The Calumet news., 1914-07-15
BIG ARRAY OF
LOST ARTICLES
Parcel Post Contributes Much to
Dead Letter Matter

| Washington, July l5.-Wondorful he
yond belief il the collection of arti-
| Cles which the postoiiice can make
within year from the mail that can't
be delivered because of bad addresses.
| Through the benevolent agency of the
parcels post the department has this
year exceeded all records, and upon
the shelves Of the historic dead letter
Office are a series OF packages contain
ing everything from Bibles 10 has-
soons.
An of these articles were sent To the
wrong address. Their original pack
ages were stamped ana restamped AN
| iii the paper was worn out They
have such announcements. Not at
that address. try so and So" Try the
next county"
In fact. there are more suggestions
as 10 different things 10 try than YOU
would find in the office of "A patent
medicine vendor. For the sake of con-
venience, the officials of the dead let
ter office have Jumped certain articles
together in large packages. Thus one
passes a package OF handkerchiefs and
runs into bright young assortment of
brass castings. ON turning from a par
ticularly melancholy collection OF
books, ne runs smash into collection
OF toys that might have come right
out Of the bag of Santa Claus.
Aprons by the Score.
Think of the joy Of King Solomon or
good old Brigham Young If they had
lived in these days and times and had
given to them the contents of the dead
letter Office. There is a single package
that contains 24l women's aprons, with
81 assorted garments. which the gay
young fappers of these parlous times
consider obsolete.
Then there are l76 pairs of hose bum
died together.
Even the most pessimistic sufferer
from hay fever cheers up when he goes
by the handkerchief department of the
dead letter office. There is single
bundle at 1,149 initiated and initial
ed handkerchiefs, reposing near him,
fever patient uses during IA 24-hour
day.
II the post office department decided
to give away its toys it could present
one-and probably more-to every boy
and girl in this city. They are in album
dance. They are everywhere-dolls
and elephants, and little carts and
dishes, and all the other things that
are reminiscent of Christmas time.
Aviation Caps Also.
SiXty-siX aviators i'm the United
States are wondering where those
aviation caps are that they were told
about in "A letter, but which they never
received. The caps are in the dead
letter Office with some automobile
hoods.
1t is astonishing how many motor
cyclist must have broken down in the |
road and written for help during the |
last year. In the dead letter office there |
repose four speedometcrs, Il tires, 20 |
pairs of goggles and SO parts of ma
kind of furniture which |
one always finds around the greasy
and perspiring man who has stopped !
his machine 20 miles from anywhere |
on hot Sunday afternoon.
And the dead letter office must ring |
at night with the disappointed cries
Of many fishermen. 1t has received |
l,S42 fish hooks and 595 pieces of fish
ing tackle. The only thing the dead |
letter office hasn't got is the fisher
mans alibi.
Has Musical instruments.
Yet the office has done some good. 1t |
aorralled during the last year 573 mis-
'ellaneous musical Instruments and
1886 talking machine needles. That
meant that there are about 600 disap-
pointed musicians in the United States
but think of the several hundred |
thousand persons who would have had |
% listen to them If the instruments
lad arrived safely.
From musical Instruments to their
switches is nothing for the dead letter
,fiice. They have ninety eight switches
md siXty-two accessories stored away. II
This Is nearly equal, i'm bulk, To the II
'rop of whiskers raised by the popu-
list party in Kansas during the Bryan
in 1896.
n few other little side lines in the
lead letter Office are awl, bicycle tires,
ihotguns, horse blankets and picture
postal cards to the number of about
$1,000. There are also brass castings II
md parts whose aggregate weight is
,stmated at two and one-half tons