Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-26
FOUND IN The MAILS.
A Pen Picture of the Work of
The Dead Letter Office as
Now Conducted.
SOME EXPERT GUESSERS
Who Can Almost Tell the Address
of ANY Resident of the Country.
CURIOSITIES WITHOUT NUMBER.
Rattlesnakas and Skulls Some of the
Pleasant Features.
WITHOUT NUMBER.
RattlesnakaS and Skulls Some of the
Pleasant Features.
A LITTLE PROFIT FOR THE TREASURY

Of half dozen dime museums. Everything
imaginable, from bar of soap to an Ak
handle, and from poem of passion to q
brace of revolvers, finds its way into the
mails, and, if it go astrav, eventually finds
itself in the Dead Letter Office. Once a,yeal
there is sale of the miscellany that has
thus accumulated, and from 5000 to 10000
articles of more or less value pass into the
hands OF owners other than those for whom
they were originally intended.
Letters forwarded to the Dead Letter Office
are of two general classes-mailable and un-
mailable. MailabIe letters may be ordinary
unclaimed letters, letters returned from
hotels, letters bearing fictitious addresses,
letters returned from foreign countries, or
binary letters without Enclosures sent to
writers and returned on failure to deliver
Classed as unavailable are all letters con-
tanning unmailable articles, letters held tor
postage, letters misdirected or only partially
addressed and letters without addresses
Besides these letters there 60 astray in the
mails every year vast numbers of news
papers, magazines and pamphlets, parcels of
third and fourth class matter, and registered
articles, both of domestic and foreign origin.
The Rate of Loss Per Day.
About Is 600 letters, parcels and packages
get lost in the mails every day in the year,
and they find their way to the Dead Letter
Office. As this collection of daily mail
comes in it is assorted according to classif-
cation and the work of regulation begins.
Fifteen or 20 men and women are engaged
in asserting and opening the letters and
parcels, while in the gallery above are
seated 60 Young women intently reading the
hundreds of missives tender and otherwise.
They determine whether letter is of suf-
ticeut importance TO be returned to the
writer, for with them it is a matter
OF business, and not of sentiment
They only know how many ardent
messages of love the, have cruelty con-
signed to the flames, for all letters that are
not returned 10 the writers, after a vain
search has been made for the party of tine
second part, are destroyed by fire. Could
walls have ears. and ewes and tongues as
well, the Dead Letter Office might unravel
many a mystery and tell why ''the letter
that he longed Tor never came" How many
a lovers heartache these young ladies might
ease by only word, sign, letter or line
none but themselves know.
Letters that are misdirected or only par
TALLY addressed are turned Over to a lady
operator, who has acquired skill by long
practice, and is familiar with the name of
every city, town, village and hamlet in the
civilized world, knows all the streets and ap-
parently the contents of all the directories
published in this country and in Europe.
Avery knowing Person.
She knows that William Jones lives on
q certain street in San Francisco as we'll as
the carrier does who delivers the mail in
Williams district, and if one of William s
friends addresses a letter to him at that
street and number, and inadvertently writes
Chicago or Los Angeles instead of San
Francisco, she knows that the letter belongs
to William, and she changes the address
without opening the letter and sends it
along. Ii a thick headed correspondent ad-
dresses a letter to James Smith, White
Knoll, Tex, the lady to whom this letter
finally comes knows at a glance that there
is no " hite Knoll, Tex, and that the writer
meant il tor James Smith, White Mound,
Tex. Sometimes a letter comes along with
John t. Brown on it and nothing
more, excepting the postmark of some little
town away down in Southern California
Experience has taught the young women
that nine chances to one the letter is for
some other town in the same section of
country, and as a John T. Brown lives at a
certain number on certain street in San
Francisco, the letter is sent TO him. With
each Of these letters there goes to the post
master a slip instructing him to ascertain if
the Young lady's calculations are correct,
and Il wrong TO return the letter, SO that it
luay be sent to some other William Jones or
James Smith or John 7. Brown, if such
there be, to whom the circumstances will
apply. Ii these methods fail, as last re-
SOFT the letter is opened, and takes its
chances with the hundreds of others whose
importance determines their disposal. Thus,
by The ala of almost infinite knowledge OF
names andfplaces. the faculty of decipher-
ing all kinds OF chirOgrapEy, and familiar
!ty with English, German, French, Span
lsh, Italian and Russian, the young lady is
enabled to send to the rightful claimants
nearly 30 per cent. of these misdirected or
partially addressed letters unopened.
The Three Official Languages,
Only three languages, English, German
and French, are allowed in the mails. so far
MS the addresses are concerned, but variety
Of tongues creep in. The average foreigner
takes It fer granted that he who runs may
read, and that all the world is not only ia
milIar with his language, but reads and
writes 1t as well, or rather as poorly. as him.
self Occasionally q letter addressed in
Hebrew or arabic or Persian or something
else equally abstruse SO lar as American
postmasterS are concerned, gets into the
mails somehow, and when it reaches New
York after its ocean voyage it is sent along
10 the Dead Letter Office to be deciphered and
readtressed in English, so that the post
masters whose linguistic Accomplishments
are limited may deliver it IN the good old
Anglo-Saxon.
Such letters as bear undecipherable ad-
dresses and all others that cannot be re-
turned without opening are turned over TO a
force OF operators who Systematically go
through them, merely cutting the envelope
and removing any vaiuables they may con-
tain. Each man opens about 2, 600 in day,
and after money or drafts or checks are re-
moved the opened letters, in packages of 100
each, are sent to the readers, the 60 un-
sentimental young ladies in the gallery
above. Articles OF small value that are not
returned to owners, such as books, picture
cards. ETC., are divided among the hospitals,
orphan asylums and charitable institutions
OF the District of Columbia. The money,
checks or drafts taken from letters is re-
turned 10 the sender, unless the party for
whom it was intended can be found. Some
times, of course, neither party can be dis.
covered, in which case the Government is
lust that much ahead. In 1887, or instance.
there was taken from the mails nearly
$500, 600, and OF this amount Sc, ,672 06 could
not be restored to owners. The annual auc-
tion sale also brought in revenue of ST.
g21 u, thus making a total of nearly SlO,-
900 realized by the Government on matter
received at the Dead Letter Office.
Quite an Interesting Collection.
Ho,,ootod xr;tb tl,a I'D 7 49,. nar 2.