The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1847-07-17

land Argus, furnishes the following interesting
description of the operations of that branch Of
the General Post Office Department 10 which
are transmitted ali the uncsled for letters re-
manning in the various post Offices throughout
the Union:
Among the places which have visited,
i is the Dead Letter Office, in the Post Office
Department. 1t is certainly AN interfering
part of that building. You will be surprised
at some facts learned there. The business
of the dead letter office alone employs four
clerks all the time. One opens the bundles
containing the letters sent TO Washington,
from the several Post Offices, after they
have been advertised, and no owner found
for them. He passes the letters over to two
other clerks, who opens them all, to see if
thew contain any thing valuable. u they
do not, they are thrown on to the pile ON
the floor. No time is allowed 20 read them,
as that would be impossible, without great
addition of help. The number of dead let
ters returned to the General Post Office is
as.onishingly large. You will be surprised
when tell you that it is fourteen hundred
thousand year. and under the cheap pos
tage system, is increasing. Hence it re-
quircs swift hands to open 50 large number,
without stopping to read word Any one
who is so silly as TO write a mess of non
sense to an imaginary person, supposing it
will be ultimately read by some one, may
save himself the trouble hereafter. lie may
depend upon it, not word will be likely
to be read of the letter, unless he enclOses
something valuable in il; and that would
be paying TOO dear for so small whistle.
At the end Of each quarter, the letters that
have been opened having accumulated TO a
huge mass, and having been III the mean
time slowed into bags, are carried out on the
plains. and there consumed III bon hfe
, The huge bags make five or SIX cant loads
each quarter.
The letters containing any thing valuable,
or in fact. any matter enclosed-are passed
over 10 a fourth clerk, who occupies a sep
arate room for the purpose, and there are
canvassed by this gentleman. Its very i'll
teresting to examine the Heterogeneous ma
lerials Of this room, that have been extract
ed from letters, and accommodating for years.
Here you see the singular matters that are
sometimes transported through the Post Of
, fee. The amount of moneys that at vari-
Gus times has been found in letters, is very
large. When any thing of value, as mo-
ney, drafts, &c, is found, the rule is, to re-
Turn it to the Post Office, whence it came
and the Postmaster Of that office must adj
vertise it, or Use any other means best cal
cula,ed TO find the owner fall his eflorts
fail. he returns il 10 the General Office, and
il is labelled and filed away. Sometimes
as much as $500 are found in week, in
; dead letters think within this month
! several hundred have been found. An iron
chest is kept for these deposites. In look
, ing over the files in that chest, was aston
iShed at the amount of money there. and the
large SUMS contained in some of the letters.
Some single letters containing $50, $40,
SO and down 10 81. One letter contain
f cd fl0 note-very likely the property Of
some poor cmigrant, Gntcnded for his wife
a or chldren.) who had made mistake in
sending it, and no owner could he found.
Among this money is good deal of coun-
terfet. The letters are all labelled, not
only with the sums. but also whether con-
! tanning counterfeit or good money. There
were MANY bad small bills, scattered through
the piles. In one case there was bad hall
eagle-in another were two letters each
! containing 1900 counterfeit; money, |,
was on some New York Bank. new, and
> very nicely done-and was. 40 doubt, the
| remittance OF one counterieleI TO another
who had been in the meantime apprehend
ed. or was suspicious he was watched, and
: hence had been too cunning TO call for the
wicked deposite of his confederate In the
: strong box. also was box of change, of all
kinds. and large string of rings of various
; iances and values, taken from the dead let.
u tcrs Many a love token of this modest
; kind, enveloped in letter couched in the
mind of the writer, for the dearest girl in the
: universe, had instead of reaching its inter
esting destination, brought up in the dead
letter office, passed through the practical
d hands Of these cold, grey-haired clerks, who
e never stopped to read the tender efusion thai
0 cost so much racking of the heart-strings-
: and the delicate pledge of affection had been
4 tossed into the iron chest, instead of encir
1 cling the taper finger of the love fol
$ whom it was purchased.
But passing out of the chest, the matter.
+ that meet your eye on the shelves and in
the cases are equally interesting. Here are
u books and ribbons, and gloves. and hosiery
and thousand other things. saw one
I specimen of most splendid ribbon of sever
: al yards that seemed very much out of place
: here-when it was intended to adOm the
, bonnet of some lady A package lay neal
U that had not been opened. Ii was from
. England. The postage was 1868. Ii
had been refused at the office where sent be
cause Of its enormous postage. and was sem
d to the dead Office in due course of time
S Now, said the Superintendent. will show
d you what valueless things are sent through
c the mails in comparison to their expense
!, ! do not know what is in this, but We viii
j see. So he opened it, and behold; it con
, tanned about yard of coarse cloth, like
e crash, worth perhaps shilling, which haf
d been sent to some dry goods house in ,hi.
y country, as a specimen of the manufacture,
a OF the article, by some factory in England
e OF course, the postage being thirty times it.
value, it was refused by those to whom il
+! was directed. saw two n; ght caps that were
t taken from a letter only n few DAVIS since