The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-01-22

On the first floor OF the northeast corner OF
the Post Office Department in this city are
four rooms, occupied by thirteen skilful and
Industrious clerks. These rooms stand two
and two on each side of passage-way, in
which well-filled mail bags, of a goodly size,
are piled csilingward. We often see clever
wagon-load of them there, and man busy
carrying them into one of the rooms but the
pile appears to grow no less. Whether the
faithful porter is condemned to the fate of Sissy
plus, and made to toll forever in the removal
of a burden that as constantly regains its place,
is subject worthy the inquiry Of the curious.
Moved by desire for the acquisition of useful
knowledge, we entered the extreme corner room
the other day, and were not little surprised
to find as lofty pile of stuffed mail bags on the
inside as on the outside of the partition. Mr..
Hoover was very hard at work in endeavoring
to reduce its altitude, untying the strings and
tumbling the contents into great large trough.
We asked him what the sacks contained, and
were informed that it was dead letters. A silent
being the nearest approximation to dead let
ter of which we had any knowledge, we re-
solved on still further prosecuting our investi-
cations, and soon ascertained that any sealed
package for which postmaster cannot find the
proper claimant, within three months from. the
time of advertising it, is called dead letter,
and that the aggregate of all such from the post
offices of the United States constitutes the ex-
haustless heaps that had SO perplexed us. The
trough sometimes gets heaping full, and then
NJ uooyr. .so;stS M C,,rpo A nd xpbot Joac
Mr.. SHEpD? His duty is to separate the
dead letters and their winding sheets, the post
bills that are wrapped around them from the
quarterly returns that accompany them from
nineteen thousand one hundred and fifty-six
postmasters, and then to pass the letters in
basketsful to Mr.. REED. What does Mr..
REED with them? He ascertains that the num-
Der of the letters and their rates correspond with
the marks in the post-bills accompanying them,
and thus detects any errors made by the post
masters. He also separates the letters origin
ally mailed in certain foreign countries with
which we have reciprocal postal arrangements
from all others. The former are set aside,
while the latter are passed to Messrs. HAMIL-
TON, HORNE, and Ross, in an adjoining room, by
whom they are opened.
Mr.. SHEHEY has a desk in the first room,
and, guided by the post bills, keeps accu-
rate accounts between the Post Office Depart
ment and the postmasters who send up the
dead letters.
Mr.. SCHwARTzMAN also has a desk here,
and performs variety of important duties.
In the first place, the letters originally mailed
from the post offices Of certain European coun-
tries, viz, England, Ireland, Scotland, and the
city of Bremen, are by him returned to the cen
trail post Offices of those countries respectively,
from which letters are in like manner by him
received. Refused letters, sent by our postmas-
tiers without awaiting the process of adverts-
ing, &C., are taken cognizance of by him also,
and accredited to them in their accounts. When
postmasters omit to send up their quarterly re-
turns, it is his duty to address them circulars
of inquiry; and other correspondence of mis-
cellaneous character is committed to him.
Into the opening room, in which Messrs.
HAMILTON, HORNE, and Ross operate, the let
tiers are all brought. These gentlemen open
them with great dexterity; and such as have
no enclosures they drop to the floor unread,
while such as contain any description of prop
erty are, with their contents, registered, and
then refolded, and conveyed to the third room.
The empty letters are by the messenger or
porter crammed into sacks, and conveyed to
the cellar, and at the end of every quarter ia
ken to suitable place and burned.
Captain O'BRIEN, in the third room, to
which the letters with enclosures are conveyed,
and Messrs. MrLLIKIN and KING, in the fourth
room, are constantly engaged in efforts to find
the persons for whom such letters are intend
ed, or by whom they have been mailed.
The failure Of the outer direction to accom-
plish the former renders an examination of the
inside necessary. Nine-tenths of such letters
are thus usually sent to their intended desti-
nation, or restored to their writers. When the
remittance is less than one dollar no trouble is
taken with it.
to ascertain the proper owners of effects COM
ing into their possession, and to respond to in
quiries for letters, is almost incredible to one
unacquainted with the operations Of their office
They have printed forms Of inquiry respecting
persons circulars to postmasters whose omis-
sion to send up dead letters has been detected,
with reproof for the same, and directions as to
the right mode of procedure; circulars to post
masters enclosing letters Of value, with general
directions, form Of receipt to be taken and re-
turned to the Department, &c.; circulars in re-
Spouse to applications for letters not received at
the dead-letter office and many others, adapt
ed to almost every case that can arise.
Mr.. BYINcror, in the third room, is occu-
pied chiefly in keeping an account of all letters
and valuables other than money received, and
Of all forwarded to their destined places; and
by reference to his books any important fact
with this branch of the service can
be at all times clearly ascertained.
Mr.. WALLACE has committed to him the
duty of registering and sending letters originat-
ing in the executive offices TO those Offices re-
IVr Of Al a 4