Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1886-06-12
DEAD LETTERS.
The Office to Which They are
Sent in Washington
Finding All Sorts Of Articles in Missiyes
Tha. Go Astray

Among the many places OF interest tc
be visited in Washington, perhaps there
is no other that IS GO s,sorbinglv inter
c~tinc to the Great mass Of visitors as the
Dead Letter O.atce and the museum con-
ncctvl with it. There IS nothing to be
seen her, bat everyone is capable of un-
dcr>taali~@ and q ,oreciatin&, Just in
side the large hall 4 space ia rallied OF,
where visitor, may land and observe at
their leisure the work that IS going On so
bus;ly, Over 1900 letters { day to be
examined, assorted and disposed of.
Niiats a large corps Of clerks is needed
for the work, and how quickly, skilltully
aal mechanically it goes on, In the
first room the letters are opened and as
sorted, thos. containing money or arti-
cies ofvaiue going one wayand all the 9TH
/ CT, going another. \ simple motion Sits
/ open an envelope with uncrring precision.
The letter is withdrawn, unfoidcd, re-
! placed. The HeNt letter the same. How
fast the heaps o. the examined letters
grow. bat the WORK does not end, for the.
supply is never exhausted, but constant
y replenis!lcd Is the letters are passed on.
Here, a, in many other departments, the
work is several days or weeks behind
time, and fresh appropriations are need
ed for more workers.
The opened letters containing inc!os-
urcs Of value are restored to the sendcrs
when practicable, otherwise they are re-
corded apl fled away, and may be re-
Claimed at any time. Other letters are
not recorded. They are returned to the
writers, if possible, and when the writers
canno can be found, thc letters are de-
stroycd. In the year 1891, more than
Il, 900 letters contained money, amount
ing to nearly $34, 900. Some 20, 600 let
tiers contained drafts. checks, money or
dcrs, etc, to the value Of more than ST.
800, 900. Some idea of the growth of
the postal service in the United States
for a century may be formed, when we
consider IL this connection the state
mcnt, quoted from a postal report in
11&3, that $50 valuable letters have ac-
cumulatcd in til" department since 1711.
Many Thousand letters are received an
nnaliy containing photographs, postage
stamps and merchandise. Thousands
OF letters are deposited searly in the Post
Office bearing no supcrscription what
ever, and all such of course are forward
| cd to the Dead Letter Office for cxamina
ton. Easter cards and Christmas card.
, are received by the gross. These are dis
trlbuted once a month among the child
rem in hospitals. All reading matter re
ccivcd, papers and magazines, are dis
I trlbutcd among adults in hospitals.
l Interesting rs is the work that is be
inc carried on in the Dead Letter Office
| the museum Of articles collected there i
infinitely more 50. An mconceivabl
| variety of interesting objects, beautiful
! horrible, attractive, disgusting, amusing
{ pathetic, valuable and worthless, are ar
" ranged in the glass cases. Some mic
! jewclry is displayed, brooches, lockets,
. watch and chain, the latest addition be
, ing a fine gold-hcadcd cane. brought i
u the very day Of our visit. There are
} number of pretty rings, slender an,
: dainty c~irclctS. How many an unwrit
ten romance may they not have repre-
: scented, Were they bctrOthal rinos Ion