The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1876-01-29
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.

The Amnesty Debate What Mr. Norrsoa Thinks
It--Cnriosltes u the "DsAd Letter" SAle-Nins
thousand Lots At Pubic Auction The stsuerV~n
Conecuon d Paintings Add stAtuAry. etc.
r. RON OUR REGULAR CORRESPONDENT.
WASHINGTON, d. c., Jan. Is, 1876.
As a matter Of course, the so-called
amnesty debate III Congress during the
week Just past has been the chief topic
Of conversation in public and private cir
cles; and, upon the whole, the revival OF
old sores is considered unfortunate and
unnecessary by all thinking men, without
prejudice or bias, of either party. The
telegraphic reports of these debates have
been considerably colored by partisan cor
respondents to suit their own views or the
avowed politics of their papers: and if |,
who was present every hour of these ex
citing debates, should SUN up their whole
effect in few words. / would quote the
language =: he Hon. Mr. Morrison, Of
Illinois, Chairman Of he Ways and Means
Committee, who, discussing this subject
day or two ago with some Of his colleagues,
said Well, there Is just this about it,
that whenever they speak, we get the best
Of them; and whenever lcs speak, they get
precisely the way it Is.
No wonder, therefore, that We have
grown somewhat tired Of politics and de,
bates of late, and, turning our backs upon
the hot and uncomfortable galleries Of the
House, seek fields and pastures new"
out Of hearing of the Speakers gavel
And Just now, Washington offers two at
fractions of A peculiar nature and altogether
out of the regular line, viz the Dead
Letter sale, and the collection Of Mr.
Stenersens painting and statuary. The
former is, To say the least, unique and can
be witnessed in no other part of the globe
except Washington, and then only once
every second year. The latter is one Of
the finest and most valuable collections Of
oil paintings and marble statuary III the
United States, and vas the property Of the
late NJ Oluf Stenersen, Chamberlain to
his Majesty the King . Sweden and
Norway. and Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary of Sweden and
Norway 10 the United States. Mr.. Stem
ersen died i'll Paris last month"; and in
struetions having been received from
L ! al 3
ngs ard statuary al private sale, these are
nov on exhibition in the city, and attract
large crowds each day Among the paint
ngs are several which took first premiums
al the Paris Exhibition ~ 1872, and all Of
them are BY prominent European and
American artists
referred 10 the " Dead Letter" Sale,
but this drserves something more than a
brief reference Through cArrlessness Ut
the senders, thousands II letters are mailed
every year without proper address, and
not only that, but without proper sigma
ture, SO that the addres ii the writer "
the letter cannot even lie ascertAined. All
these letters find, IA due course ut tlme
their way to the Dead Letter Office At
Washington, where each are returned to
the senders as can be returned while those
in which the address If the sender cannot
be ascertained, are destroyed Many Ut
or another, sent as souvenirs Or presents,
and these are carefully preserved and cata-
logued. At the end of two years, when
this miscellaneous collection has attained
rather astounding proportions, the entire
collection Is divided up IN suitable lots,
which are sold al auction TO the highest
bidder. This year, the collection embraced
some nine Thousand lots; and 1t would be
difficult to find an article that 10 not re-
presented ia this collection-all the way
from a paper Of pins to set Of diamond
iewelry; from two sheets Of note paper to
a live alligator il box As, under the
new system, packages weighing as much as
four pounds can be sent through the mails,
there are quite a number Of articles that
come in boxes Or packages, being too bulky
for letters; such as sewing machines (of
which there are several, mIaus the table,,
silver spoons and forks, babies outfits,
pipes, cigar holders, and any quantity of
embroidered slippers. There are book
macks enough, one would think, 70 supply
half Of the civilized world; and table
linen, bed clothes, under-clothing Of all
kinds, aud table-war enough to start
dozen families comfortably in housekeep-
ing. And all these things, not few If
which are Of considerable value, are un-
claimed articles from the dead" letters
sent out in the world without guide Or ad-
dress, by somebody to somebody else; but
whom, when or wh.re, will reman forever
q mystery.
This curious auction commenced to-day,
and will be continued for at least month
to come, until all the articles have been
disposed Of. As n matter Of curiosity, l
went there, and found the auction rooms
crowded to their utmost capacity fully half
an hour before the sale was to commence
The audience was mixed" one, com
posed of all classes aud both sexes, without
regard to age, color and previous condition
of servitude. There were people who,
like your correspondent. were guided only
by curiosity; people who came to buy on
"spec :" Others who, having little money
to invest, thought this would be good op-
portunity to get a birthday present for
some friend or other, cheap; and a large
humber who came simply because others
came, and who wanted merely to see what
was the matter Those who came to buy
on speculation, to sell again (mostly Jews
and keepers of second hand clothing stores