The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1890-11-06
DEAD MAIL NATTER.
An Interesting Circular Issued by
the Dead Letter Office.
why Millions OF Letters and Parcels Fail
to Reach Their observation-disclosures
lions That should BE Observed
by Everybody.

by Everybody.
Over six million pieces Of mail mat
ter are sent annually to the Dead Letter
| Office by reason of incorrect, illegible,
| or deficient address, insufficient postage,
insecure inclosing, whereby matter
mailed becomes separated from the en-
velope or wrapper, or the failure to be
called for or delivered to the person ad-
dressed. This is a daily average of
over twenty thousand pieces.
OF these the greater portion either
| are not called for at the post Office to
which they are directed, or, in case of
| free-delivery offices, the addresses can
not be found, notwithstanding every
known means is resorted to on the part
of the postal officials to effect delivery.
Matter sent to the Dead Letter Office,
which can not be delivered to the per-
son addressed, is required to be opened
in it's treatment for the purpose of re-
turn to the sender, and if the name and
address of the sender be not shown or
can not be ascertained from the con-
tents, and it contains no valuable in
closure, it must be destroyed.
Letters opened and found to contain
any Enclosure of obvious value are en-
tered upon proper records, and, OF such,
those which do not disclose sufficient
information to enable them to be re-
turned are filed, subject to reclamation
upon proper application and identified
ton.
Letters which contain no Enclosure of
obvious value are not recorded.
Packages and parcels are recorded,
and where they do not disclose the
name and address of the owner are
filed; if not called for or claimed with
in two years they are disposed of at
public auction and the proceeds covered
into the United States Treasury.
A large proportion of the packages
and parcels sent to the Dead Letter Of
fee fail to be restored to the owners
because of the absence on the wrappers
or Enclosures of any thing to indicate
ownership thereof.
Information as to the character and
nature of the matter thus received at
the Dead Letter Office, and the condi-
lions and influences which occasion its
the senders designed it to go, may be of
interest, and the mere statement of it
carries with it suggestions which may
serve the public in It's exercise of postal
privileges.
During last year 451, 900 letters were
either misdirected or insufficiently di-
rected, while "a, 900 were not directed
at all. OF the latter many were from
business houses containing money,
drafts, stocks and important instruc-
tions Many of these were doubtless
mailed by clerks. Ninety-eight thou
sand were to domestic, Canadian or
Mexican addresses held for postage;
| 165, 900 were to guests at hotels; so, 900
| were parcels of merchandise, books,
clothing, needle-work, jewelry or other
| valuable matter; and %, 900 contained
| money amounting in all to S4S,642.
Postal notes to the value of SIS, 500 in
| sums under SIS were found in 1000
| pieces; while drafts, checks, notes and
other commercial paper in the sum of
| S1,471,S7 were found in 81, 900 others.
| Forty-eight thousand contained paid
| and cancelled obligations, receipts and
/
| sixty-two thousand contained postage
| stamps.
Forty-two thousand were letters to
| fictitious addresses and principally cor
respondence relating to what is known
as green goods" or saw dust" swim
| dies, many of them containing money
with orders for the purchase of these
fraudulent goods. Parties engaged in
such enterprises invariably use an as
| sumed name, and when the character
and business of such persons is discov-
cred by the postal authorities such mat
| ter addressed to them is declared sic IT,
tious," and delivery withheld.
Forty-two thousand contained photo
graphs, 1000 contained articles forbid
den to be transmitted through the mails,
| and 1900 upon being opened were
| found to contain lottery tickets, which,
under the terms of the law, are declared
| unavailable.
Five hundred and thirty-one thou
sand were letters, and $1,000 parcels of
printed matter, samples, etc, which
had been mailed in foreign countries to
post offices within the United States,
hIfu ldlllIS VI uo1lNCEJ NOIO oCh1 W GhC
Dead Letter Office, and thence returned
to the postal administrations of their
respective countries of origin, I'M
| opened.
Two hundred and five thousand were
letters, and 1000 were parcels, books,
samples of merchandise, ETC., which had
been mailed within the United States
addressed to foreign countries, and hav-
ing failed of delivery at their destina-
ton, were sent to to the Dead Letter
Office by foreign postal administrations.
Over 5000, 900 of the letters received
at the Dead Letter Office contained no
Enclosure of obvious value, although
doubtless many of them were quite as
valuable and important to both sender
and addressed as thousands OF other
letters containing money, checks,
stamps, ETC., and yet of this immense
number of letters over 100000 bore
within either no definite or sufficient
address of the writer-in most cases no
address whatever-or there was NO sig
nature whereby the writer might be
identified or determined, without which
the Dead Letter Office could not make
return.
These facts teach that envelopes
should ALWAYS be plainly and explicitly