The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1906-10-20

DEAD LETTER OFFICE HANDLES
MUCH MAIL.
Average Force Of One Hundred and
Fifty Persons Employed There
Museum of curiosities Has
Been Abandoned.

Il will give you an epitome regard
ing the dead letter ofIise which will be
found Of interest" said a postal Off
cial
"The dead letter Office was estab-
lished in 1926, and from an insignifi-
cant beginning has grown into an es-
tablishment which gives employment
to an average force Of about 1870 per
sons, and handles about 1100O,O0O
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 it from about $4,000 post Offices
This mail matter is divided into two
general classes unclaimed and un-
mailable
"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 adj
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 adj
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
er or addressee. the former almost
exclusively This disposition is made
from day to day as far as may be
done There is popular fallacy that
matter is held for a stipulated period,
and arranged for delivery upon apDli-
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 & the old dead
letter Office of the old post Office de-
partment building on + street was it's
museum Of curiosities found in the
mails There is now no longer a
distinetively 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
Pennsylvania 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
ter Office, 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-
ing carefully selected having in view
the purpose for which it is intended,
The dead letter Office, however,
which is now situated on the third
floor of the main department building,
on the south side. is still one .of the'|
features Of life in the government Of
fees in Washington. even with its
museums thing of the past, and all
day long at intervals the visitors and
guides file through the Office and
watch the clerks at work. Such Wis
itors are welcome, but All they can
see and all there is to see are a lot
of very busy clerks behind the wire
gratipgs working like beavers over
other peoples errors in mail mat
ters"