Litchfield enquirer., 1859-07-21
Whole No. 17S1.

i
 DEAD LETTERs-The subject of dead letters has become of such importance as to force it. self upon the attention of Congress hence tho resolution adopted by the Senate at the last l session to inquire as to their number and the means for diminishing the same.
 The subject deserves the attention of the public, and particularly of business men, inas- l much as the remedy for the evil is almost en- trely beyond the control of the Post Office Department, or of Congress, except ill so far as they may direct the attention of the public to its cause.
 The number of dead letters annuaAy return ed to the department is about 2,250, ,000 About 10000 annually are found to contain money and other vauabes, and are, as soon as found, registered and restored to the owners The aggregate contents of the letters thus an- nualiy restored to the owners is about $GO, ,OOo ill money, and about $3,OOO,O0O in drafts, checks, notes, and other valuables, computed at their nominal value.
 general impression seems to prevail thot most Of the dead letters fail to reach their in- tended destination through some faults of the postal system or the carelessness of postmas- ters. lt~can easily be demonstrated that the re- verse is the case. Of the 10000 letters a year that are found to contain drafts, checks and valnables other than money, most of which are sent by bankers, merchants, and business men, large number are, on examination, found to be eridently misdi, cctcd-bearing different address on the envelope from that in- side the letter-aud as many more are appar- entfy mlsdirected, or the writing is cgible, or susceptible of various readings, or held for Want Ot prepayment of postage.
 Of the mauy thousands of valuable dead letters that are critically examined every year, but very small proportion bear evidence of having been returned to the department through any carelessness or want of attention on the part of postmasters.
 Whilst the department uses the best means ln its power to correct the errors of careless correspondents, it has generally to bear the blame of missendimg letters that were misdi- darected, or failed to reach their intended des- tination solely through the fault of the senders.
 The following is case in point: A bank cashier, some months since mailed letter con taining over $20,0O0 in drafts and notes for collection in another city, and directed the let ter to the wrong post office, where, of course, it remained uncalled for more than three months, and until after the maturity of the drafts and notes. The cashier, no doubt, felt that he had good cause for complaint against the management of postal affairs until his let Ter was returned to him through the dead let ter office, and his own error made palpable to him.
 Similar cases are occurring every day, and it rests with the public, who are interested in the matter, to remedy the evil.
 Some reforms in the present system of ad- vertising and delivering letters may be neces- sary, and the department will speedily adopt such as may seem practicable and eff c mt and will hold it's officers to strict accountable ty for their own mistakes As to the numer- ous mistakes on the part of letter writers and the accumulation of dead letters from such Causes, the department is, of course, bameless, and can only invite public attention to the subject- Washington Umiom.