The sun., 1903-12-27

lots in, it, and queer assembly they We're,
sort OF literary production in that collec-
ton from hundreds of paper backed novels
to prayer books in English and foreign
tongues and the literary sensations of the
resented. and Scott, Macaulay, Shakes
peare, Dickens and Gertrude Ather-
ton, to say nothing Of Ella Wheeler Wilcox
to boot
1t was not surprising, when you came
to think of it, to find that religious and de-
ton OF the heap-next in number to the
paper backed novels These last were
grouped by the hundred in three or four
lots to get rid of them more easily. There
was reading matter for whole tow n for
a generation il the town wasn't overpar-
ticuar about the proportion of quality to
quantity.
But it was in the 500 lots of miscel-
laneous articles that the odd things that
drift into the Dead Letter Office net showed
that the senders had carefully planned
how to make the collection incongruous
and queer
=, Some of the items are ordinary enough
Take this one. No. LOS Cheap sta
tionery, two mems handkerchiefs, three
women's cheap handkerchiefs, pair spec
acles, cotton mitts, cheap lace collar.
small silk handkerchief" That isn't an
unusual lot of articles to find its way into
the mails and go wrong.
9, me crosscut saw blade four feet long
for which the letterman couldn't find an
owner is also possible of explanation
though unusual, and lot comprising "a
cartridge belt, china tobacco pipe, six kit
chen knives, pair of shears and an s. NJ
shuttle s curious, but not more SO than
a hundred others.
But what possible combination of circum-
stances brought into the same bundle "a
pair OF forcepS, chatelaine bag, a
halter and lace corset cover?" What sort
OF person was it who had lost "one razor,
a rag doll, pair of spectacles, match
safe and set of false teeth upper jaw?
And what happened to the unfortunate
individual who never received a package
containing hypodermic syringe, a glass
eye and an artificial leg (cork)? Was the
she whichever the loser is) getting along
without these necessaries?
There were scores of lots about which
you might weave romances. What did "he'
think, for instance, when, on his birthday,
he failed to receive one padded silk muffier,
one silk handkerchief, both marked with
the initial M, and one photograph of
young woman inscribed with Sally's
love?' Did Sally's carelessness blight
her young romance or did they come to-
carrier
Then fancy, il you can, what humble
romance is hid in this bundle of contents
unfeelingly listed: "Woman's necktie, dam.
aged linen handkerchief, remnant of rib
with T.'s love-"
1t seems like dip into the belongings
of the past generation to notice that hun
dreds of "zephyrs" and wool fascinators"
have gone wrong in the mails. Another
almost forgotten article Of apparel which
figures in the list is mans rubber col
lars" Who wears rubber collars in tbeso
days?
And so through all the list. 1t is inter-
esting to see in the superintendent s report
that for all the 10000 900 pieces of missent
mail matter, only $4,000 written inquiries
were received. You would think that there
would be anxious inquiries for the remains
of at least 30 900 romances gone astray
in the packages.
There is another interesting and instruc-
tive sentence in the report from the Dead
Letter Office in the Hawaiian Islands Out
of the $500 pieces Of msdrected mail re-
ceived there, one-half was returned to
Japan and only one-quarter to the United
States. 1t seems to indicate that the Jap
anese population in the islands Is gaining
in strength.
The Dead Letter Office man includes in
his report this valuable hint to the folks
who use the mails:
1T is thought proper again to call atten-
tlon to the fact that the great prepon der
ance Of unbelievable matter is due to sew
eral noticeable causes the principal being
the failure OF writers TO give their names
and addresses and the despatch of adver-
tising and other printed matter under seal
which must necessarily be- destroyed
Then, very large percentage of the par
GELS are found not to contain merchandise
matter at all, but catalogues and the like
medicines and perishable articles of vari-
GUS kinds. which must be destroyed.