Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1891-09-25
AMONG STRAY LETTERS.
A Glimpse ct Ono of Unclo SANS
LiGSlo Cemeteries.

There nre some queer thing: iii
Uncle Sans household, and none more
curious than the Dcad-Lcttcr Office
People in general have vague idea OF
it's Importance, and OF the amount of
work done in that apparently insight
ficant branch Of The post-Of.icc Depart
nicnt. But they have 10 conception ot
tho wit and wisdom intcrrcd i'll That
little cemetery of Uncle SANS i'll Il
twclvcmonth.
Moro than six million letters drietcd
into that Office Of buried hopes in II
single year. and something over y hur-
drcd thousand magazines, Papers and
Packages. The daily supply of dead
letters" is about eighteen thousand
mot so very many" somc one re-
marked. "whcn you remember that
thcro are moro than sixty thousand
poot-ofliccs to DO heard from" Hui
enough, surely, TO prevent there being
many idle hands III the Dead Letter
Office, rs most Of the lcttcra have to nc
opened. All those containing money
nrc sent to the clerk, who keeps {,
record OF the amount received each dav.
l'y the end CT the year il sometimes
reaches the snug little sam Of tiiirt,--
five or forty thousand dollar, which
shows that there are people who lave
faith in the postal arrangements OF our
country. And their confidence is not
usually misplaced as most o. 80
money is restored to t!gr-ovnc:s; h0,:.
ever, when thcic is no clcw aud il can
not DO returned, tho United States
Treasury Is tho gamer. In 1919 over
eight thousand dollar. wfs Thus ;..lde,;i
to tho much-tall,ed- "Hurplus."
Why mail matter gees u,tray IL ne.
accounted for in variona ways. nlti.oui.h
many persons nrc inclined 10 hold Uncle
Snm responsible for all ,aishaps. No
doubt postmnatcrs are sometimes ut
fault, but sins of omission on the I,art
OF the scndcrs are more often tho cause
of loss and dclay-thousands Of letters
ar: not stamped, while other; have no
nddrcss. OF course, no one will believe
thorc nro many OF the latter, ncvcrthc-
less, In one year nineteen thousand one
hundred and ten of those blank en-
velopcs were scnt to tho Dcsul-Lctter
Office. Thon again, people are careless
as well as nbScnt-lnindcd, and often
misdircct only partially address let
ters, which never reach their dc3tina-
ton, unless the clerk IN the Dcnd-Lct-
ter Office can nnpply the missing link.
In thrcc hundred end sixtY-iiye DAYS
over four hundred thousand such epis-
ties were received. So il would scn,o
that thorough knowledge CT cities and
towns rs well as paticncc, practice and
considerable shrcwtlncss, il necessary To
correct the blundcrs of The writing ,Ilh.
lie. Who but = Dead Letter q. licc yl,rl-
with all her wits about her--for wom-
nm has charge OF that branch of the
wordsworth imagine that ''Dill Town, :"
knn., was intended for Williamstowu in
that cntcrprising State?
In the foreign department letters are
not opened.
ut would be impossible" said the
brisk little woman in charge. "I-on
see, we receive II thousand letters .
week from Italy, about two thousand
from England and the same numlcY.
from Germany, not to mention other
countries We look them over, and. Il
we have any information that furnishcs
clcw, try again to find the owners;
otherwise they are returned UNOPENED
70 the postal administration of the coun
try from which they come"
Foreigners have way of ipnorinr
the States that causes dire confusion
letter directed TO Fairfield, Amcrica.
is as many-sidcd as the tariff question.
ana about as hopeless. EST. Dusl;in.
America" was easily located as san
dusky, O., but some letters become
aii tattered and torn" in going to and
fro throughout the States seeking en-
owner. "The Russians give us Che
most trouble" volunteered br;rht
woman who for thirteen years has been
deciphering hieroglyphics, and under
STANDS all languages, except Chinese,
sunlciently for her work. Who would
imagine that 1t required such linpuist
70 straighten out the tangled web of
foreign correspondence? Considerable
general information is also needed n
Anowiedgc OF many countries and ma
tons, and OF tho various States where
the different nationalitics most do con
sregate-and even then eternal Wig
Nance will not insure success.
what becomes of all tho s'dcad rno;,
matter?' is often asked. The thousands
OF magazines, illustrated papers pic
ture-cards and valentines that can nof.
DC returned to their owners are .sdis.
triouted, by order of the Postmaster.
General, among the inmates of the
various hospitals, asylums and other
charitable institutions of the District of
columbia" So they are made to serve
q good cause by carrying brightness and
shange into many weary lives. and
happiness to the little waits without q
home. {"
Although every effort is made to
ana owners for the various things that
1rifr into the Dcad-Lcttcr Of!icc, SO
many packages remain unclaimed that
NJ the end OF each year an auction is