The times., 1899-10-29
THE DEAD LETTER OFFICE
It's More COmmOdiOus Quarters i'll
The New Building.

Eight Divisions Busy Handling Stray
Postal Matter-The Museum Now
Incorporated With the Depart
mcnt's General ExhibIt--The An
The Dead Letter Office is now located
in its quarters on the third floor OF the
new PostofFice Building. In the old build
ing on Seventh Street, this department
was scattered about on various floors and
in sundry corners and its work was neces-
sarily hampered. Now the working force
is in close association. In order that all
the room necessary should be provided,
the general corridor was closed and there
is now no public passage around the build
ing on this floor. This permits the accom-
modation of the full force of about 115
persons. A fve-foot passageway, how
ever. for the departments use, is open.
The Dead Letter Office is organized in
eight divisions for the handling of its diff
ferent classes of matter. These are separ-
ated by iron wire fencing, so that while
detached from each other so far as the
transaction of business is concerned, they
have in common the advantages Of air and
light.
In the old building this department
conducted a museum in which was dis
played a variety of objects from a lock OF
hair to bottles of poison. Knives, pistols,
watches, articles of clothing, Internal ma
chimes, petrifed snakes, soldier buttons,
and, in fact almost anything that could be
enclosed in a mailable package, were in
cluded in the exhibit.
Many Articles Confscated.
Many articles prohibited by law from
being mailed are at once confscated and
sent to the Dead Letter Office AS there
is no room for this museum on the third
floor of the building, il has been incor-
porated with that of the General Postof1ce
and is located on the second floor, on the
Twelfth Street side. Besides large por-
ton of the curiosities in the General Pos
tai Museum were derived from the Dead
Letter Office and it was deemed inadvisable
to keep up two exhibits of substantially
the same general character.
Each year in December, generally a week
preceding Christmas, the department has
an auction sale of property and matter for
which il has been impossible to find an
owner in the two years preceding the sale.
Matter received without address, however,
is held only six months prior to the sale.
These auctions are conducted by the auc-
uoneer firm of the city making the low
est bid of percentage for conducting the
sale. But for these annual cleanings out
the collections would soon become so i'm
mense that it would be simply impossible
to preserve them.
The aggregate receipts from each sale
amount TO approximately three thousand
dollars. Before the sales a catalogue is
prepared, In which everything to be sold
is entered. But a package submitted for
sale is not necessarily in the same form
as it was when received. Numerous arti-
cles of the same general character are often
included in one package, and the catalogue
gives a description, necessarily very gen
eral one, of its contents. This is intended
10 prevent so far as possible, any imposi-
/ tion upon the purchaser. For example, a
parcel may be offered containing Cheap
jewelry." OF course 1t is impossible to de-
/ fine the degree of cheapness, but enough
is done to put the buyer upon his guard.
The officials do all In their power in order
that the Government shall not become par
" 10 any fraud. The money derived is
turned into the Treasury of the United
States through the finance division of the
department.
Money Found in Letters.
In this connection it may be said that
generally about one hundred dollars day
in actual money is found in the letters
opened in the Dead Letter Office A vastly
larger amount is daily represented by
drafts, money orders, and other conven-
tional paper This actually amounts to
nearly a million dollars a year But the
loss in these cases is comparatively small,
for nearly all the drafts, money orders,
etc. can be duplicated at little expense.
OF all the money received about rs per
cent is returned to the sendeTs, and the
balance goes into the United States Treas
ury.
The work Of the Dead Letter Office has
/ greatly increased during the past year,
but owing to the constant improvement
Of the mail service generally, and especial
ly in the line of delivering matter, it is
thought that the percentage OF increase in
dead letter business is smaller than the
/ percentage Of increase in the amount of
matter passing through the mails.
/ This department is constantly in receipt
/ of letters containing money and stamps
/ addressed TO fraudulent concerns no longer
/ in business. A few examples will serve to
/ illustrate the ingenious variety of appeals
u
/ Under the stimulating headline 1000
raZors given away" a handsome imported
/ Sheffield steel razor" of unparalleled ex-
/ cellence and selling as high as $40" to-
! gether with q cake of soap combining all
/ the perfections is offered for the sum Of
/ ten cents in silver or stamps. the avowed
/ benevolent purpose being TO introduce the
+ treasures above described into every house
! hold. Another concern, for the alleged pur-
/ pose of advertising its family news and
/ story paper" offered a "set Of table sill
YER" twenty-four pieces, "of artistic de-
sign and heavily plated" for the munifi-
cent sum Of ten cents in cash or fifteen
cents in stamps. Five thousand lovely
/ decorated tea-sets" were to be given away
/ to those who should send lists of subscrib-
/ ers TO a certain publication and ten cents,
/ silver or stamps, to help pay cost of ad-
/ vertising."
Another Scheme.
A consuming desire was manifested by
another concern for miscellaneous names
and addresses, which it was in the habit
of furnishing to publishers and dealers, -
and it offered IS per hundred of such a
trifing preliminary on the part of the col
lector being the forwarding of ten cents
for blank book and instructions A full
| sized box of our wonderful pellets" with
the usual versatility of curative properties
was offered TO be sent for the considera-
tiou Of ten cents in silver or fifteen cents
in stamps, this boon TO be further accom-
panied by "a handsome set Of furs, gen
uine natural skin, beautifully lined with
satin" to the energetic agent who should
succeed In disseminating the LARGEST nuaD