The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1878-11-30

the tour Of the United States. Few foreigners escapt
seeing Greenwood, Mount Auburn, Laurel Hill
Mount Hope, Spring Grove, Cave Hill, Oak Hill
etc. Ii Is also remarkable that each town thinks it
own lefty Of the dead" the most tastefully arranged
carefully kept, and pic,uresqueIy situated. For ex
ample: At Washington We take just pride in Gal
HILL, . and point out to admiring strangers the efec
Of the terraced memorials beneath which g the sleep
ers lie under ground, - never forgetting that THU
woodland retreat, which we seek when life's cares are
over, was the munifcent gil Of our venerable and
and beloved fellow tO1nsman. W. W. Corcoran.
Peculiar interest attaches not only to the pretensiouc
modern cemeteries, but the heart Is drawn to the
IoHliest mOuldering way-side stone, and instinctively
we strive to discover the dimmed inscription which
may tell Of the battle lost or won. The Mausoleums
of the old world are the s~epulchral custodians of the
arts, the customs, the religions, the history of the
ages. The chief work Of the tourist lies among these
sad but useful memorials Of boastful humanity. Fol.
lowing tine custom above alluded to, 1 propose a stroll
through a cemetery, not the {" Congressional, :" how
ever, as might be anticipated, where repose many Of
the Nations iIlustrious dead, nor. in fact. to any
spot where a sign Of regret IS expected. but to the
DEAD LETTER OFFICE.
What becomes Of all the letters that are lost. Is
almost as staggering an ~arithmetical problem as
what becomes Of the pins. \ visit to the Dead Letter
Office will throw much light upon the subject, for
here, annually, more than a half million of weary
trayel-worn missives find renewed strength or final
rest. Under our first Postmaster General, Samuel
Osgood. the Dead Letter Office was a very small
branch Of the department; one clerk at a corner
table with a salary Of twenty-five pounds a year could
readily dispose Of all the work Of his Office, and pur-
sue either literary or professional duties during his
leisure honrs. But keeping pace with other deTel-
Opments in this country, the Dead Letter Office has
become an immense Bureau, which calls upon the
government for hundreds of thousands of dollars per
annum, and constantly employs ninety clerks, male
and female. The first Dead Letter was sent in 1777
from Georgetown, s. c., to Wilmington, N. c. This
letter was held for five penDyweights. two grains
postage. Eleven years of the record of the Dead
Letter Office was contained in one small account
book, which is q vast contrast to the Is ,400 pages Of
Iedgers, each page 16x22 inches. now annually con-
sumed in recording transactions of the Office. The
little yellow note book embracing the first eleven
years Of official report was kept by one Ebenezer
Hazard, first clerk. and is almost as curious as the
account book of Benjamin Franklin while Colonial
Postmaster, which some enterprising individual has
autographed.
a large number of elderly persons are at present
employed in this division, many Of them ladies who
having met with reverses, are fortunate in securing a
place where they receive good salaries, comparatively
light work and little fear of dismissal. One striking
feature, in entering the rooms of the Dead Letter
Office, is the number of handsome, placid looking,
middle-aged gentlewomen bending over their desks.
opening, folding and re-addressing letters. Each has
-. g ns,or 20 ann Iailu and
they frequently become so expert that their tasks are
accomplished often at "a little past noon. 4 good
clerk is required to examine from 1000 to 1900 let
tiers in a day. 10000 dead letters are received daily,
nearly half a million Per annum. The average
amount Of money, postage stamps, etc, which, thus
finding no owners, fall into the government Golfers,
is about $S1 600 per month. The jeWelry and other
valuable enclosures are very large and OF an aston
ishing variety, but their value cannot be fairly esti-
mated. During the year, 642O applications were
received from persons DESTROYS OF recovering dead
letters. 2I4O Of these were successful. A prominent
cause of the non-delivery Of letters intrusted to the
mails, is their unavailable character. When reading
the figures illustrative OF this fact, one is not only
amused, but amazed at the causes of detention. Take
one wear for example: OF the Sos, S9S letters, 29S,-
44S were detained for non-payment of postage
5S,3S7 were detained on account of misdirectlon;
1910 were addressed TO places at which no mail
service had been established; 1893 had no address
whatever; % ,425 directed to persons stopping tenn
porarily at hotels; 9,19O were addressed 10 fictitious
names. As may be imagined, this immense mass of
matter is unwieldy, Notwithstanding the thorough
organization which is 4 being perfected under the su-
perintendence and faithful services OF the Hon. Ever
EFT Dallas, Chief of Division. One of the agencies
acting most favorably for the diminution of dead let
tiers, is the use of . request envelopes" which have
a printed form desiring the return of the letter to a
given address within a specified time. For the in
PRODUCTION of these envelopes the department and the
public are indebted 10 the Hon. Jacob Collamar, ex
Postmaster General. The first year that they were
brought into notice, 50,O00, 900 were used; the de-
partment supplying about one-third Of the number.
This statistical glimpse may give a limited idea of
the work accomplished IN the Division.
MUSEUM.
Until within the last two years Mr.. Dallas Office
was lined with cases, where behind glass-doors, were
derosited many of the valuable contents Of dead let
tiers. This obliging official, finding that the intrusion
of visitors became oppressive, requested that q large
room should be given him for a Post Office Museum,
which request was refused by the economical mana
gers of the Department, and the collection Of curious
had to be boxed away awaiting better days.
This was n matter of regret TO all who had examined
the cases. The first idea which impressed the behold
er was one of amaZement at the variety OF articles
which sane minds have intrusted &c such frail medi-
ums as the mail bags. The first thing that attracted at
tention was the lustre of 4 solitaire diamond, OF such
pure water that il would have g~laddened the heart of a
connoisseur IN gems, aud it was with something like
= sympathetic heart-throb, that we pictured the feel
inGs Of the owner when realizing that this family
heirloom was lost forever, (haying certain mental
conviction that it was an heir-loom.) An elegant
ring, with q small Mosaic centre, surrounded by soft
cleaning pearls, was found loose IN the mail bags
poor Wanderers; there was no possibility Of discover
inc its rirbtful destination. Then there was n fine
topaz with the letter . Is " in diamonds, and an anne
tbyst set in pearls, and numberless handsome plain
gold rings, watches and chains, napkin rings, card
cases, l0ckets, sIeeve-buttOns, brooches and other
trinkets, sufficient TO establish 4 jeWeler in business.
From the mines Of the west were nuggets Of gold,
specimens Of silver ore, and fine moss agates. There
were prayer books daintily bound in purple and gold;
such as would please the aesthetic taste Of the " Rev
erend Cream Cheese near which were packs of
playing cards, antique miniatures on ivory gazed
sadly at you, looking fOrlorn in such mixed company.
Boquets of wax flowers, dried grass and pressed
leaves, Kansas grasahoppersa and black beetles,-and
oh. horrors. there were a dozen varieties OF snakes,
five Of which had arrived full Of health and tIie IN
tin cans, intended by some enthusiastic naturalist TO
be sent to foreign parts. One grim Joke IN the way
of q live tarantula, was an Offering from Texas.
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