The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1895-01-17
|THE SUPERB SYSTEM
Used by Uncle Sam in
Protecting
His People From Loss of
Mail Matter.
A Few Details of One of the Finest
Departments in the
World.


The annual auction sale Of the Dead
Letter Office has just occurred. 1t is
an annual source of amusement to
certain number Of people in Wash
ington. 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 institutions usually have
some value, while the "dead horse"
from the postofice department is COM
posed very largely of the most trifiing
and valueleSS articles. Still the sale
brings to the department nearly $4,000
a year, which helps to pay the eX-
penses of the dead letter office.
The articles just sold have been in
the hands of the dead letter Office for
two years or more. This is in accord
ance with the postal regulations,
which require that parcel natter
shall be held so long a time if its own
er cannot be found. 1t must be re-
membered that all diligence is eXer-
cised by the postal authorities to find
first the sender and then the addressee
of a package, 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 a
great quantity of matter Of any value
would accumulate during year. Yet
Of seven million letters and parcels
sent to the dead letter Office during
a year as insufficiently or incorrectly
addressed, only three millions reached
their destination after investigation.
Doubtless a great number Of these
were in the list of unstamped letters
or parcels. Where a letter is simply
unstamped a notice is sent to the ad-
dressee to forward postage; when a
parcel is unstamped, notice is sent to
the sender. No letter or package is
opened if there is an address either
of sender or addreSSee on the envel-
ope by which it's ownership can be
traced. Yet nearly six millions of
| letters were opened last year, and
most of them were sent to the super
intendent TO be sold with the drpal t.
| ing about them which could identify
| their owners so as to make it possible
| to trace them.
One of the most remarkable 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 $3S,OOO 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 a million dollars
in drafts, money orders, checks, etc.
1867 900 Of this was restored. Postal
notes of 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 delivered to their owners are hello
subject to reclamation for three
months. Before the expiration of thai
time, inquiries concerning missing re-
mittances are likely to be made, and
perhaps they get to the postoffice de
partment and the owner of the money
on file is thus identified. At the enc
of three months the money is turned
over to the third assistant postmaster
general, and he turns it into the
treasury. But the sender or ad
y
any time within four years by making
claim and proving property. Letter:
containing drafts, money orders
checks, and valuable papers are flee
for reclamation. They can be of NJ
value to Uncle Sam. An unendorset
draft would not bring much at Al
auction. All letters containing salablt
valuables (and all packages as Well
are held for two years for reclama
ton. At the end of that time the arti
cles are catalogued and sold; but {
record Of their selling price is kept
and the owner by making application
within four years can obtain th'
amount from the postoffice funds
Postage stamps in a letter, exceeding
two cents in value, are filed away fo
reclamation for reasonable time ant
are then destroyed. The postoffice de
lpartment destroyed last year $67'
worth of stamps found in dead letters
Uncle Sam has a pretty big revenu'
altogether from the stamps which ar
destroyed in various ways and ar,
lnever used to pay poSage. He alS'
makes pretty fair income from mon
ley sent by mail which falls into tn
hands of the postoffice department
The amount turned into the treasur.
last year on this account was $4,000
Inc pOStOfhce department deStrOy
in year four million letters contain
ing no enclosures, which cannot b.
returned to writer's. 1t destroys ais
a great quantity of letters and parcel
containing matter classed as unmail
able. Before the passage Of the anti
lottery law a great many of the let
ters opened contained lottery tickets
Now there are not so many Of these
but there are many hundreds O
|sealed envelopes under letter postag
which are found to contain lottery cir
Iculars, and these Of course are de
|stroyed Immediately. Green goods cir
lculars are found in some envelopes
and these, if they cannot be of value
to the police in tracing the swindlers
are destroyed also. Then there are
animals and bugs and bottles of lia
uids and all sorts of things whicl
under the postal regulations are no