The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1881-11-11
a PCsttnaster's Mali.


New York Office, said to reporter: We
have dozens and dozens of letters eyery
day, which may be termed "Private in.
quiries." They have become 30 MINER
Gus that we have been compelled to
issue circular snswerto such inquiries,
STATING that they are not connected with
any official duties here, and that we have
no time to attend TO them. They in.
clude all sorts OF enzious and all sorts
OF foolish question:. IL we can con.
veniently do so, y make inquiries and
send reply, provided there's q stamp
inclosed. SOmo time ago there was q
man wrote to us from California, saving
that he wanted the address of his father,
whom he had hot seen for ten years.
OF course he gave the na1ne and lsssad-
dress, and one of our carriers on his
rounds asked for the old man at lis last
address. There it was found he had re-
moved to some other place years before.
Another carrier on the other round then
took up the thread and inquired at the
new address. Well, to mako q long
story short, the OLD man was found
working in Bowery shoe-shop, and his
son who, Of course, had grown rich and
prosperous, sent HIN mouey to come cut
to California, where he has lived hap
PLY ever since.
A clergyman olre wrote 20 rs to
hunt up dissipated son, and more by
accident than otherwise we found him,
But he was bad one. He hnd been in
State prison once Ct twice, and when ho
was informed OF Lis fathers search he
told us to reply th4 30 was ell right. ho
mad married L. -s.I.
being i'll partnershio With jim Keepe,
and he would like Re old gentleman to
call and see him.
Many inquiries made daily Of tho
postmaster respecti, q business schemes,
the virtues Of modiciACa and IS to tho
character Of men v' are about 10 marry
in some distant pi4 These the post
master can hardly e.ly to, except on
his own personal knowledge OF that of
some one of his trusted subordirates.
One letter came iuqt.iliDg of - had q
good-paying gambling saloon, rs he IS
consiing my daug' 'ar. ana say la has,"
r-'-..--------- -----I-~-.s.-7 s.iil,gir tflssy
he didn't know. Ii WAS too delicate an
inquiry to go into where the future hap
pines OF the two human beings may have
been at stake.
There Is, said Air. Gayler, L:r cor.
respondenco carIi-., con unlcr cover OF
the postmaster. dor Instance, ucecns
who may want to l.fgetiate g. i1to or
start scandal Will often write letter
from some other iowa. dating il Sew
York and addressia IL to the prancsod
victim in that tow Thonthe viii IN
close the letter, Yelopod, addressed
End stamped 70 iAe postmaster hora,
with a request that il will be posted.
That secures the New York postmalk
on it, which is what they want, and of
course ii shuts suspicion away from
the actual sender, while it increases tho !
mystery.
But under the regulations all such
letters have special mark put on them |
which greatly distulbs tho sendel's ex-
pectations. Each one receives M extra |
mark which reads thus: "Mailed at |
under cover to postmaster, New
York" This, continued Mr.. Gayler, |
rather gives away thesender, especially |
as he is apt to care little about conceal
ing his handwriting when the supposed |
postmark will help so much to hide
him. Some days ago I sent one of
these to, say John Smith, in Pough- |
keepsie, with our special mark on it, |
and in less than three days L saw John
Smith had been on regular horse
whipping excursion around that beau
tiful city.
Then there are a great many letters
which come under cover for the very
rich men or noted philanthropists, ike
Gould, Vanderbilt or George l.. Seney.
The writer does not know the full ad-
dress, and requests the postmaster to
fill it in. This, of course, is always
done if the stamps are on the envelope.
The letters may be begging letters OF
threatening letters for all we know.
All We have to say is: Have the enve-
lopes got the stamps on? But, of
course, these inclosed letters must also
bear our postmark, and so I suppose
Gould and Seuey are often
perplexed to find a letter postmarked
" New York" and dated out in California
or down in Georgia. SometimesI sup
pose very innocent letters are set down
as frauds by the gentlemen, because
there appears to be some sham in the
date.