The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1876-08-21
The DcRd-Letter-OHice Museum.
rFrom the Washington correspondence of the
Cleveland Lender

The paradise OF fools, "to few unknown"
is the mental comment as one sees the many
evidences of peoples carelessness, foolish
ness, and stupidity which are displayed ut
the Dead-Letter- Office Museum. Arranged
in glass cases on the four sides of the room
are all of these waits of travel, displayed
with view to their respective attractions,
and suggestive Of the treachery of postage
stamps and the adverse fate which some
times overtakes even mail-bags. There is
everything known to the useful and orna-
mental; everything not smaller than thim-
bic. or larger than stove-pipe hat. Such
pathetic array OF might-have-beens, SO
eloquent Of disappointments and blighted
hopes Locks Of hair-there are whole
switches OF them-and as for photo
graphs, we are told that there are forty
bushels OF them in the basement Of the
building. But fancy yourself the recipient
Of 4 nice parcel from the hands OF the post
man some morning, which upon being
opened discloses live snake. Whether
one would 60 into raptures or Mysteries at
such treasure would be matter OF taste,
suppose. But, then, people do send snakes
through the mail, and sometimes they come
back to the Dead-Letter Office for want OF q
claimant, and we see them leading aserencly
spiritual existence in a glass jar among
other stray postal curiosities. 1t is a fact
that postmaster once found small live
alligator disporting among the letters
and papers in 4 mailbag. There was
also bouquet Of fresh flowers, Which
had slipped out Of its box; and couple of
empty boxes, very similar in size and shape,
and both addressed to ladies, left the poor
man in doubt as to which the alligator be-
longed and to which the flowers. Imagine
the fair recipient OF the flowers finding a
monster in her box instead of the delicate
offering which she had expected! But the
postmaster made no blunder; he put the
flowers into one box, the alligator into the.
other: notified the ladies OF the slight con-
fusion OF property which had taken place,
and directed each to exchange with the
other II she should receive the wrong arti-
Gle. But he was gratiticd to learn, shortly
afterwards, that there had been no mistake
made. Jewelry is one Of the articles most
commonly intrusted to letters and postal
packages.
One can hardly realize that there is daily
average Of 10000 or $4,000 dead letters, or
about 100000 month. Allowing one per-
son to q letter, there are 100000 persons
every month who undertake to send letters
either without stamps, without addresses,
or with cancelled stamps, insufficient post
age, or illegible or incorrect addresses.
Many OF them are without either stamp or
address, and often with no signature which
gives the slightest clue to persons sending
them. There are 10000 i month received
that either lack postage or address, or else
have insufficient or cancelled stamps; and,
strange as it may seem, these are sometimes
the most valuable letters, often containing
currency or drafts for large amounts OF
money. 1t is estimated that there is about
S3, O00, 900 in drafts and $4,000 in cash re-
ceived yearly through dead letters. This is
all returned, if possible, to the persons send
ing it; but il any portion of it fails to
find q claimant, 1t is turned over to tbs
post-office fund. Very little difficulty is eX-
Dericnced in restoring the checks and drafts
to the rightful owners, but the money gene
rally comes in small sums, and is usually
sent in the most careless, haphazard fashion,
and the loss of these small sums and the
ignorance OF carlessness with which they
are launched upon journey represents
deal of suffering and disappointment. Some
! hard-working man may send $50, the
savings of months labor. to his wife and
little ones, whom he has had to leave behind
him; but, alas he is one of forty thousand
who trust to Providence, without stamp or
address, or else his writing or photography
poNA
never gets the pittance, which is her all.
1t is very amusing to sec the letters open
ed, and guess at their contents before they
are brought to light. Three out OF five from
a bundle of unaddressed letters contained
money, one of them ative-dollar note. Then
there are such quantities Of dress samples
in letters. One would imagine that all wo-
mankind had discovered language in the
| interchange OF these scraps OF dress fabrics.
One half show their prosperity in bits OF
silks and satins, and the other half in slips
of six-penny calico, and it is only in the
Dead-Letter Office that they meet on COM
mon ground. Certainly every fifth letter
contains photograph, and don't imagine
that any great care is taken to return lost
photographs; but any one so bereayed has
the privilege of rummaging among the forty
bushels of human counterfcits" which
have accumulated here.