying to the surcharging of these stamps is enclosed herewith. Please accept my thanks for your kindness in furnishing the above mentioned stamps. Respectfully, Willis W. Bradley, Jr. Governor of Guam. ____________________ JAS/Ft. JAS/Ft. Enclosure: NAVAL GOVERNMENT OF GUAM GOVERNMENT HOUSE, GUAM 16 August, 1930. From: The Superintendent, Guam Guard Mail. Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 23 To: The Governor. Subject: Surcharging Philippine Postage Stamps. 1. I hereby certify that 20,000 two-centavo and 80,000 four-centavo Philippine postage stamps have been received and that each has been surcharged with the words “Guam Guard Mail” under my personal supervision. 2. These stamps will be used exclusively for the postal service of Guam. J. A. Stuart First Lieutenant, U. S. Marine Corps. ____________________ NAVAL GOVERNMENT OF GUAM GOVERNMENT HOUSE, GUAM 1433-14.8-31 ATP/Jm 3 February, 1931 Dear Sir: The 50,000 two-centavo, 50,000 four-centavo, 25,000 six-centavo, 25,000 eight-centavo and 25,000 ten-centavo Philippine postage stamps forwarded to the Supply Officer, U.S. Naval Station, Cavite, P.I., for further shipment to the Government of Guam have been received and have been surcharged for local use only. The letter of the officer-in- charge local mail service certifying to the surcharging of these stamps is enclosed herewith. Please accept my thanks for your kindness in furnishing the above mentioned stamps. Respectfully, Willis W. Bradley, Jr. Governor of Guam. The Director, Bureau of Posts, Manila, P. I. ____________________ NAVAL GOVERNMENT OF GUAM GOVERNMENT HOUSE, GUAM 1433-149-31 ATP/Jm 3 February, 1931 From: The Superintendent, Guam Guard Mail To: The Governor Subject: Surcharging Philippine postage stamps. 1. I hereby certify that 50,000 two-centavo, 50,000 four- Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 24 centavo, 25,000 six-centavo, 25,000 eight-centavo and 25,000 ten-centavo, Philippine postage stamps have been received and that each has been surcharged with the word “Guam Guard Mail” under my personal supervision. 2. These stamps will be used exclusively for the postal service of Guam. J. A. Stuart First Lieutenant, U. S. Marine Corps. The following editorial comment which appeared in the Guam Recorder for May 1930, gives some idea of the operation of the Guard Mail: The two most important projects recently undertaken af- fecting the prosperity and advancement of the residents of Guam have been the inauguration of the Guam Guard Mail Service and the decision of the Governor to construct a new athletic field. The Guam Guard Mail got underway for a fly- ing start in a carabao cart on the morning of April 8th. The first route opened was between Agana, Asan, Piti, Agat and Sumay. The service was completely equipped with mail bags, mail boxes, cancelling stamps, and signs, with Bordallo’s bus line as carrier for the mail and the commis- sioners of the outlying points to act as postmasters. Philip- pine two centavos and four centavos stamps were obtained on the GOLD STAR surcharged with the words “Guam Guard Mail.” This is purely a local service for the benefit and convenience of the civilian population of Guam.… Linoleum block cut of carabao cart published in Guam Recorder, March 1935 Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 25 This is perhaps the source of the oft-repeated errone- ous statement that the stamps were overprinted in the Philippines. The certificates of the Superintendent of the Guard Mail and the letters of the Acting Director of the Bureau of Posts of the Philippine Government quoted in full herein, completely refute this assumption. The early linking of the Guard Mail with the construc- tion of the “new athletic field” was to be much closer in the future than at first appeared. The site selected was on the Agana–Piti road in the section of Agana called Aniguac. In the portion of the plot between the road and the beach were built two buildings for the use, respectively, of the Guam Council and Assembly. At times these buildings have also been used as school houses. The greater portion of the site on the south side of the road was laid out as a baseball field and drill ground for the Militia, whose new armory was to be located along the eastern side of the field. At this time the Guam Militia was a compulsory organiza- tion in which all able-bodied male citizens of Guam were drafted at the age of 16 years. During the administration of Governor McCandlish, 1936-37, it was changed to a purely voluntary organization. A summary of the population of the various districts served by the Guard Mail will indicate the probable use- fulness of the service to the inhabitants. The following statistics are from the Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930, taken at about the time that these issues were current: Municipality 21 years and over Total Agana ...................................... 4,787 11,042 Agat ........................................... 411 887 Asan ........................................... 249 559 Inarajan ..................................... 498 1,176 Merizo (including Umatac) .......... 469 1,101 Piti ............................................. 355 928 Sumay ........................................ 592 1,209 City of Agana ........................... 3,724 8,690 Naval reservation ......................... 855 1,118 It should be understood that the census statistics in- Issue 19 - July 6, 2012 - StampNewsOnline.net 26 clude the rural population of the Municipalities, which closely resemble townships, with the urban population of the principal villages from which they take their names. Of a total population in 1930 of 18,509, 8,690 lived in the principal city, Agana; 8,701 were classed as rural; and 1,118 were naval personnel and their families. The adult population of 21 years and over was 21.5 percent illiterate, so that the actual demand for mail ser- vice was not as large as might have been expected. The inhabitants of the naval reservation, which included the personnel of naval ships stationed in Guam, may be elimi- nated entirely from consideration, as they were permitted by the station regulations to use the Guard Mail without cost, by franking communications in accordance with the order of the Governor quoted herewith: SUBJECT: Free carriage of mail matter. Reference: Notice in Guam Eagle published 9 April, 1930. 1. The reference stated that hereafter mail for regular military messenger guard mail service without payment of postage will be accepted only as follows: Official mail matter showing official origin. Mail from naval personnel or families of such to naval personnel of families. The latter class of mail must show the sender in order to establish eligibility for military guard mail.… It will be noted that in the above communication a distinction is made between “regular military messen- ger guard mail” and the reiterated “Guam Guard Mail”.