The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1885-08-26
THE postal. MoRnuR.



Shortly before the retirement of Mr.. Dial.
las as chief Of the dead letter Office in the
Post Office Department, says Washington
correspondent, he told me that jew had
been discovered shipping an entire stock of
goods from New York to Baltimore through
the mails to save express charges, and the
goods had been detained ct the dead letter
office. The dead letter office has become
tho most interesting, if not the most import
ant branch of the postal service. It was
established in 1925.
During the last year there wos received
OF the Office an average of nearly Is, 900 let
tiers daily, or a total of about 5000, 900.
These have been handled by 100 employees,
mostly women. The dead letters are classi-
fled as " ordinary" and unavailable" the
latter being such as do not have sufficient
address or which contain prohibitory mat
ter. Misdirected letters will average 900
day, and letters which have no address at
all 1000 month. 1t is an astonishing fact
that the greater per cent of the latter con-
tain money. OF the domestic letters oponed
the last year about AZ, 900 contained money,
drafts, checks and money orders amounting
to about $1,500,0O0. Nearly 10000 con-
tanned postage stamps. Every opened letter
containing an enclosure of value is carefully
recorded, and those for which no owner
can be found are filed away, subject to
reclamation within four years. When the
wfitarc IN AL al - Ia
ter he is informed of the money being de.
Gained, and by satisfactory proof is able to
secure it.
lady has charge of the m:sdirected let
ters. If possible they are sent to the per-
sons they are intended for. So proficient
has this lady become that she is as we'll
acquainted with the names of cities, villages
and streets rs the average schoolboy is
acquainted with A B G. At her desk she
has railway guides, directories and books
containing the names of newspapers, bank
ers, ministers and the streets Of all the large
cities in the United States to aid her in for.
warding letters to the proper person, city
or State. A letter was recently directed to
Law " odoce, NhshNiiie, Aeuu. ~ WIS
returned to the dead letter office. At once
the lady knew that the party addressed re-
sided III Washington as there is but one
&C" street in the United States, and that
is in that city. The letter was delivered
and the party to whom it was sent was
found. In directing it tho writer had plac-
ed the name of his own city upon the en-
velope-a common error. Oftentimes the
lady is required to guess at the address
and i'll no place can woman improve her
faculty of guessing more than right here.
She is not required to guess like the Eng.
lishman occupying similar position in the
department of Great Britain. letter was
received at that office directed my son,
up three flights of stairs, London" TO.
day letter came to the department al
Washington addressed to Wine Dock
The name of the town to which the letter
was sent is Wyandotte.
When it is impossible to forward letter
without opening, it is opened and read by 0
young lady, and, the address of the writer
being obtained, is returned. One young
lady can open about one thousand of thess
| letters n dav.