The herald., 1893-12-31
A QUEER AUCTION.

The Annual Sale at the Dead Letter
Ofise In Washington.
Washington correspondence of the
New York Press: The annual sale at
the dead letter Office takes place Mon
day. It always attracts q curious as
semblage of inquisitive people and sec
ond- hand dealers. It is always produc.
tive Of laughabls Incidents, The articles
which are put up, for sale are divided
into lots, and each lot is numbered and
described in ca talogue. But occasion
ally box or package figures in the list,
and there is much speculation as to the
contents. People have been known to
buy second hand desks and find govern
ment bonds in them-snd great many
of the people who attend the dead letter
sale confne their bids to the mysterious
parcels, whose contents are unknown.
Some of these bidders carry away their
purchases without examination, but
others open them in the face of the
crowd, and there is always a loud guf-
faw when some gray haired man finds
that he has purchased pair of old cor
sets and some badly worn stockings.
Everything, from old shoes to scorpions,
goes to the dead letter Office.
It happens sometimes that things OF
grsat value creep into dead letter sale.
The superintendent of the dead letter
Office carefully weeds out the money in
letters. He finds as much as $50, 600 in
misdirected letters in a single year.
Under the rules of the department every
effort ia made TO find the owner of let.
ter or parcel. If he cannot be found and
the property remains unclaimed for two
years it is sold for Uncle Ssm's benefit.
But the owner does not lose his interest
in it. If he can prove his claim at any
time in the future, if it was in money or
any negotiable security, he will get its
full value. 1t it was in merchandise, he
will only get what it brought at the auc-
tion sale.
Unclaimed money ia much the largest
source of revenue of the dead letter Of
fee. The sale Of unclaimed property
seldom brings in more than S. 1000. The
sale OF last year realized $2,807.
There lie great variety in the articles
which will be offered for sale by the
suctioneer, beginning Monday. Silk
handkerchiefs predominate, and Catho-
lie emblems are not far behind them in
number. There are more women's ar
biCt0b bAdh AOu w O0 bOlus lnoLC dIO
gloves and ribbons, hair crimpers, ruch-
ing. jerseys, corsets (the size of which is
carefully set forth in each case), aprons.
worsted capes. shawls, mittens, hoods.
dress goods samples, scissors, assorted
underwear, work boxes, jewel cases,
lsces, sewing elk, wells, fans, hairpin
cushions, pin cushions, bustles, calico,
BASQUE lining, wire bonnet frames. hat
ornaments, zephyr yarn, shoes, stock
ings, slippers, purses, thin bIes, braid,
hat feathers, aigrettes, muffs, stamped
patterns and almost everything else in
the line of small shopping.
Out of the 1900 lots which are offered,
probably 100 or more include poems"
There are a great many poems to be
sold. There is great deal OF stationery,
most Of it identified as "cheap." There
are curtain rings and revolvers, tobacco
pipes, old neckties, shoemakers' knives,
dental instruments, harmonious, drill
bits, testaments, electric beltH. cartridge
shells, typewriter supplies, pocket cook
stoves, flags, music, watch springs,
violin strings, pillow cases. spy glasses,
rat traps, music box cylinders. wigs.
bicycle bells, dark lanterns, toys. Grand
Army buttons, cutlery. quilts, screw
drivers, pressed flowers, coin banks,
tuning forks. lead pencils. eyeglasses
eyeglass cleaners, telegraph saunders.
button tryers, ,calipers, q detective badge,
priests collar, carpenters tools,
drummers belts, playing cards, poker
dice, dating stamps, parts OF harness,
metal letters, whistles, pulleys, can
openers-snd indeed 80 many other
things that they are literally 'too