Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1890-01-10
STRAY LETTERS.
HOW IiiLEGIBLE ADDRESSES
ARE DFCiPHERED.
Experts Employed at All Large Post
otiiccs-Thousandso of Letters Sent
TO the Dead Letter Office In
Washington Annually.

the country u picked force of men is
constantly employed in decipheriny the
intended meaning of illegibly, wrongly,
and partially addressed letters; and to
this force are referred all letters bearing
addresses that cannot inc read with facili-
ty by the sortcrs and employees in general.
The men who compose this force are
known either as "dircctory' or '.blind
readers" To the expert reader Of uniu-
telligiblc addresses, for such they seem,
life is continual perpiexity and filed
with scraps of worn envelopes bearing
nearly undcciphcrabc scrawls from
which he is expected to unravcl a perfect
address
Just picture high, old-flsfioued
desk covered with :. mass of letters three
or four inches high. the strong rays Of an
electric light falling directly upon them
and showing upby its bright glare tine va
rious superscripiions which they strike,
while to assist in dcciphering the very
faint ones, Or light lines forming parts oil
others, large magnifying glass lies really
at hand; also, numerous books OF various
siZcs and bindings, ranging from The
Social Register" of some summer resort
to the pondcrous London Directory,
and including a hCst Of elaborate schemes
Of separation aud delivery, and other
postal guides, and lastly II large bottle of
red ink with which all corrections are
made, red being used i'll preference To all
other colors rs it is the most conspicuous
At little distance may be seen :, few
more desks not so large nor so encum-
bcred with letters, but surrounded by
rI,@ Al, Il. 4 ~
books, and finally add to all this the
most important part, anumbcr of intent
earnest employees, absorbed in their work
running over a directory, searching &
guide or reference book, or rapidly SUP
plying by Il stroke Of the pen line to
complete Il letter, or Il letter 10 complete Z
word, or even whole word TO coinplctc
an address.
The man at the high desk is the super
intcndcnt, and his brief commands are
closely followed and obeyed by the others.
He picks up Il letter and with only a
glance, though it is wrctchcdly written.
reads it, and passes it along To Il subor-
dinatc for trial. Possibly this occurs
several times before he meets one worthy
of his attention. When lie does find
such lie Immediately Incomes buried in
his occupation; the magnfying glass is
possibly brought into use, thcn the guide
aud slowly but surely he builds up the
address which the sender through igno-
rance or negligence has partly omitted or
miswritten.
At the desks the men are handling the
letters passed Them, each man examining
kind oil letter which, through many years
of diigcnt study and possibly some natu-
raj aptitude he is better fitted IL treat than
are the others. One may have the hotels
OF the country az his finger ends. and
know all tie principal ones from Maine 10
California; another may he vcrsed in
local geography, and know all the family
residences i'll the suburban districts. Still
a third may he ''up'' in matters ccclesias-
tic and cclcmosynary. and know the To-
cation and addresses of the principal
ministers and charitable institutions.
TO the man unaccustomcd to searching
directories, the rupidity with which they
handle the pages and ruin down column
Of names seems too quick for safety, vet
10 errors are known to occur, so adept
arc they from long practice, and it is scI-
dom more IMAM few pages have to he
turned in order 10 reach the letter OF the
directory dcsircd-,hc boot; when first
opened seeming To- divide ut the very
page wanted.
The number OF errors in the addresses
which they are exanin;n. is 50 great and
of so many varieties, rhat ii is almost i'm.
possible to discover what kind prcdomi-
mates; but OF one fact there is no doubt.
hat nT IN
chargcablc to foreigners ignorant both
of the political geography OF the United
States and OF the English photography.
No better proof can he adduccd Of the
total lack Of appreciation Of this coun-
try's vast extent and political conforma-
ton that that exhibited by the lace Of
foreign letters. Tens of thousands OF
them being annually sent 10 The Dead
Letter Office owing 10 the omission of
the State name from the superscrpton.
as the following, John Brown, Spring
field, u. 5. A." Uherc are in the United
States thirty Springfclds, at which post
offices arc locatciD, or ".Iohn Roe, Tray
cling through New England" In this
respect the English people are conspicu-
ously faulty, though exactly why, it
"ouN w ti'ii'HiN w IN l'istlH Tic SI)t.t-
ing of the various State uamcs is also il
cause of great trouble to the foreign cor
respondent, and many are the ludicrous
results of his attempts in this direction.
As the following, for instance, cleaned
from letters in which the writer's have
attempted to spell Pennsylvania: ..Pcna-
vainer," open $ Vcna," ''Pcnsy- Vac
Nea," "Pencilwcin,' ..Pensthilwana'
(this gentleman, oriady, evidently lispct),
"Pennsylavcnia," "Pansyl- Vane," "Pil-
silvanin," "Bersievana," ''Pencilvania, -
which is a very common form, and last
and longest, ''Punasylaveania" New
YORK, simple as It's spelling is to its
citizens, also comes in for its share of
bundcrs from foreigners. Frequently
the addresses prove too much for the en-
pcrts i'll the local Offices, and the letters
which bear them are then sent to the
Dead Letter Office. SO many thousands