The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1884-04-19

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are carefully recorded and the
amounts are subject to reelama-
tion by the owner on making proof
within four years. At the expira-
ton of that time the money by law
passes absolutely to the govern
ment, and can only be recovered
by act ofCongress.n
"What per cent, of the money is
returned or delivered to those ad-
dressedf'
"Ninty.ssven per eent.-nearly
all of 1t. The number of letters
opened last year containing cur
rency, checks, drafts aud negotia-
BILE paper was over $4,000. The
amount of actual cash taken from
letters was nearly ESQ, 900, and the
value of checks, etc, representing
money about sl,6OO,OOO."
At this moment one of the
clerks engaged in opening letters
at a table near by-calIs to the
gentleman who is entertaining me.
He goes to him, and Immediately
beckons for me to follow.
"Now, what can be done in this
case n he says: "Here is a letter
this instant opened, and you see
what it containsr'
There is a clean, new twenty
dollar bill, neatly folded and wrap
ped in a piece of perfectly blank
brown paper-not mark of pen
or pencil to show from whom il
was sent. The letter had been
advertised as unclaimed aud was
dead, and the examination Of its
contents made ii more completely
dead than before.
ave have nothing but the post
mark, and even that is almost OBJ
liberated, but our exper: will take
hold Of it and do the best he can
with 1t. There's q pretty slim
chance in this case. l guess I'm
Gle Sam will get that money. This
reminds me of something in my
own experience. A few years ago
when l was opening letters,
found one just like this, except
that the amount was thirty dol
lars, and on the paper wrapped
around 1t was written In pencil
"A friend, Matthew vi. 81 l look
ed that up and found 1t to be
But when thou doest thine almi
let not thy left hand know wha'
thy right hand doeth.' The lettel
was addressed to q woman, and |
was clearly a case of charity.
really felt bad that We could no
succeed in finding either party
and the money is in the treasur.
to-day.
"There IL one class | want t.
mention, and that is the letter
sent out by or addressed to tn
frauds and swindling concern
that gull innocent people. Jus
look at this printed list we hav
of over 400 of these concerns |
all parts of the country. This lie
is furnished to all postmaster
and they are directed to forwar
straight to this Office all letter
addressed to them. These letter
: and we get them by the Thousand
are usually written in response |
: attractive advertisements or ci
culars, in which they promise whi
they never intend to fulfill.
: short time ago there was a firm
+ Philadelphia that advertised a L
BILE as the means of swindling Il
: people. At first nobody thougl
Q of its being a fraud, and a gre
. many bit at 1t, and they all got bi
. ten, too! We Caught on pret
! soon and found that the concel
: was raking in the money and gi
: ing absolutely nothing In retur
. We sent a notification right awi
Il to all postmasters, and, would "
y believe it, we received in one d'
= 5000 letters addressed to thel
! Nineteen-twentieths Of them co
VI tanned money, from seventy-f'
+ cents TO two dollars each. Th
v was the greatest lot of the XII
. we ever had. There was not lie
0 than $1,000 or 5000 in those Il
l. ters, all of which were return'
D to the senders, with a circular |
g forming them that the conce
u was q fraud.