Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1881-07-15

i
has been received at the Dead Letter
| Once letter directed to him. which
VIII be forwarded upon the receipt Of
the necessary postage. To this circu-
lar the Department receives many very
funny replies. If no response il made
within thirty days, it IS treated as an
ord nary dead letter Tie great num-
Der and variety Of valuable articles
sent through the mails is amazing.
and Catalogue Of them would be
amusing. Once a year tile Dead Let
ter Office has a sale Of these uuciaim-
ed and unreturnable articles. There
are small parcels Of Iaces, silks and
ribbons, embroidered undergarments,
gloves, perfnmery and powders for
ladies, trlnkets Of every description
far babies aud children, and i-w+lry Of
all kInds-ta say nothing If millions
oi photographs, which hardly come
under the head Of vaIuat.Ies. not even
II picture nf ones bess sweetheart.
The amount Of money passing
through the mails is not SO large as be-
fore the money order system was es-
'abliShed; but it will he understood
hat II Is still enormous from the fact
that out of dead letters alone over
$4,000 in currency, and nearly two
millions in drafts and commercial pa
per was taken duria,g the last year.
\ great share ot this Comes from the
tnis or nondirected letters. People
seem to he 50 intent upon what goes
into the letters that they forget the su-
prescription. There is shade of sad
ness i'll the reflection that in many
cases great anxiety and even actual
suffering is caused by the neglect.
The following partial copy of letter
received at the office some time ago
will serve as an illustrations:
My dear Mag-I resieved your
very wilkim letter yestudav it gave
me CRATE ease of mind 10 here that YOU
are well as this leaves me in at pres
sent. thank Godm The writer then
adds a sad story of disappointment
and disaster. and finishes by SAYING:
Il send you tea dollars for you need it
more than don
Poor Mag, The $40 for which she
longed and waited has passed into U.i-
Gle Sans itch pufse-Rot from choice
but from necessity. Many will re-
member the great sensation caused by
the account of the marriage of Don
Cabral, the Diamond King,n-a ficti-
tious character created by Mr. Wm.
ii. McElroy, of the Albany Evening
Journal-Papers all over the country
published the account, aud as a conse-
quence hundreds of letters add,essed
to him came to the Dead Letter Office.
and were atterward returned TO Mr..
McElroy, as the only living repsesen-
tative OF the aforesaid fictitious Don.
In his application for them he SAYS:
Il do not wish these letters for publ
cation, but would value them for file
II my scrap books, as illustrating IN d
marked and unique manner, tue SUI
,ess of The Brazilian Wedding.r an
Extravaganza directed at one of the
oilies of modern life The writer's
of these letters represented every de-
gree of life. aud all with American IL
cectness asked donations or loans from
ilm for this or that purpose. Soms
even inelosed a postage-stamp or "a
only to have the clerks
who returned these letters wonder at
their credulity.
To sum mp. cannot help thinking
low much trouble and sadness uouh.
Sc averted If people would only diracs
heir letters '.in Il loud hand" as Pat
lid tut,an ~, l.,