Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1904-05-10
IT COSTS TO BE CARELESS.
Surprising Result Of an Inquiry In
to Reckless Methods of Men
Who Mail Letters.

not grewsOme sound in the title
dead-letter Office, the report of
which the government binds in a
pink cover NEARLY red), seems APP
propriate to the matter, says the
Indianapolis News. This is in
formation of the kind that the So
cial student or historian of civil
cation might find valuable. The
number of pieces of mail matte of
all kinds that came to the dead
letter Office in the last fiscal year
was 1O,153,52S; this was an in
crease of eight and one half per
cent. over the previous year.
While the per cent. of increase
necessarily diminishes each year,
the superintendent says compar-
ison of the reports for a series of
years shows heavy and contin-
nous increase each year; that is,
we are getting more careless in
stead of less so. About seven
tenths of the total was ordinary
unclaimed letters, which shows an
increase of nine per cent. over the
previous year.
Ordinary letters returned from
foreign countries increased 100
per cent. Letters with a return
address increased slightly. There
was an increase of nearly seven
per cent. in the number of letters
and parcels held for postage. Mis-
directed letters-and here is one
of the strongest arraignments of
orr intelligence numbered 694,-
977 this did not include postal
cards., which was an increase of
20 per cent. and is unprecedented.
And who would think that in the
course of the year SS,936 persons
had been so absent-minded as to
mail matter with no address at all
land among it letters with money,
jewels, etc)? But so it was last
year. In round numbers about
100 letters a day alst year were
posted without addresses.
Letters sent to hotels and fail
ing of delivery numbered 31O,196,
and this was a slight decrease.
from the previous year. There
were 11,075 letters and packages
sent to fictitious addresses; this
was a decrease from the year be
fore of nearly 10000, but in that
year there had been transient
causes what, the superintendent
does not say a phenomenal in
crease of more than $4,000.
About the same amount Of
money went astray as in previous
'years-$4S, 634.04. 1t came in 81
146 letters. Besides this, there
was 81 ,493, 563.65 in drafts, money
orders, checks, etc. There were
deeds, wills, pension certificates,
insurance policies and such things
that found their way to the dead
letter office. Nearly 100000
pieces of matter were held await
ing delivery, or filed because they
could not be delivered, and this
was an increase of about US. 900.
The great amount of this matter
is due to the failure of the writers
to give their names and address
and the sending of advertising
printing matter under seal (which
must be DESTROYED; also, because
a large per cent. of the parcels do
not contain merchandise but cata.
lOgues and the like, medicines and
perishable articles, which must be
destroyed"
Among other things that went
to this post Office graveyard were
SO,O39 photographs and 249,2 55
pieces of matter in which were
postage stamps-an increase of
nearly ten per cent. Here is
another curious thing: There
were separated from letters in the
mail and found loose in the mali
and in post offices $5,S21.9O worth
of stamps that could not be re.
turned. If it is any consolation to
those of us that have waited for
"the letter that never came" it is
to- be noted that the superintend-
ent says that about $500 manu-
script communications were re-
ceived by the Office pertaining to
II,a