The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-12-23
DEAD LETTERS.
Curious Things Put Up at
Auction.
CONTENTS OF THE MAILBAGs.
Articles of Clothing and Jewelry
Sent by Careless PeO-
pie.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10. - The annual
auction sale Of the Dead Letter Office has
just occurred. It is an annual source of
amusement TO certain number of people
IN Washington. 1t is even more amusing
than the sales Of dead matter by the ex-
press companies or the storage ware houses
IN large cities, because the goods which
come under the hammer from those iosti-
tutlons usually have some value. while the
dead horse" from the Postotiice Depart
ment Is composed very largely of the most
triting aud vaiueless articles. Still the
sale brings to the department nearly $4,000
year, which helps to pay the expenses of
the Dead Letter Office
There was a romance connected with
the last sale of the Dead Letter Office. In
story very like this. written when the
catalogue OF the sale was issued, watch
was described as among the articles to be
sold. The description reached the eyes Of
woman from New York at one of the
hotels. She attended the sale and bought
the watch. Later she told the story con-
nected with it. Her name was Mrs,
James T. Monroe Her home was in
Trapperstown. Mimi, until her marriage
to Mr.. Monroe a few months before the
dead-letter sale. While In Trapperstown
she was engaged to be married to Henry
L. Z. Brandt. He was in poor health and
his physician ordered him South. He
went to New Orleans and wrote several
letters to his sweetheart. The last letter
she received said that he was geing
to Florida. As no word came from him
after that, search was instituted and his
baggage was traced to the Ponce de Leon
Hotel at ST. Augustine; but the owner If
he baggage had never arrived there to
claim it, Mrs. Monroe Chen Miss Cald-
weld had waited for the return of Mr..
Brandt. but had given him up as dead,
aud finally accepted an offer of marriage
from New Yorker. 1t was as his wife
she was visiting Washington, when she
saw in the description of some of the ari-
cles offered for sale by the Dead Letter
Office watch marked 81. T. C. Brandt.
Through jewelers. tag on tina inside of
the watch, Mrs. Monroe traced her old
sweetheart. Frank Locraft of Fernan-
dina was the jeweler. The watch had
been placad In his hands for repair by
Brandt. who was geing down the coast on
a fishing trip. be forwarded it as directed
to TalacOsa. and that was the last he
bad heard OF it. Inquiry at TaIacosa
showed that Mr.. Brandt had come
there in a sailboat which was
wrecked near Jupiter lnlet. Brandfs
companion was saved, but Brandt was
drowned. He had told no one who his
pee ple were. though he had mentioned 20
his guide the name of his home. which the
guide understood to be '"Crapper's Sta
tion." The watch and letter of explana-
ton were sent to that address. but of
course never reached their intended des-
tinatioD. They then went to the dead
letter office. where they remained the re-
quired period of time and then. being I'M
claimed, the watch was sold at public
auction. The gold wasch was such an un-
usual and valuable article to be in dead
letter sale that newspaper writer de-
bed it and gave the name of the sur
passed owner. Through this publication
Mrs. Monroe was able to trace the fate of
| Henry Brandt
| The articles just sold hava been in the
hands of the Dead Letter Office for two
years or more. This Is in accordance with
the postal regulations which require that
parcels matter shall be held so long a time
il its owner cannot be found. 1t must be
remembered that all diligence is exercised
by the postal authori les to find first the
sender and then the addressee of q pack
age, and that it goes TO the auction-room
only after every effort has been exhausted.
and after it has remained unclaimed
by the owner for two years. Under
these regulations it would not seem
possible that crest quantity of
matter Of any value would accumulate
during year. Yet of 100000 letters and
parcels sent to the Dead Letter Office dur
ing year as insufficieDtIy or incorrectly
destination alter Investigation. Doubtless
a great number of these were in the list
OF unstam ped letters or parcels. Where
letter is simply uDstamDed notice is sent
to the addressed to forward postage: when
parcel Is nnstamped notice is sent TO
thu sender. No letter or package is opened
II there is an address either of sender or
addresses on the enyelone by which its
ownership can be traced. Yet nearly 6,OO0-
600 OF letters were opened last year and
most OF them were sent to the suDeriD-
tendent to be sold with the department.
waste paper. There was nothing about
them which could Identify their owners so
as to make il possible to trace them.
One of the most remark BILE things
about the Dead Letter Office records is the
number of people who send money by
mail IN badly addressed envelopes. The
amount thus sent indicates that there are
enormous sums in transit In the United
States mails during the year. Last year
S38, COO IN loose money was found in dead.
letters which it was necessary to open,
and of this $4,000 was restored to its
owners. More than million dollars in
drafts. money orders, checks. etc. was
found in undelivered letters, and 1861. 600
OF this was restored. Postal notes to the
value of $500 were found, and $500
worth of these found their owners in time.
Letters containing money which come to
the Dead Letter Office and are not deliv-
to reclamation for three months. Before
the expiration of that time inquiries con-
corning missing renlittances are likely to
be made, and perhaps they get to the Post
Office Department. and the owner of the
money on file is thus identified. At the
end of three months the monev is turned
over to the Third Assistant Postm aster-
General and he turns it into the treasury.
But the sender or ADDRESSED can recover
this money at any time within four years
| by making claim and proving properly.
| Letters containing drafts, money orders,
| checks and valuable papers are filed for
| reclamation. They can be of no value to
| Uncle Sam. An unindorsed draft would
not bring much at an auction. All letters
containing salabie valuabes (and all pack
| ages as welD are held two years for reca
nation. At the end of that time the arti
cles are catalogued and sold, but record
of THAR selling price is kept, and the
swner, by making application within four
years, can obtain the amount from the
Postoffice funds. Postage stamps in a
letter exceeding 2 cents in value
are filed away for reclamation for reason
able time and are then destroyed. The
| Posioffice Department destroyed last year
| 1915 worth of stamps found in dead let
ters. Uncle Sam has pretty big revenue
Ialf fbar TO no h nh A.,