Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-06-10

missible to do so-thouRh not excessively
interesting to the attentive altdsAss, who
arc engaged in opening letters six hours
at one sitting. This Departments is very
suggestive in the interest ii aWakens In
me visitors. All letterS,that have not been
delivered, that have been duly advertised
and returned to the Post 0fies, are here
received and examined. If praotieAbls,
they Bfe returned to ths place where they
we're sent. II not, they are thrown lntO
a HAste-b basket and sold. Five clerks are
constantly engaged in opening dead let
ters, Of which about twelve thousand are
daily received. A vast number Of articles
which can never reach those feF. WHOM
they were intended, arc sent slong with
these letters. In all cases WhSR they can
be returned to their owners they are re-
turned. Those that cannot be traced back
to the source HhsAcs they came are placed
en- hle
Am6ng the wonders thus preserved Is :
very singulsF'h6tl object, which our ig-
Aorance Of the Rsh world will not permit
us to nsms. About Tree weeks $50 10
was forwarded from the Texan coast. Il
might be called LiliP1Han SEA horse, and
resembles petrihsd Whits bat more than
anything else. Il is about two and q half
inches long, one and . half vide, and .
half insh in thickness. Pie bsok Is very
much curved, 3 thin; brittle, ridge running
along the spine. Two needle poiAtsd littlS
horns protrude over the eyes, and tFo
shoot out behind, like '1inked sweetness,
long drawn out" Two fms are psreept-
ible St the Bides, and one above and eaS
below the tail, which prejscis in rAt.lik0
and nest an Onalous manner. The under
meath portion Of this brilliant child. Of
nature resembles that Of . tostoiss, and Is
labeled in ink, "TRon-elsd Blockade Ran-.
-ner,n The body is knit over with . text
ure which looks ike nothing 80 Rush as
Pstrihed eobWebs. The individual 10
whom this interesting san Of the deep was
sent has reason TO lsmenj its nsn-raeep-
ton.
Anoihsr article Of interest Isl portion
Of e splendid scarf, manufactured, prob-
ably, at Ispshsn, sHd captured in TsnA4s-
see, whence it was forwarded 10 the
friends Of the -eaptor in the North. The
eolors sre Of the utmost brilliAnsy. The
deaign is that Of flowers, and the combine
tions Of hue and Shade are sEOosad with
inimitable grace. Photographs from al
over the world form q considerable oolleG.
tion, and are contributed frem Asins 10
Mexico, from Barbsry 10 Barbados. A
large scrap beck; improVissd from Q d.
rsotory, is in process Of compilation, and
is already nesry filed with cSlaD scenes,
which the enclosures Of dead lssters have
provided. We have not space ct present,
however, to dwell upon the exceedingly
Interest," ouriositieI Of this department.
IL-,E v.as a.. -.
portunity presents itself for . more d6isil.
ed account.
The department devoted to the interests
Of mail bags, locks and keys" requires,
from its very nature, much Judgment and
discrimination thoroughly to supervise.
Ths professional picker Of locks might
learn 4 useful lessen here. From this de-
psFtmsnt an annual supply Of i've or six
Thousand locks Issues, aud Of ssVsn or
eight thousand keys. Throughout all the
history Of the Post Office, b1t few kinds
Of locks, comparatively, have been proVid-
ed. The latest and most reliable iuTsntioR
is the improved elsm-shsll lsck. II 10 sf
the very strongest kind, ond will with
stand the rough usage Of the service. ThO
clam shell looks are made by machinery
and executed with the most exact and x:
'luisite nicely. Any one Of one 'buadFsd
thousand keys, manufactured for the par
8ner k8ashsaaAd. t.. apsEeE .foE any one Of
Some ides can thus be formed offhe deji-
eaeY required in the construction az hotb
nulty Wn-gu uvvs5--a-4Ls 5..,.. - -
are expnsed 10 the wear and tear OF III
and gravel and same Of them are 20 con-
strueted 80 as 10 encourage rather than
throw Of the lodging Of dust and dirt.
There is very little bearing surface In
the clam she'll lock, however. Moreover
it Is sslf.looking, q very Important and al
most indispensable advantage In mail
looks, and yet 9 degree Of strength is So
cured Whfeh is seldom sttsinabis in SELF
adjusting locks, When ave hundred nail
bags have 10 be locked in Q very short
space Of tine; the presence Of self-lookinR
aookB is q material saving Of time and lS3
Dor. A new kind Of lock is issued, on the
average, onoe in ten years. The elan
yheH lock was invented in 1870, and In
proved upen in 1861, whom no less EhaR
tive hundred AppHe&siona were zads -
'he "mAil -bsg lock and key" depArtnsnt
for the furnishing Of locks, soma Of Whieh
we're too ridlculously complicated In con-
truction TO merk moments PaEious at
tention. Cotton duck used to be employ
ed for mail bags. bat that was when cotton
duck Was cheaper than Il now Is. LaAth-
er is considered preferable, e<espt fer
newspaper sacks, for which, after sKpsRi-
ments With hemp, FAX and jute canvass,
jute is preferred. An improvement In the
labelling Of mai4-begs were Introduced 81
tho beginning Of tie year. Formerly,
their destinations were written on little
- ~ &
obvious, might easily be mutilated or lost.
Now, prepared labels, coated with water
proof VarEish, snd gummedf are framed in
little oblong metallic elsos and Eeeared To
tAs mouth ,ef the bag, certainty Gnd
promplitads Of delivery berg thereby Sc.
cured.
But it would expand this article to .
abulous length to enter into minute de-
Ails respecting the prominent depart
msnts Of the Post Ofios. The severe sys-
TEN Of checks observed renders fraud, sx-
espting by collUsisn, : matter Of inposai-
bilty; and, spsrt from this eonsidsrstiokS
which is as unpleasant as the cause for it
is unusual renders almost perfect the 60
cuFacy and precision which are absolute
Jy iadispenssHe in an Institution Of this
kind. Some idea Of the minute attention
10 detail requisite may Be found when Is
is understooFt that about sixty thouEsad
locks are u,sa IN securing ths inEioAbili- q.
ty Of mailed lsttors in the DATED States.
The leather and juts CANVASS mAl-bags
and Newspaper sacks furnished ara res
q1ired to be Of tho very finest quality, any
sTe submitted to inspectors, VhoAs duty'it
is to se4 that every individual one PrSyid-
ed BY the oontrsotor is sqaal 70 the speci-
men sample. Every postmaster b.hSld
strictly accountable for the mailbag kesp
in his possessions the loss Of one Of these
haiag alpnosk tantamnunt In 4 dianiaaiaR