Town names used to create a souvenir for a politician

U.S. Stamp Notes by John M. Hotchner

Sen. Paul Douglas (1892-1976) served in the U.S. Senate as a Democrat from Illinois from 1949 to 1967, when he was defeated for reelection by Republican Charles H. Percy.

The 1951 cover shown here was canceled in Hon, Ark.; Paul, Neb.; and Douglas, Ill. It took from Feb. 9 to March 29, 1951, to accomplish this.

The cover has no address, so it likely was mailed inside another envelope from one place to the next by a philatelically aware supporter of Douglas or a staffer in one of his offices.

Douglas autographed the cover, using his middle initial “H” for Howard.

During his Senate career, Douglas was a prominent liberal who was well regarded by his peers, so much so that he was asked by Democrats to run for the party’s nomination in 1952 to be president of the United States.

Douglas refused to be considered. Instead, he supported Sen. Estes Kefauver, who ultimately lost the Democratic nomination to Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson.

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