The Portland daily press., 1898-03-02
FACTS ABOUT DEAD LETTERS.
Their Number Decreasing in Late Years
and More Returned to Senders.

(From the Washington Evening Starr
turn the leaves of the immense photo
graph albums to examine the soldiers
pictures saved during the war ard gaze
down at the long table where dozen
men are opening letters never realize the
amount of work it takes to produce order
in the chaos of letters and parcels gone
astray. Ranged along the sides of the
great room where the openers are, and
also in several rooms near by, are the
bookkeepers or recorders Their labor is
seldom appreciated, because It's results
only are seen. Without them it would
for missing mail, or to locate any article
which the office has received. Uncle
Sans business methods are often ortiz
oized as intricate and laborious, but the
necessity otka system of records OF this
kind cannot be doubted.
About Is per cent. of the 1000, 600
pieces received yearly contain valuables.
An accurate record of each article is
made, giving its address and disposition.
Six sets of books are used for this pur-
pose, one for money; one for papers which
have money value, as notes and mort
cages; one for other valuable papers,
such as receipts and certificates; one for
stamps; one for photographs, and one for
property and miscellaneous articles re-
oeived in packages.
These are all returned to the sender if
the address is given. II there is no adj
dress, but legible postmark, they are
sent to the postmaster at the mailing
Office for delivery to the sender. If there
is no address and no postmark, or if the
postmaster fails to deliver the article and
returns it to the department., it is fled.
In the case of property the articles filed
are kept two years and then sold at pub
lie auction, excepting such books as are
selected for the department library. Sew
eral hundred books are added each year
to the library, which is for the use of the
officials and clerks exclusively. They
comprise largely works of fiction and
poetry intended for gifts.
The money which cannot be returned
to the owner is kept for three months
and then deposited in the United States
Treasury. 1t may be reclaimed within
four years. In these books one cent re-
oeives as much attention as $50, a receipt
being signed by each clerk through
whose hands it passes. No red tape is
spared on accou Mt of small values
The stamps are the most numerous of
-. II Ii = s,.1@ H.
Department. issues q fraud order against
my swindling concern that concern is
not allowed to receive it's mail. Its letters
are stamped fraudulent and sent to
the Dead Letter Office. Thousands of
dollars yearly are thus saved by the De-
partment and restored to the people in
money and stamps alone. The stamps
which cannot be delivered are destroyed
each month.
The photographs and valuable papers
which had Teen kept on file wore allowed
to accumulate until the summer of 1898.
when the Oldest files were destroyed, ex-
cepting only such papers as marriage
certificates, wills and others of exception
al value. At present only those photo
graphs and papers filed within the last
three years are kept intact. The rest are
destroyed.
Thus Uncle Som, with Yankee practi-
cality, utilities everything that comes in
his way. He realizes neat little sum
each year from the auction sale of pack
ages, from the deposit of lost money and
also from the destroyed matter sold as
waste paper.
In addition to these records is book
which givos the postal history OF lost
manuscripts, which number about / 600
yearly.
There is also record of inquiries for
missing mail and a record OF registered
matter The registered articles received
are not distributed among the six desks
named, but separate record Is kept of
them, go that these are the largest of the
record books and the articles kept ON file
here are miscellaneous In character.
Every month the periodicals which have
gone astray in the mails and reached the
Dead Letter Office are distributed among
the charitable institutions of the district
They are the department missionaries
that cheer the sick and bless tine lonely.
1t is expected that the recent orcer to
postmasters in regard to the palmer
stamping of letters will facilitate the
work of this office to large degree.
PostmasterS are now ordered to stamp
teach letter distinctly with the namo of
the mailing office. 1t sometimes requires
half dozen clerks with magnifying lens
ana every facility for "blind reading" to
decinher single postmark. This.kind of
stamping is usually done in the smaller
Offices. The letters from large cities al.
most always have a legible postmark
When this ruling is enforced the percent
age of matter returned will be increased.
The amount of matter received at the
Dead Letter Office has decreased in the
last few years. This is probably due to
the efficiency of the "Don't" circulars,
which are sent to all postmasters for the
dissemin alton of rules of precaution to
be observed by patrons of the mails.
This Office might be called the head
quarters of Santa Claus. At any rate it
is where his mail is received. Every au-
tumn his letters come in by hundreds,
and later by thousands. There is every
variety of spelling and childish chirog-
raphy. There is also o variety of places
assigned as his abiding place, such as the
North Pole, Fairyland, and other places
not within reach of the postal service.
But the little folks are not the only
ones who send indefinitely addressed let
tiers, Two examples will serve to show
the rare discriminating powers assigned
to the postal employees by the public
mind.
''Please deliver to physician who is
native of either Nova Scotia, New Bruins
wick or Prince Edward Island'
Evidently the area involved was too