The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-01-30
AMONG STRAY LETTERS.
a Glimpse at One of Uncle Sans
Little Cemeteries.

Little Cemeteries
Ehere are some queer things in
Uncle Sans household, and none more
curious than the Dead-Letter Office
People in general have a vague idea Of
its importance, and of the amount of
work done in that apparently fnsigni-
ficant branch of the Post-Otiice Depart
menE But they have no conception of
the wit and wisdom inferred in that
littbe' cemetery of Uncle Sans in
twefvemonth.
More than six million letters drifted
into that office of buried hopes in 4
single year. and something over n hun
dred thousand magazines papers and
packages. The daily supply of dead
letters is about eighteen thousand
Not SO very many" some one re-
marked, when you remember that
there are more than sixty thousand
pest-otfices to be heard from" But
enough, surely, to prevent there being
many idle hands in the Dead-Letter
Office, as most of the letters have to be
opened. All those containing money
are sent. to the clerk. who keeps a
record of the amount received each day.
by the end of the year it sometimes
ECitiltS lllC snug lAlItt StliAi VI blili
five or forty thousand dollars. which
shows that there are people who have
faith in the postal arrangements of our
country. And their confidence is not
usually misplaced, as most of the
money is restored To- the owners; how
ever, when there is no clew and it can
not be returned, the United States
Treasury is the gamer. In 1855 over
~ 4 II 4 4
to the much-tallled-of surplus"
Why mail matter goes aStray is ac-
accounted for in various ways, although
many persons are inclined to hold Uncle
Sam responsible for all mishaps. No
doubt postmasters are sometimes at
fault, but sins of omission on the part
of the senders are more often the cause
Of loss and delay-thousands of letters
are not stamped, while others have no
address. OF course, no one will believe
there are many of the latter, neverthe-
less, in one year nineteen thousand one
hundred and ten of those blank en-
vclopes were sent to the ad-Letter
Office. Then again. people are careless
as well as absent-mindcd, and often
misdircct or only partially address let
ters, which never reach their destina-
IlOI. ulllCSS INC CltIh III lilt bCsta-l@cl-
ter Office can supply the missing link
In three hundred and siXty-five days
over four hundred thousand such epis-
ties We're received. So il would seem
that a thorough knowledge of cities and
towns, as well as patience, practice and
considerable shrewdness, is necessary to
correct the blunders of the writing pub
lie. Who but n Office clerk
- ~ L l.
an has charge of that branch of the
work-would imagine that Bill Town."
Kan, was intended for Williamstown in
that enterprising State?
In the foreign department letters are
not opened.
"It would be impossible" said the
brisk little woman in charge. You
see. we receive a Thousand letters a
week from Italy, about two thousand
from England and the same number
from Germany, not to mention other
countries. We look them over. and, if
we have any information that furnishes
a clew, try again to find the owners;
otherwise they are returned unopened
to the postal administration of the coun-
try from which they come"
Foreigners have a way of ignoring
the States that causes dire confusion.
A letter directed to Fairfield, America,
is as many-sided as the tariff question,
and about as hopeless. ''St. Duskin,
America" was easily located as San
dusky, o., but some letters become
''all tattered and torn" in going to and
fro throughout the States seeking an
owner. ''The Russians give us the
most trouble" volunteered a bright
woman who for thirteen years has been
deciphering hieroglyphics, and under
stands all languages, except Chinese,
sufficiently for her work Who would
imagine that ii required such linguist
to straighten out the tangled web of
foreign correspondence? Considerable
general information is also needed. a
knowledge of many countries and ma
tions, and of the various States where
the different nationalities most do con-
gregate-and even then eternal Wig
lance will not insure success.
What becomes of all the dead mail
matter?" is often asked. The thousands
of magazines, illustrated papers. pic
ture-cards and valentines that can not
be returned to their owners are .sdis-
tributed," 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
a good cause by carrying brightness and
change into many weary lives. and
happiness to the little waits without a
home.
Although every effort is made to
lind owners for the various things that
drift into the Dead-Letter Office, so
many packages remain unclaimed that
at the end of each year an auction is
held. 1t is a sort of departmental house
cleaning. No other sale in the city
draws such a crowd as Uncle Sans an
nual sale of dead mail matter" The
packages are sold unopened, and al
though the contents are known, the
value is not; il is what an Irishman
would call buying a pig in sack"
OF course, it is heterogeneous collec-
ton, as in these days almost every