The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-03-08

! Uingtoun. Ewington.
jew City, CONN Jewett City, Conn.
! Murfur Burty ten see. MurfreesborO, Tenn
| bracill india Brazil, Ind.
| SuertsOn. StewartstOwn.
| Newpar. Newport.
| st Tullia, il. Centralia, I'll.
! BugnOr st, Lulca co. Bucllner Station, LOui-
| sa Co.
Ro Warty Dunwitty Rowanta, Dinwin die
| Co. County.
| Cohey surell baltimore Cockeysville, Bait l.
| Co. more County.
Indiana Polisind Indianapolis, ind,
| RETAINER, p. o., ofeSt. Ravenna.
ROuiOun Hill. Rural Hill.
| Al Bahia. Albany.
Sarogordy, Jole Co. Cerro Gordo, JewellCo.
| Raura. Aurora.
| Walega. Vallejo.
oteaty. Hamdon Co. Arcadia, Hamilton 60.
! CT. Crossen. Great Crossings.
! Lanceberg. Lawrenceburg.
! Gwilfort. Guilford.
| Pinicreak. Pine Creek.
Langbrach. Long Branch.
| HOudge. HOutzdae
Mustwiggon. Muskegon.
! Fairfield, hiway. Fairfield, Iowa.
| Farefell, Texas. Fairfield Texas
Knew Birge, l. N. D. Newburg, Ind.
| Ind dit oples. Indianapolis.
| Cigako. Chicago.
| AVeStro. HaVerstraw.
| Pitchie Box, CansesS. Pittsburg KanaS.
| Bryfell, Alibimor. Brienfield Ala
THE FOREIGN DEPARTMENT.
| 1h"hhIhS eIO lbug iOl ncI flhuuOoS
in so agreeably entertaining US we pass
for few minutes into the department.
of foreign letters. We are Pleasantly
received by lady of German birth,
who is in charge of this rom. We
learn that two classes of lettes are re-
ceived here - misdirected end dead.
Mails from foreign countries are sent
to the United States chiehyF'in bulk"
and distributed to our NUMEROUS post
offices at the various seaport cities.
From these large packages If illegible
and misdirected letters arr sent here
for the experts to work UPON. 1t is
essential that those employed in this
| department be versed in fsreign Ian
guages as well as in the postoffice no.
menclature of our own country Very
many letters from Germany, France,
Spain, Italy and other Countries in
which the English Language is not
spoken are utterly beyond the power
Of human skill to deciplrr. These.
with all dead letters mailed in foreign
countries, are returned unopened to
those countries. Letters from Italy are
said to be more difficult to correct than
any others, owing to the 1literacy Of
the people, and a greater portion have
to be returned as illegible.
Here are also received the pouches
of letters mailed in the United States
to foreign countries, undeliyered, and
returned here as dead. These are
treated the same way as other dead
letters opened and returned, as far as
| Il =, 50, "a
which might at irsteXcite surprise that
more than three times as many dead
| letters are returned from the United
States to other countries as are received
from them. This is due to the moving
of emigrants from place to place before
they get finally settled. The same dis,
! parity exists in the number misdirected
and illegibly addressed The superior
intelligence Of our people will, in a
great measure explain this. Dead let
tiers are returned to aud received from
seventy six different countries. With
the fifteen principal countries these eX-
changes are made weekly, and with
the others once a month.
Upon the floor of the room are large
number of pouches that have arrived
by recent mails, and many of them have
made long journeys. We notice sacks
from Chill, Persia, China, Java and
New Zealand, There is a grim humol
in the fact that the pouches used for
dead letters in all countries under the
British Government are black-the color
that is always associated with death.
| Each month about II, 900 letters are re.
ceived from and $4,000 returned to for
eign countries.
We will pause just for moment as
the lady clips the string around pack
age of INSTRUCTED foreign letters Just
arrived from New York. The first one
is addressed only 1923 Charlotte Street
America. " The next one is but little
less vague, "Conn. Box 40, U. S. A.
Another, marked urgent, " is addressed
''Trumbull County, o. and nothing
more. Here is one with heavy mourn.
ing border, mailed at Bristol, Eng, adj
dressed, 'Mr. Luke Tucker, between
Burwell Street and King, on York,
344. After consulting the directory
the lady thinks this should be Cleve.
! land. and so marks it.
The experts here employed work in
the same manner as heretofore de,
scribed, with the added perplexity of the
mixing of languages equal to the econ.
fusion of tongues" at Babel. As may
be imagined, their skill is more otter
| baflled.
THE "RETURNTNG BOARD.
One other department will entertain
and amuse us, but our stay must be-
brief. Ascending to a sort of gallery
that extends entirely around the main
Office, we see sixty ladies at their desks
Their part in this wonderful machine
is to examine the opened letters and tc
renal them to the writers, as far as
possible. Nineteen-twentieths of them
are so returned. The remaining TWEEN
tieth- amounting to about 100000 PEI
year-are destroyed. The openers
make no examination of letters, except
to see ut glance whether they contain
anything Of value. This is all done by
these lady clerks, who dispose of from
two to three hundred letters each per
day.
In the great majority of cases the
date and signature of the letter give all
necessary information. and the let er,
with its original enyelop, is soon re- dy
for its return trip. There are many in
which the post-oilice is not given in he
heading. In business as well as sot ial
letters the writer often uses perhaps a