Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-06
DEAD LETTER OFFICE
Thousands Of Dollars and Ar
ticles Lost Each Year.
DUE TO CARELESSNESS
TROUBLE IN DECIPHERING AD-
DRESSES FROM ABROAD.
Cash is Turned Into Treasury Postal
Fund-Articles Are Auc-
toned.
Written for The Evening Star.

Written for The Evening Star.
Fifty thousand dollars in cash is found
every year in the letters that come to the
money branch of the dead letter office,
while checks, money orders, drafts and
other negotiable papers are found to the
value of one and one-half millions Of dol
lars Last year there were fifty-two thou
sand letters opened containing cash and
fifty-three thousand containing valuable
negotiable papers In nearly every case
of money orders, checks and the like being
found in the dead letter mail the sender
or addressee finally gets the property, but
in the case of money only about 40 per
cent is sent to the rightful owners, the
rest going to the treasury to be deposited
to the credit Of the postal fund. There are
eighty-sx countries in the postal union and
from every one come, from time to time,
contributions to the unbelievable mail.
The dead letter Office is very nicely
ranged piece of machinery whose many
parts are human and the letter upon which
the address is undecipherable to the expert
readers employed by the government to
set the stray missives on their right way
is bad indeed There are in the Office a
total of 1875 clerks and other employees, and
the quantity of mail matter of all classes
that they handle during a year is enormous,
although the dead letter office handles only
a small percentage of all the mail carried
by the United States government for the
patrons of the Post Office Department
AS an example of the amount of mail
that passes through the office, $1,000 ordi-
nary letters go through the foreign branch
every month and 5000 registered These
are only those that come from foreign
countries and are not at all related to
domestic mail. There are seven clerks,
all women, in this branch, and every one
is an expert at her particular >class of
and tons of Drjnta6
come to this branch, some of it containing
merchandise and even money. Presents
are sent from foreign countries wrapped
in ordinary newspapers, q two-fOld object
being the incentive-to thwart the customs
service and at the same time save postage.
Handkerchiefs, gloves, small trinkets and
articles of feminine adornment form the
majo portion of this class of dead mail
The papers are opened by clerk having
that work alone to attend to; anything of
value is laid aside with it's wrapper and it
eventually goes back to the principal Office
of the country from which it was sent
That Office endeavors to get it back to the
sender and in the event of failure it is des-
troyed
No Clue to Sender.
Much of the money that is sent through
the mails in the form of cash has absolute
ly no clue by which 1t can be identified
with the sender yet a great deal of this
is finally returned to the rightful owner
A day or so since there were found three
one hundred dollar bills in letter ad-
dressed to person in the east from some
one in the west. The letter was sent to
the general delivery of the city to which
it was addressed and after the regular
length of time advertised, in accordance
with the postal rules. No one called for
it and it was sent to the dead letter Office
When opened there was found not line of
writing, the bills being merely placed in an
ordinary sheet of letter paper and sealed
in the envelope. The method OF returning
that money to the sender will be to return
where it was mailed. This office is plainly
apparent from the postmark. 1t stands to
reason that the sender, not hearing from
the person to whom he sent the money
will in time make inquiry regarding It, The
postmaster will then question him and if
he can identify the letter or prove that it
belongs to him he will get it, Otherwise
the treasury for credit to the postal fund.
Sample Packages.
One of the greatest annoyances to which
the Office is subjected and which, it seems,
cannot be remedied without the interyen-
ton of Congress, is the sending of sample
that are not to be found These packages
go through the mails at the rate of one
cent an ounce, and when they are undeliv-
cred because of incorrect or illegible adj
dresses, the sender is notified that his prop
erty will be sent to him upon receipt of the
necessary postage, the rate being the same
as was required to mail 1t in the first
place. Generally the postage is larger
item than the value Of the goods and the