The Charlotte journal. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1835-1851, 1846-04-17
TIE DEAD LETTER OFFICE.

He w dsuluS tuu SoiISsPoiuSuh VI 'hN
Portland Argus furnishes the following IN
teresiing description Of the operations OF
that branch Of tie General Post Office De-
par,ment, 10 which are transmitted all the
uucalled for Letters remaining 10 the yari.
Gus Post Offices throughout, the Union:
Among the places which have visited,
is the Dead Letter OEce in the Post Office
Department. /; is certainly an Interesting
part of that building. You will be surpfl.
sed a, some facts learned there. The bu.
siness OF the dead letter office employs four
clerks all the time. Ole opens the bundles
containing the letters sent 10 Washington,
from the several Post Offices, after they
have been advertised, aud no owner found
for them. He passes the letters over TO
two other clerks, who open them all, TO see
if they contain any thing valuable. II they
do not, they are thrown upon the pile on
the floor No time is allowed TO read them,
as that would be impossible, without great
addition Of help. The number OF dead let
tiers returned to the General Post office is
as,onishngly large. You viii be surprised
when tell you that il is fourteen hundred
thousand a year, and under the cheap pos.
tage system ls increasing Hence II re.
qulres swift hands to open SO large a nun.
Der, without stopping TO reld word. Any
one who is so silly as 10 wrle a mess OF
nonsense 10 an imag mary person, suppos!lg
it will be ultimately read BIZ some one, may
sav We himself the trouble hereafter. lie may
depend upon II, not word will be likely TO
be read Of the letter, unless he encoses
something OF value in it; and that would be
paying too dear for so small whistle. Al
the end Of each quarter, the letters that
have been opened having been accumulated
TO a huge mass, and having been IN the
mean time slowed into bags, are carried
gu, 90 10 the plains, and there consumed IN
bonfire. The huge bags make five or
SIX cart loads each quarter.
The letters containing anything valua.
Ole, or ~ ldCI any utu..~. ---lossd ARA
passed over 10 the fourth clerk, who occu.
pies o separate room for the purpose, and
there are canyassed by this gentleman. 1t
is very interesting 10 examine the hetero.
geneous materials of his room, that have
been extracted from letters, and aceumua.
ting for years. Here you see the singular
matters that are sometimes transported
through the Post Oifice. The amour. of
moneys, tina. al various times has been
found iu letters, is very large. When any
thing Of value, as money, drafts, &c. is
found, the rule Is 10 return It to the Post
Office whence it came, aud the Post Mas
ter Of that Office must advertise il, or use
any other means bes. calculated to fad the
owner. If all his Efforts fail, he returns ii
to the General Office, and it is labelled end
filed away. Sometimes as much as $500
are found in a week, in dead letters
think within this month, several hundreds
have been found. An iron chest is kept for
the purpose Of these deposlles. In looking
ever The files N that chest, | was astoulsh.
ed a. the amount OF money there, and the
large sums contained IN some Of the let.
fers' Some single letters containing $50,
$40, $40, and down, to 81. Que letter
contained gI0 note-yery likely the pro.
perry OF some poor emlgraut, (ntended for
his wife or childfen) who had made a mis-
take IN sending II, and no owner could be
found.
Among this money there is a good deal
Of counterfeit. The letters are all labeled
no. only with the sums but whether they
contain counterfeit or good money. There
were many bad small bills scattered thro
the piles. 10 one case there was q bad ca.
gle, IN another we're two letters each con.
tanning $500 counterfeit MONEY! Ii was
on New fork Bank, new, and very nice
ly done-and was, no doubt, the remlttanc,
OF one counterieiler 10 another, who haC
been IN the meantime appreheHded, or wa
suspicious he was watched, and hence hat
been too cunning TO call for the wicked de
poslte al his confederate. Ia the strong
box, also, was a box Of change, Of all klnds
and large string OF rings Of various fan
cies and values taken from the dead letters
Many love token Of this modest kind, en-
veloped 10 letter couched IN most honer
words, and intended, in the mind Of tn
writer, for the dearest girl in the universe
had instead Of reaching lis interesting des
tInaIIon, brought up IN the dead letter oil
fee, passed through the practical hands Q
these cold, gray.haired clerks, who neye
SNNFfNN " iSdu LuS leUuel tuUsiOu tHdk COS
30 much racklug Of the heart-slrngs; AM
The delicate pledge Of affection had beei
tossed Into the iron chest instead Of encir
cling the taper finger Of "lho love" 70
whom II was purchased
But passing cut Of the chest. the matter
that meet your eye On the shelves and II
the cases are equally interesting. Her,
are books, and ribbons, aud gloves, and no
slery, and a thousand other things. saw
one specimen Of a most splendid ribbon. G
several yards, that SEEMED very much GU
OF place here--when It was intended I
adorn The bonnet Of some lady. A pacl
age lay near that had not been opened
was from England. The postage was s.
63. Ii had been refused al the Office aher
sent, because OF lis enormous postage, at
was sent to the dead Office in due course ,
time. Now, SAID the Superintendent, Wi
show YOU what yalaeless thiops arc Coz