Almost every community in the United States has its United Fund. Through this agency money is raised to support the many needed social services our government permits to remain in private management. If each of these agencies had its own drive for money, the cost of raising the money would be several times that of a combined drive. In addition, there would be the annoyances of being approached frequently and writing many checks for contributions. Almost everyone agrees that the United Fund drive is a good arrangement.

How is it that we haven’t adopted its lesson in collecting? There are philatelists who pay dues to as many as 20 or 30 different organizations in our hobby not because they follow the specialties of most of them but because they assume the responsibility of supporting all of the hobby’s branches. Even lesser collectors usually carry a half dozen membership cards. Most of the organizations represented by these memberships are weak. They depend on volunteer workers to keep them going. Much of the dues received is dissipated in duplication of the work of every other group.

How about the idea of a United Philately of America? Within it every group could function for its purpose, but the centralized organization would assume the financial and administrative details together with editorial and publication tasks that now are scattered. Isn’t this worth thinking about?