The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1846-03-28
THE DEAD LETTER OFFICE.

= The editor Of the Eastern Argus,
writing to that paper, from Washing
ton. gives the following graphic descrip-
ton Of the Dead Letter Office, in the
General Post Office Department:
Among the places which have Wis
tied, is the Dead Letter Office, in the
Post Office Department. 1t is certain
ly an interesting part of that building.
You will be surprised at some of the
facts that | learned there. The bust
ness Of the Dead Letter Office alone,
employs four clerks all the time. One
opens the bundles containing the let
ters sent to Washington, from the sew
eral Post Offices, after they have been
advertised, and no owner found for
them. He passes over the letters 10
two other clerks, who open them all,
to see if they contain anything valuable.
If they do not, they are thrown on to
the pile on the floor. No time is al
lowed to read them, as that would be
impossible, without great addition OF
help. The number of dead letters re-
turned to the General Post Office is as
tonishingy large. You will be sur
prised when tell you that it is four
teen hundred thousand a year, and un-
der the. cheap postage system, is in
creasing! Hence it requires swift
hands to open so large a number, with
out stopIng to read word. Any one
who is so silly as to write a mess OF
nonsense to animagInqry person, sup
posing it will be ultimately read by
some one, may save himself the trouble
hereafter. He may depend upon it,
not word will be likely to be read of
the letter, unless he encloses something
valuable in it; and that would be pay
ing too dear for so small whistle. At
the end of each quarter, the letters that
have been opened, have accumulated to
huge mass, and having been in the
mean time slowed in bags, are carted
out on the plains, and there consumed
in a bonfire. The huge bags make
five or six cart loads each quarter.
The letters containing any thing val
uable-or. in fact, any matter enclosed;
are passed over to fourth clerk, who
occupies a separate room for the pur-
pose, and there are canvassed by this
gentleman. 1t is very interesting to
examine the heterogeneous materials OF
this room, that have been extracted
from letters, and ndaccumulating for years.
Here you see the singular matters that
are sometimes transported through the
Post Office. The amount of moneys,
that at various times has been found in
letters, is very large. When anything
OF value, as money, drafts, &C., is found,
the rule is, to return it TO the Post Office,
whence it came, and the Postmaster of
that office must advertise it, oruse any
other means best calculated to find the
owner. lfall his efforts fail, he returns
it to the General Office and it is label
led and 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 deposites. In looking over the
files in that chest, was astonished at
the amount of money there, and the
large sums contained insome OF the let
ters. Some single letters containing
$50, $40, $50, and down TO 81. One
letter contained q Gao note--yery like
~ the property Of some poor emigrant,
(intcnded for bis ;sife or children) who