Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1888-02-23
DEAD-IIETTER OFFICE.
An Interesting Account Of a Re-
cent Visit.
The Museum-The Fate of Lost and Mis-
directed Letters Tho Package De-
partment-The Labors of Faith
full and Patient Clerks.

partment-The Labors of Faith
full and Patient Clerks.
OF all the Government work done in
Washington, none is more interesting
than that which we saw going on at
the Dead-Letter Office during recent
mornings visit. Our little party
reached the Office about ten o'clock,
and sent in fortunate note of intro
duction to the head of one of the depart
ments He soon made his appearance,
and constituted himself our intelligent
and trustworthy guide.
Our first pause was made in room
known as ''the museum" and it cer-
tainly looked like a museum on a
small scale. No one would have sup
posed it to be any branch of the postal
service. Its walls were lined with
glass cases, containing the most re-
markable conglomeration of articles,
all of which are classed under the head
of "confiscated mail-matter." There
were bottles of medicine, Indian dag
gers, cutlery of all kinds, huge new
axe, loaded pistol, centipede,
horned toads, wedding-cake, box of
raisins, and, most dreadful of all, u
rattlesnake five feet long! When we
saw the latter he was safely coiled up
in bottle of alcohol, where his six or
seven rattles showed off to fine effect;
but when confiscated by the United
States Government he was alive, and
travelling in state in perforated tin
box on his way to some London
museum.
We next passed into long apart
ment, filled with busy men and women.
At the first tables where we paused sat
eight or ten clerks, opening letters
with sharp, slender little knives,
searching in them for any Enclosures,
and If any are found, placing those let
ters in different packages from the
rest. Among these clerks was one
aged man, who has occupied his posi-
ton since President Jackson's admin
istration, with the exception of one
term of four years; but even with all
this experience, the rapidity and dex-
terity with which he sorted and ar
ranged his letters was wonderful.
There" laughed lady in our
party, 'you see the fate of lost lettersl
Be careful what you write, my dears. :"
Our guide smiled.
my dear madam" said he, lit is
the safest depository in the world for
secrets! We see and read so much,
and so much passes through our hands
unread, that it becomes simply mat
ter of routine.
.'For instance: yesterday read ono
hundred and fifty letters containing
checks, and to-day can not tell you
SO much as the name of the writer of
ono of those hundred and fifty letters.
You see, one days work pushes out
even the memory of the last and the
labor becomes almost mechanical"
Letters containing cash, checks or
drafts pass through the hands of three
people before being sent back to the
post-oflice from which they are mailed.
Thus the amount is vouched for as it
leaves the Dead-Lett Office, and the
local postmaster becomes responsible
for the money.
Some months ago letter contain
ing small sum was sent back to a
town in Oregon. No receipt return
ing from the postmaster there, inquiry
was sent out, and he replied that he
had never received the letter. He
also suggested that it might have been
destroyed in the postal-car which had
recently been burned while passing
through Minnesota. Though the letter
was of insignificant value, it was care
fully traced to thas-very car. where it
must have been destroyed by fire. "Un-
less,n added our guide, ..'it was stolen
from the burning wreck together with
other letters in the registered bag, as
all such letters are registered. and con-
sequently supposed to be of value"
"How large sum of money have you
ever received in this Office in a dead
lctter?n asked /.
.'Once. believe, six hundred dollars
in cash was received. But have been
here for twelve years, and in my time
one hundred and fifty or sixty dollars
has been the most Even that is unu-
sual Here is my packet for yesterday.
1t is marked on the outside, you see:
One hundred and one dollars, and for
ty-five letters.
.Quite enough for careless senders,"
laughed L
..Ah." was the reply. "but we have
some tremendous sums in drafts. Only
yesterday there came one for one hun
dred thousand dollars"
We all drew long breaths
..Will the owner be founde He must
with such care as you take here"