Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1891-05-02
POSTAL POINTS.

Over six million pieces of mail matter
! Arc 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 on
velop or wrapper, or the failure to be
called for or delivered to the person ad-
dressed. This is daily average of over
twenty thousand pieces.
OF these the greater portion either
arc not called for at the postoflce to
which they are directed, or, in case Of
free delivery offices, the addresses can
not bo found, Notwithstanding every
known means is resorted to on the part
of the postal officials to effect delivery.
Matter sent to tho Dead Letter Office,
which cannot be delivered to the person
addressed, is required to be opened in
Its treatment for return to the sender,
and if the name and address of the
sender be not shown or cannot be ascer-
tanned from the contents, and it contains
no valuable inclosure, it must be do
ssroyed.
Letters opened and found to contain
any inclosure 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 identifica-
tion.
Letters which contain no inclosure 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 fled;
il not called for or claimed within two
years they are disposed Of at public
auction and the proceeds covered into
the United States Treasury.
A large proportion of tho packages
and parcels sent to the Dead Letter
Office fail to be restored to the owners
because of the absence on the wrappers
or Enclosures of anything to indicate
ownership thereof.
Information as to the character and
nature of tho matter thus received at
the Dead Letter Office, and the condi-
tions and influences which occasion its
failure to reach the persons to whom the
senders designed it to go may be of in
terest, and tho nero statement of it
carry with it suggestions which may
serve the public in its exercise of postal
privileges.
OF the unclaimed and undeliyered
mail matter received at the Dead Letter
Offlce during the past fiscal year, four
hundred and fifty-one thousand were
letters misdircctnd, or only partially
addressed-that is, not addressed to a
| postoffice, or, addressed to postof1ice
without the State being given, or, ad
dressed to postotiice not in the State
named, etc, etc.-while twentyfour
thousand were entirely blank, bearing
no address whatever. Among the
latter were frequently found the cor
respondence of business men, of which
a large portion contained Enclosures of
money, drafts, checks, etc.
Ninety eight thousand were letters to
domestic addresses, 'held for postage"
together with letters, etc, addressed to
Canada and Mexico, matter to these
countries being unavailable except upon
full prepayment of postage.
One hundred and siXty-fve thousand
were letters mainly addressed to per-
sons in care of hotels. The guests to
whom the letters belonged having de-
parted without leaving their address,
| or forwarding orders for their mail, they
w
hotels and thence sent to the Dead
Letter Office.
Forty-two thousand were letters to
fictitious addresses, and principally
correspondence relating to what is
known as ''grcen goods or ''saw dust"
swind!es, etc, many of them containing
money with orders for the purchase of
| these fraudulent goods. Parties en-
gagged in these fraudulent and unlawful
! enterprises invariably do so under an
assumed name, and when the character
and business of such persons is dis
| covered by the postal authorities, such
! matter addressed to them is declared
''fcticious" and delivery withheld.
Eighty thousand were parcels of mer-
chaudise, books, clothing, needle-work,
! jewelry, etc, etc, many of which were
misdirected. while others were without
wrapper, having been insecurely in
closed, and others from which the ad
! dress had become separated and lost.
A large proportion wore those upon
! which the required amount OF postage
| to entitle them to transmission through
! the mails had not been prepaid, in
| sufficient payment being due to i'm
proper inclosing, whereby higher rate
of postage was required.
Twenty-eight thousand contained
money amounting in all to S4s,642O0.
Four thousand had Enclosures of pos
tai notes in small sums under SIS, aggre-
| eating So, 300.
Twenty-seven thousand were found to
contain drafts, checks, notes, CONNER
cial paper, etc, ETC., in the sum of ST.
AL, 90, while forty-eight thousand
contained paid and Cancelled obligations,
receipts evidencing payments of money,
deeds, mortgages, general miscellaneous
papers, etc. etc.
Forty-two thousand contained photo