The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1915-01-01
MANY PARCELS LOST
Wonderful Collection in the Dead
Letter Office.
II includes Everything From Bibles to
Bassoons-AIi Sent to Wrong Ad.
dress-Packages Stamped Un-
til Paper Wore Out.

Observation-Disclosures beyond be-
lief is the collection OF articles which
the postoffice department can make
within a year from the mail that cant
be delivered because OF bad addresses.
Through the benevolent agency OF the
parcel 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 to b%assoons.
All Of these articles were sen to
the wrong address. Their original pack
ages were stamped and restamped,
until the paper was worn out, with
such announcements as Not at that
address, try so and So and Try the
next county"
In fact, there are more suggestions
as to different things to try than you
would find in the office Of a patent
medicine vendor For the SAX Of con
%venience, the officials Of the dead let
ter Office have Jumped certain articles
together in large packages. Thus M
passes a package of handkerchiefs and
runs into a bright young assortment
of brass castings. Or, turning from
a particularly melancholy collection
Of books, he runs smack into a collec-
ton Of toys that might have come
right put OF the bag Of Santa Claus.
Think OF the Joy OF King Solomon
or good old Brigham Young II they
had lived In these days and times and
had given to them the contents Of the
dead letter ONCE. There u . SIN
gle package that contains PAL women's
aprons, with 81 assorted garments.
which the gay young lappers Of these
parlous times consider obsolete.
Then. there are 176 pairs Of hose
bundled together.
Even the most pessimistic sufferer
from hay fever cheers up when he
goes by the handkerchief department
Of the dead letter ONCE. There 10 .
single bundle Of 1.149 initiated and un
initiated handkerchiefs reposing a
him, which Is about the number that
q hay fever patient uses during a "a
hour day.
II the p%ostofice department decid-
ed to give away it's toys it could pre-
sent one-and probably more-to ev-
cry boy and girl in the city Of Wash
ington. They are in abundance. They
are everywhere-dolls and elephants,
and little carts and dishes, and all
the other things that are reminiscent
of Christmas time.
Sixty-two aviators in the United
States are wondering where those
aviation caps are that they were told
about in a letter, but which they new
er received. The caps are in the
dead letter Office with some automo-
bile hoods.
1t is astonishing how many motor
cyclists must have broken down in
the road and written for help during
the last year. In the dead letter OF.
fee there repose four speedometers.
II tires, 20 pairs Of goggles and 136
parts Of machinery-the kind Of fur.
niture which M always finds around
the greasy and perspiring man who
has stopped his machine 20 miles
from anywhere on . hot Sunday after.
noon.
And the dead letter ONCE must
ring II night with tho disappointed
cries Of many fishermen It has re-
ceived 1.S42 1sh hooks and sos pieces
Of fishing tackle. The only thing the
dead letter once hasn't got IL the
fisherman's alibi.
Yet the office has done some good.
It corralled during the past year SIS
miscellaneous musical instruments
and 6,S46 talking machine needles.
That meant that there are about 600
disappointed musicians in the United
States; but think OF the several hun
dred thousand persons who would
have had to listen to them if the in
struments had arrived safely.
From musical instruments to hair
switches is nothing for the lead let
ter Office. They have SO switches Of
hair and G2 accessories stored away.
This is nearly equal. in bulk, to the
crop of whiskers raised by the Popu-
list party in Kansas during the Bryan
campaign of 1896.
A few other side lines in the lead
letter office are avis, bicycle tires,
shot-guns, horse blankets and picture
postal cards to the number Of about
10000. There are also brass castings
and parts whose aggregate weight Is
estimated at two and a half tons.