Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-15

to enunerate the multitude of cases where alleged
renttances are claimed the receipt of real
remttances is denied, without shadow of founda-
ton in truth The mail system is nearly
perfect in its departments of collection forwarding
and delivery, that the failure of letter to arrive
is priIna facie proof that it not And
the fact that letter sent is practically conclu
sive evidence that it was duly received.
In connection with the Dead-Letter Office the
department maintains a museum, in which may be
found all sorts of curostes that find their way into
the mails The lizard, snake, and horned toad, Bowie
knife and pistols toys and many queer devices go to
make up this well-equpped museum In this dis
play may be Benjamin Franklin's account
book in which in his own hand he kept the accounts
of the few post-offCes in existence during his long
term as Colonial Postmaster General
The grotesque the beautiful the tragic, the comic
the internal machine, and dynamite bomb of the
anarchist, and the most inane achievements of the
practical joker, all jumbled together, as it were.
One of the most startling things received by the
museum was perforated tin containing three
rattleSnakes. very much alive and in fighting trim.
AT each of the division headquarters of the Rail
way Mail Service throughout the country there is
established in the city post-oice what is called
inquiry NIKE division. This division is
posed of clerks of the local postoce, carried the
rolls and paid other clerks, subject to the regular
discipline and to occasional detail transfer to
other local-othce work. Their principal duty, how
ever, consists in handling the undecipherable
misdirected mail which is turned in to them daily
from the several railway mail routes converging in the
cities referred to. These inquiry divisions to all
lntents and purposes branches of the Dead-Letter
Office at Washington. They performing duties
similar to those performed there, and the eighty
per cent. of mail handled therein which they for
ward to its destination direct would otherwise go
to the Dead-Letter Office for treatment. The
work of these inquiry divisions is important
quiring high degree of skill and patience. 1t has
never commanded recognition from the department
in proportion to its merits and the general public
seldom hears of it.
Educate the Children
THE daily experiences in each of these branches is
similar to that of the central office, but
smaller scale Here some specimen puzzles that
were correctly solved: Brigded Livingston post
office city Hartford, State of Canada three-ways
to No 80 America ." To Mr. Leedfara, who the
ferry over across to Long Island for Mary Mcguire
New York" piece of mail matter once came to the
ST. Paul post-office directed: 'nesonnoot corfener
senpol" This quickly translated by the inquiry
division experts into " Knute Nelson, Governor, St.
Paul and delivered at the State Capitol the then
chief executive, the senior United States
Senator from Minnesota.
The National Association of Postmasters for the
past few years has advocated the plan of having
instruction given in the public schools the proper
method of addressing letters. This is being done
in some of the large cities and is an admirable
plan. Eighteen
million chill
s; S; IS 5 ,sas 35:'7 !; + E5lEsA
writing and