The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-10-10
LETTERS THAT GO WRONG.
WORKINGS OF THE DEAD LETTER
OFFICE At WASHINGTON.
Biennial Sale of Unclaimed Waiter
Two Ladies' Who do Nothing
but Deciphcr Had AddrcSsrs

Two Ladies' who do Nothing
but Dcciphcr Had Addresses
The officials of the dead letter office in
the postoffice department, says Wash
ington letter of the New York Evening
Post, are preparing for the biennial sale
OF unclaimed merchandise, which will
take place in December of this year.
These postoffice sales are interesting, and
attract crowds of eager buyers DESTROYS
of bargains or curiosities. The catalogue
Of the sale makes book of about hun
dred closely printed pages, and is
monument of the careless habits which
characterize the ordinary patron of the
mail pouch. The average number of
letters which fail to reach their destina.
ton because of defect in the address is
about 1000, 900 annually. The use OF
the especial request" envelope and the
extension of the free delivery service,
have reduced the number to a consider.
able extent, and the annual increase in
dead letters now is not to be compared
with the increased number mailed. OF
the number received at the dead-lettcr
office, large proportion Goa
tain money, drafts, bonds, checks,
and other evidences of value, and
it is IA remarkable fact that of the 10, 900
or so forwarded here for want of any
superscription, two-thirds at least are
from business men. This is accounted
for in the fact that the person who sends
money by mail generally tax S extra care
to see that it is properly addressed when
he does send it, while the business man,
using the mails as a daily means fol-
the sending of money, becomes careless
From fifty to sixty per cent. of all let
tiers forwarded to the dead letters office
find their way to the person for whom
they are intended, or are sent back to
the sender. The others, if of no value,
are destroyed. That so many letters
which to the ordinary observer would
seem totally unintelligible, find their
way to the addresses is due to the
care which is taken to exhaust every
means before giving up the chase. There
are received an average of about 1000
letters daily, which have been forwarded
from postmasters who are unable to
read the writing on the envelope, or
because some part of the address was
missing. Sometimes a writer will for
get to put the name of the town on
the letter he sends; again he fails
to designate the State. Then the
system of phonetic spelling adopted by
letter writers is extraordinary. Vir-
ginia was spelled by one anxious swain
"Furgeniar," while an English writer
having friend in Oswego, Oswego
county, N. Y, addressed the letter
'IIorsc Wigger Springs, Horse Wigger
County" Two ladies employed in this
department are adopts at the art of deci-
phering cryptography. Mrs. P. L. Col
Inns sorts all the ''illegible" or "incom-
plete address" letters that originate in
American postotfices, and Miss Richter
handles the foreign mail of similar char
character. These two ladies have been
in the dead-letter office for years. and
have grown so expert that thousands of
letters which would otherwise be de
stroyed are saved to their owners by the
quick eyes and clear brains of these two
ladies. Occasionally of course letter
reaches the deadletter Office owing to
the incapacity or the stupidity OF the
postmaster. These are readily forwarded
to the proper address, and the careless
official is reprimanded. DR.. Gregory, of
the civil service commission, who is con-
stantly upon the lookout for information
that would be useful to him in his
duties, recently visited the office,
and was shown its workings. One
of these errors on the part of
country postmaster was pointed out to
him. THAT man," said DIR. Gregory;
''should have been compelled to pass a
civil service examination and he would
not have made such a mistake THAT
postmaster, replied the official conduct
ing the commissioner, "has an average
salary of SO per quarter, and would
probably make some very forceful, if in
elegant, remarks if notified that he would
be removed if not more careful" DIR.
Gregory thought it would be difficult to
find a successor among the Applicant ons
on file with the commission.
Whenever letter is forwarded to an
address -. venture" that is to say,
when H., ,etic plan of discovering
the intent 90. he writer is adopted and
something has to be left 10 the judgment
of the assorter, the following office is
attached to the letter:
POSTMASTER: Upon the delivery of this let
ter please obtain the envelope and return it
to the Dead Letter Office. If the letter cannot
be delivered you will at the expiration of
seven days stamp the letter with your post
marking stamp, and return it and this circu-
lar to the Dead Letter Office, with your next
return of unavailable letters, duly num-
bered and entered on the list Form No 1922
A. d. HAZEN Third Asst p. NJ. Gen
These envelopes are saved for refer
ence, and albums containing several
thousand of them are among the at
fractions for visitors in the department.
Letters having contents of any char
acter whatever are carefully recorded,
and can be referred to at any time.
Money found in these letters, which
cannot be delivered to the proper per-
sons, is turned into the treasury, where
it can be obtained by the owner with
in four years, after which time it is
covered into the treasury, and can only
be secured by act of Congress.