Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-29

task of opening all these IS stupendous
and engages the services OF ffteen per
sons VINO each average opening l,ooo
to 5000 daily.
careful record is kept Of all valuable
Enclosures, including money, commercial
papers. wills,
Record Is Kept of deea
Valuable Enclosures. there was
SO. go in actual money received. VI 'his
only $4,000 could be returned to its own
ers which shows that there is pracucais
an average of over $500 per day lost IN
the mails. This is t;.-ned into the tni1ec
States Treasury after every possible
means of discovering it's owner mas
been exhausted.
Last year $3.50 misdirected letters ana
packages contained photographs lew
years ago a pretty romance grew up IN
the dead letter division from a ms II. ccteo
photograph. \ young lady out west SeEi
her picture TO her brother, VINO couiI iiot
he found But the clerk who opened the
package fell in love with the sweet face
Of the picture and with some dlfhcu'lv
traced the sender. A correspondence foi-
lowed which soon terminated III happy
marriage.
Each year the general public is invited
to attend Uncle Sans package party,
at which thousands OF articles that nave
accumulated AT the dead letter division
are sold at public auction. lsuail! ihiS
sale is held shortly before Christmas 50
that there is a possibil ty of articles sent
as Christmas presents one year being re-
ceived the following year by totally an
ferent Lersons than those fo- whom they
were first intended. 1t takes six mcnths
10 prepare for a package party. Twelve
clerks are engaged all this tune IN Gaia
Logging and ARRANGING the articles. 1he
packages are arranged in bundles. aVsraS-
ng five articles each. and are listed with
their contents They are cia Ssifed as
miscellaneous. books and jewe-ry ana are
auct:oned to the highest bidders. The re-
suits Of these auctions average $4,000 an
nuallv which is put in the United States
Treasury.
The auction parties are full of in
terest Generally the bargain fiend
Bargains at Auctions while TO at,
Not Always Secured. o ten. +
course, the articles are practically value
less. The miscellaneous list may in
clude any conceivable article which IS
small enough to go into Il mail bag.
Some things are valuable, as fine la@es,
embroideries. Mexican drawnwork, silks
and beautiful waists Children'S cloth
ing of all kinds, with silver table and
toilet articles, cosmetics, and even
liquid drugs, raZors. tooth brushes ard
firearms are only few of tie articles
listed. The book list is Il long one, and
includes volumes in every language.
The jewelry schedule contains watches,
diamonds, pearls, rings, brooches, pins,
bracelets, chains. lockets; in fact, every
thing likely to be found ut u first-class
jeWelry store.
The auction continues several days,
and is attended by every class of So
ciety A we'll cnaperoned party Of
young girls from exclusive school
will stand next to a group of washer
women on the lookout for Christmas
presents, and government clerks from
every department will drop in to watch
the fun. A portly looking colored
woman last month bid in six boxes or
white face powder. and seemed far bet
ter satisfied with her bargain than did
the bashful-looking young man who
turned rosy red as he united bundle
of lingerie.
There are always a number of Bibles
to be sold, and these are in great de-
mand, especially by the colored people.
who believe that they will bring good
luck The origin OF this supe.Stitici
is the story that ut one of the earnest
auctions a woman bought a BLDG Tor
a few cents and found $500 III blils
pinned inside the book.
Articles that are unusually curious or
UNIQUE are preserved in the dead letter
museum Several times live things have
been found in the mail The most start
ling of these was a large rattleSnaAe
sent in a box from a western state. In
side was a card on which was written:
II hope this puts an end to YOU
small rasteboard box from Arizona came
near putting end to clerk, Tor the
lid came off Unexpectedly and set at
liberty deadly tarantula, when had evil
IDENTIFY been sent with the same purpose
as the rattlesnake.
A large basket holds miscellaneous
collection of false teeth. \ rural rep
resentative lately
D:.1..l Tolco Tooth appeared at the
Office, s ia n 6
Out of Basket. that his false
teeth had been los. In the mail. Instead
of taking them to a Washington dentist
for repair, he sent them to his hons
dentist and had failed to receive them