Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1869-08-13
The Dead Letter Office-Its CuriOsities

PERHAPS no division of any department
| under the Federal Government is engaged
| in more important and responsible duties
bearing directly upon the interests of the
public at large than the Dead Letter
| branch of the General Postoffice Depart
ment Here are collected all manner of
letters, coming from the wealthy and re-
| fined aristocrat and the humblest and OBJ
scure citizen. The office is under the i'm
mediate supervision of Charles Lyman,
Esq, coming under the jurisdiction of the
Third Assistant Postmaster General, Gen.
Willihni II. ii. Terrilla There are en-
ployed in opening and recording letters re-
ccived ninety clerks male and female
The amount of matter received daily
in this division is immense. 1t is sent to
the upper story, upon which floor the
Dead Letter Office is situated, by means of
There are opened daily t0,00O letters,
each clerk engaged on this particular bust
ness being required to open from 1000 to
1,200 letters. All letters containing
valuables.are recorded, and the writers in
formed that they are held subject to their
disposal To give an estimate of the
amount of matter that accumulates month
ly in this branch of the Postoffice Depart
ment, we extract some items of interest in
the last annual report of Mr.. Lyman
Whole nnnlber of letters received, 1888, ,365 /;
whole number of letters and circulars de-
stroyed 157,836 total delivered to owners,
156,06l total money letters received, in
value, $7,SS381. The prominent cause of
the non-delivery of letters is the unmail-
able character of many of them. The
largest receipts were during the war; when
! thousands of letters failed to reach the
soldiers to whom they were addressed.
Many foreign letters are not delivered
on account of insufficient addresses The
geographical extent of the United States
and Territories being as yet unsettled, and
the constant arrival of emigrants in search
of homes in remote regions, and the con
ktinual changing oflplaces of abode in q
thinly settled conntTy opeTnto 70 Increase
the diflicnlty in the delivery Yof fDreign let
ters, many bearing only the name, and ad-
dressed united States" Many are ad-
| dressed without any destination being at
| tached, others are not stamped, and great
many are stamped with United States in
ternal revenue stamps. From a pile of
letters are selected the follpwingaddTesses,
some of which betray ignorance, but the
majority gross carelessness: mister Ma
karti, Rare of Mister Muldoon, forninst
the Protestant Church, New York. I"
james Prince, Esq, California. Harry
c.. Everzer, treasurer of the Excelsior
base ball club, Illinois" M Favie, Rue
de Fremont, Vile de CasilianO, Des Etats
.Unis. Nord Ameriquen y I" For Bal Glenn
ents, at the Cross Roads, Burbun Kounti,
klhtplsg.' Z, Hei1Eiell " -, Gehapp4n, siti-
mil Afkpensils' ''seefstafy of de hsur-
ance Company, Philadelphia" "Mikul
ssIS AsSs FsS ISsist "RsyS EaEsTd 4
| (no city or State givep) "To the mem
bers OF Congress from Ohio I, Many
Others might be given, butthe above ape fair
speeimens- In q small room adjoining the
main Office is contained large collection of
valuables Of all kinds, which have been
aOcumuiating for some time. During the
warn large number Of soldiers photo
graphs were received through the mails,
of which have been preserved in port
folio form. Among the large numbef on
hand, nearly every day some are recog-
nizsd and FstuTnedto IhOae baying claims
upon theln. =. " CJAWTd
Among the list Of valuables Is package
Of s9Ooons and raw silk, which was niaiIed
from San Francisco to Paris, and sent 10
the Dead Letter Office on account of the