Arizona republican., 1898-02-14
DEAD LETTER LIBRARY.
A Growing Collection of Missent
 Volumes

Washington, Feb. 13.-There is sell dom day passes that some stranger
 does not visit the dead letter museum, , and after several hours of inspection, i fails in his attempt to find some article that he may have missent at some pre- { vious time. Were it anything of or ; dinary value it would probably be arranged along the shelves of articles that go to make up the curious col
 lection in the museum, but were it book it would probably be on the shelf of the library, and to that place he would direct his steps, only to be
 thWarted in his attempts, as he could
 not have recognized it among so large number of volumes.
 The history of the library is one of | interest, and will prove, no doubt, at 1 tractive to those who have never seen
 it or enjoyed it's privileges.
 ! It was originally library of refer
 ence for the benefit of the officials of
 the pOstofice department, as it con-
 tained full history of congress from
 the proceedings of the very first day
 to the close of the Fifty-second ses- sion, as we'll as the history of the or ganization of the office of auditor of
 the treasury for the postoff1ce depart
 ment, better known as sixth auditor
 But in 1887, when ex-Senator Villas was postmaster-gen an order was issued to the effect that all books sent
 through the mails and unclaimed, in
 stead of being disposed of at public
 auction should be placed in the li-
 brary and permission granted the
 clerks to use them, since which time
 1t has been the source of great pleasure
 to many who heretofore derived no
 benefit whatever.
 Every year there are received about two hundred and fifty books. for
 which no claimants are found and
 after careful inspection has been
 made those suitable for library are
 retained and the remainder sold at the
 annual sale of dead letter effects.
 There are many books of rare value
 on it's shelves, noticeable among which IS the original manuscript journal of Hugh Finlay, the first postoffice in spector, from 1773 to 1774, and also
 surveyor of post roads. It was of
 fered to the department by MT. Frank
 H. Norton of the Astor library, New
 York, for S250 and accordingly ac-
 cepted and purchased by MT. St. John B. L. Skinner, then first assistant
 postmaster-gen on March 12, 1869.
 It contains 9 detailed account of all T his doings, together with maps of the routes he travelled over, said maps having been artistically drawn with a
 pen, and also states the time of depart ure of the mails from New York for all foreign points. The whole is bound in sheepskin and is in a remarkably fine condition.
 Another valuable book is the fac simile of the original manuscript oi the ledger of Dr. Benjamin Franklin who was postmastergenera in 1776
 According to an account by w. w Cox, formerly of the sixth auditors
 office, "every word, figure and mark was written by Benjamin Franklin
 and all accounts were kept in pounds shillings and pence, each state having it's own currency" The book is very l old, singular and valuable, and wa. rescued from the flames when tht postoffice building was burned in 1886
 by Mr. Cox himself, and is now on fl,
 in the sixth auditors office, as a par ; of the archives. It is a curious ant
 interesting relic, being prefaced by concise and very interesting manu - script sketch of the early history O
 postal affairs in this country under tn
 colonies, the confederacy and the fed : eral government, covering the perio'
 from 1753 to 1895.
 There is also a Autograph of yer. interesting autograph letter from Ben jamin Franklin to Humphrey Mar
 shall, at Chester county, Pennsylvania u dated London, April P, 1771, Ii o the clear. perfect, and bold handwrit u ing of Dr. Franklin, and is one c o' the greatest curiosities to be found i o Washington or elsewhere.
 V Besides the above mentioned relic
 the following are also numbere among the collection Complete file It of the American, and the Annual Cy d clopaedias, the rebellion records, th d National Intelligencer, Niles Week.
 Register, American newspaper diret
 tories, official reports of all the dt partments, the United States blue Id book from 1916 when it was first pull te lished in one volume of eighty-eigl ss pages, to the present edition of tw 10 volumes of 1,200 pages each; coloni i. records of New York, Connecticut ar 70 Maryland; the life of nearly ever tt president, state papers of Washingto us Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe ar at Hamilton; Lippincott's Gazetteer Tt the United States, and also of u .i- world.
 Miss Henley, who has been libraris ever since it was started, keeps car ol full watch that the privileges are h. ar abused and is polite and courteous
 C @1x1