The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1906-11-02
CLERKS KEPT BUSY.
DEAD LETTER OFFICE HANDLES
MUCH MAIL.
Average Force OF One Hundred and
Fifty Persons Employed There
Museum OF Curiosities Has
Been Abandoned.

Z will give you an epitome regard
lrg the dead letter office which will be
found Of interest" said q postal off,
cial.
'The dead letter Office was estab-
lished In 1925, and from an insignif1-
cant beginning has grown into an es-
tablishment which gives employment
to an average force of about $50 per-
sons, and handles about 100000
pieces of mail matter annually. The
work to which the Office devotes it.
self Is the disposal of the various
kinds of undesirable mail matter sent
to 1t from about $4,000 post Offices.
This mail matter is divided into two
general classes-unclaimed and un-
nailable.
"The former includes such matter as
has reached the destination to which
It Is directed, and has been uncalled
for, or refused, or of which the ad-
dresses cannot be found. The latter
embraces a variety of matter which
cannot be dispatched for various rea-
sons, such as non-prepayment of post
age, misdirection, entire want of ad-
dress, etc. The unclaimed matter is
classified as domestic and foreign, the
latter designation, of course, apply
ing to such as originates in foreign
countries.
"The work of the office, generally
speaking, Is to deliver as much of this
matter as possible, either to the send
or or addressee, the former almost
exclusively. This disposition is made
from day to day as far as may be
done. There Is a popular fallacy that
matter IL held for stipulated period,
and arranged for delivery upon appli-
cation In much the same manner as lo-
cal post Offices are conducted. This
would be wholly impracticable, and re-
ceipt and disposal must be made as
nearly concurrent as possible
Old Museum OF Curiosities.
"One of the features of the old dead
letter Office of the old post Office de-
partment building on # street was it's
museum Of curiosities found in the
malls. There is now no longer a
distinctively dead letter Office mu-
scum. The articles which were for
merly exhibited in it, which were of
the diversified and interesting type,
have been included In the general
postal museum. situated in the south
east corner Of the city post Office floor
of the main department building. on
pennsy lvania avenue. Articles OF Gu
rious interest for which owners can
not be found. and which are without
considerable value, are occasionally
contributed to the exhibit.
From the very large quantity Of
dead mail matter sent to the dead let
tsr ONCE, including periodicals. pic
tOrials. fancy cards, ETC., of which
the bulk is consigned to the waste
and sold to contractors, there are
many thousands annually selected
which are at intervals distributed
among some Of the benevolent institu-
tions OF the district, such matter be-
lng carefully selected, having in view
the purpose for which it is intended.
The dead letter office, however,
which ID now situated on the third
Qoor Of the main department building,
Oh tho south side. is still one of the
features Of life in the government Of
Ices in Washington, even with its
mugeums thing Of the past, and all
d1y long at intervals the visitors and
guides nle through the ofiice and
watch the clerks at work. Such Wis
49, ~
80 and al there II to see are lot
0f very busy clerks behind the wire
UTatings working like beavers over
other peoples errors In mail mat
eora."