Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1868-12-25
8eotoro enquirer.
DEPARTMENT. REPORTS.
Post ofice Department Report.
DEAD LETTER OFFICE.

classes received during the year which endeC
30th June last by actual count, was A. 1872.
IA, showing a decrease Of I44, ,364 letter.
from the number estimated to have been re
ceived during the previous year. OF thes,
letters, 3,995,066 were domestic letters; I67
O1S were foreign, and were returned uno
pened to countries where they originated
The domestic letters received may be stated
as follows: Ordinary dead letters, 1929, ,46I;
drop and hotel letters, 522, 677; unmailable,
S6S, SOS; fictitious addresses, 9,190; regis
tered letters, 3,2S2; returned from foreign
countries, 66,558. Ia the examination OF
| domestic dead letters for disposition, ,736,-
S67 we're found to be either not susceptible
OF being returned or of no importance, cir
culars, &c, aud we're destroyed, about S33,
600 more were destroyed after an effort to
return them-making about 81 per cent
destroyed. The remainder were classified
and returned to the owners as far as prac-
ticable, The whole number sent from the
office was 2,258, 1875, Of which about 81 per
cent we're delivered to owners, aud I6 per
cent, were returned to the Department; IS
$40 letters contained $J5, ,I69 So, in sums of
81 and upward, of which lG,06l letters,
containing $S6,638 &C, were delivered to
owners, and ,, l24 containing 81, ,S62 Sc were
filed or held for disposition; IA, ,0S2 contained
So, 4S6 6S IN sums of less than 81, of which
1858, containing SO, 100 10 were delivered
to owners; 1850 contained drafts, deeds
and other papers Of value, representing the
value of 3,609,2 27l so, of these IL, ,809 we're
restored TO the owners, and 82I we're return
ed and filed; Is, 964 contained books, jewelry
and other articles fproperty, of the estima-
ted value Of IS, 500, of these II, 4S9 were
forwarded for delivery, and 9,9Il were de-
livered to their owners; I25, ,22l contained
photographs, postage stamps and articles
OF small value, Of which ia, 6G6 were de-
hvered to owners; 2,06S, $40 without inclo-
sures. Thus, Of the ordinary dead letters
forwarded from this Office, about S4 per
cent. we're delivered, and of the valuable
dead letters, (classed as money and minor)
about SO per cent. were delivered The de-
crease Of money letters received (about s.
O0Ol is probably owing to the growing use
of money orders for the transmission of
small sums. Prominent among the cause
of the non-deliyery of letters is the unmaila-
bic character of many Of them, asoertained
during the past year to be 363, ,S9S letters,
showing decrease Of 1888 the pre-
vious year. Ofthese 800, AS we're detained
for non-payment Of postage, IS, ,3S7 returned
for misdirection or want of proper address.
1870 were addressed to places for which
no mail service had been established, and
l, 593 had no address whatever There
were also returned %, 425 letters addressed
to persons stopping temporarily at hotels, /
departures or non arrivals preventing de- |
livery, and 9,l90 letters found to be address
sed to fictitious names. These are mostly
cases where the causes of the non.delivery /
appear from the letters themselves, and no
effort was made to deliver them. The mum
Der of dead letters returned during the year
to foreign countries was lS4, IS3, and the |
number received from foreign countries was
6,55S. 1t further appears that out of f.
6G6, ,673 letters mailed to the United States
through British French and German mails, |
l26, S66-or > 93-l0O per cent.-were re-
turned to Europe as dead letters. and out of |
5, 40l ,9S6 letters forwarded from this coun-
try through those mails, 30,970--or 81 per
returned as dead letters, show |
ing an extraordinary discrepancy between
the proportion Of dead letters received from
Europe and the proportion returned from
the United States TO European countries.
This difference is doubtless largely owing to /
causes existing in this country which do not
operate in the same proportion in Europe. |
The geograL hical extent of the Unitod /.
States and Territories, as yet largely unset
tied, the constant arrival of emigrants in /
search ofnew homes in remote regions, and /
the continual changing Of places Of abode /
in a sparsely settled country, all operate to
increase the difficulty in the delivery of for /
eign letters. There, were received at this /.
Office during the fiscal year, 5,459 applca-
tions for letters, Of which ! l,l5l were ans
wcred satisfactorily, the letters applied for
being found About one-tbrd Of these an /
pGcations were for ordinary letters without
no record of them being kent,
and search for them being useless. The /
amount ofmoney taken from all dead letters
1ndelivered since last report and deposited
IN the United States Treasury, was $27, 1867 /
II. The amount realized from sales ofI
waste paper aud deposited was 81, $50 42. /
Statement Of letters received aud disposed /
Of during the fiscal year ending June 80,
1868: Domestic letters received, 8, ,029, ,46I; /
domestic drop letters received, 4g9, ,252; IN
nailable letters received, 500, ,Sg8; hotel let
-ers received, %, 425; fictitious letters re.
,eived, 9, 100; registered letters received, g.
2S2; domestic letters returned from foreign
66,558 Total domestic letters
1895, 066; foreign letters received,
I67 ,07S. Whole number of letters received, /
|, ,l62, IA Domestic letters for disposition
3, 995, ,066. Letters sent out by return let
Ter division, 2,2l0,620; letters sent out by |
money letter division Is, $40; letters sent out
BY minor letter division II $50; letters sent
)ut by property lester division l.489. |
Number of original letters destroyed !, 1885,
367; number of return letters destroyed,
'33, ,2S6-the whole number destroyed, .,
)70,153 OF Domestic letters for DISPOSE
ion 81 per cent destroyed Whole number
If letters sent out 2,258, 1879. Return let
ers received and destroyed, 333, ,286; articles
If small value, photographs, &c, fled, l2,-
100 money letters fled 2,124, minor letters
lied, S2l; property letters fled, 2,578.
Total delivered to owners, 1905, 900. OF
domestic letters for disposition Sc per cent.
sere sent out OF letters sent out 81 per