The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1885-07-25

sausage grinder, thermometer, tidy.
tambourine, sets of false teeth without
number, army badges, washboard, an um-
brella, a ring set with amethysts and dia-
monds, beautiful collection of minerals,
and one of coins that would make any col
lector perish with envy, a miniature cotton
bale, and hundreds of other things for
which, generally speaking, the mail would
scarcely be considered the legitimate means
of transportation
The Dead-Letter Office is sometimes
faeetiously called Botany Bay, and again
it is dubbed "Siberian Mines" However
appropriate or inappropriate these titles
may be, it bears the reputation of being
one of the best conducted bureaus under
the government, and if it is also one of the
hardest worked, perhaps one implies the
other.
One branch of the work which always
seems to particularly interest outsiders is
the "blind-reading, or supplying addresses
to misdirected letters. Only olive letters,
or such as have come directly from the
mailing offices on account of this deficiency,
are treated in this manner. All carrier
offices make daily return of such matter,
but the bulk of this class of matter is re-
ceived from New York, Cincinnati, st.
Louis, Atlanta, Washington and Chicago.
Sometimes the errors or omissions occur
from ignorance, but quite as often from
carelessness, and not unfrequently the adj
dress is wholly illegible, except to the eye
Of an expert. In this way 100, 900 letters
are annually sent forward to their proper
destination with the seal unbroken. The
difficulties that compass this branch of the
service can scarcely be understood save by
one who has made a study Of it. For
instance, letter addressed "Mr. Charles
Hall, No. AZ Gregory street, Newport,
Mon. Where shall it be sent-north,
east, south or west? Alas there is not
only Newport by the sea, but s'seas" of
Newports, or there might as well be, for
the Postal Guide gives twenty-three; but
the numbered street narrows the matter
considerably, since only two Newports are
large enough for this distinction. But that
"Mon. what does it mean? A dead
letter lynx, if she had time to stop, would
tell you in a second but she hasn't She
silently adds to this superscription, "Mon-
mouth Co., England, and sends the de-
layed missive on its long journey.
"Mr Thomas Richards, corner Main and
Eagle streets, City" Doubtless Mr.. Rich
ards is very well known to his correspon-
dent, and his local habitation also; but
sixty-four cities claim the honor of Main
street, and twenty-three wish to suggest the
unblinking upward look of the eagle; there
fore this address is slightly ambiguous
But the ferret family are never discouraged;
they run their fingers through their bangs
while they momentarily mediate; they
snatch down big book, then a little one,
then middle-sized one. Not clue. No!
Oh, certainly; it is in the city of Buffalo
that Eagle street swoops across Main, and
makes corner; where else should Mr..
Thomas Richards reside? When the fer
rets went to school they must have been
ike the cute little froggies of classic story,
that learned every lesson well and forgot
never one
Again, heavy, cream-hued envelope, in
a bold, handsome hand, to "Mr Herbert
Coolidge, ~ Rock Street, Providence, L.
l., arrives at the Dead-Letter Office direct
from Providence, Rhode Island, whose
careful postmaster has had stamped upon
it, "No such street in Providence" The
"blnd-reader' is not discouraged by SO
small circumstance as this, nor by the
knowledge that the entire State of Rhode
Island repudiates Mr. Coolidge. That such
a person exists must be quite certain.
Granting this, he is to be found that is
all. Let us see this letter was posted at
Springfield, Massachusetts. Perhaps the
writer has inadvertently written his own
number and street, which often happens;
but no, there is no Rock street in Spring
field. Twelve large cities have Rock
streets, but they do not belong to the Old
Bay State The ferrets never guess; they
are logical or nothing Therefore they
reason. The process is instantaneous, but
it is none the less accurate and conclusive
This letter was written in Massachusetts;
it belongs to Massachusetts, for Coolidge is
an old Boston name. Fly for the Boston
Directory Herbert Coolidge, IS Kilby
Street. Far-fetched but true was the
inference that to this gentleman the letter
belonged When risk is taken, as in this
case, printed slip is attached to the en-
velope requesting its return to the office
after the delivery of its contents.
oMiss Lille A., No. 450 Magazine
Street, between Ninth and Tenth" Good
so far as it goes, but fifty-six cities lay
claim to Ninth, and fifty-one to Tenth
street, while eleven rejoice in thorough
fare known as Magazine. Only two Of the
latter, however, have Ninth and Tenth,
Louisville and St. Louis, and the numbers
in St. Louis do not run so high; hence the
conclusion is inevitable that Miss Lily
abides in louisville. 1t is quite visible to
these ''blind-readers that ''Bamsey, South
Co., Ioa, means Ramsey, Kossuth county,
in that state; that Senior Don Jose Miguel
Rodrigos mail, addressed Podilla, should
90 to Mexico, that "Hermoso, S. M, is
intended for Sonora, Mexico; that "Des,
Moines, Prairie CO., Nebr., should be in
terpreted Belcher, Arkansas, since Nebraska
has no Prairie county, but Arkansas is the
only state that has, within which Des
Moines also exists, but has no Office, its
mail being deliverable from Belcher.
Sometimes the postmasters make queer
work of these letters. A Kentucky post
master returned one with this information ;
''Sir i have made the Necessary inquiry
for the addresst person on this letter and i
have not found him nowhere in this county
nor no such here as VIM. Nickels.
An Arkansas postmaster writes, II have
never sent no Letters from this office all the
letters that has Beein sent to this Office has
Beein delivered to ther address there is no
person of that naim IN this county | have
lived hear for 25 years and never saw this
Letter tel Last Saturday nor heard Of that
naim Befour this the IL of Feb, 1881.
1t is impossible in brief article TO dc
Justice to the skillful, faithful work done
in this Office | have attempted only tc
call attention to certain salient points
which seem at glance to attract the IN
terest of the ordinary visitor.
Of the Alb species of trees found in the
United States, there are sixteen species
whose perfectly dry wood will sink in wa
ter. The heaviest of these is the black
.z-..r.ao1 / |oXIoJ., fa...a<,N of 2orf horn