The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-09-09
DEAD LETTER
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grenades now on hand have the poten-
tial power of blowing up the Washing
ton monument.
There is also quite an assortment OF
aerial bombs. Post Office clerks will
tell anybody that it was a lucky day
when these bombs and grenades landed
in the dead letter Office, away from
harm. The collection of weapons also
includes rifles, revolvers, brass knucks,
black-jacks, police maces, knives.
stilettos, swords, scimitars, cutlasses
and bayonets.
Find Drugs.
The extent of the illicit traffic in
drugs conducted through the mails is
indicated by the fact that one day
recently a clerk at the dead letter
office opened a package and found
about $4,000 worth of cocaine That is
the largest amount O. drug yet receiv-
ed, but the receipt of cocaine and other
drugs is common occurrence.
There is one thing, however, that
comes into the dead letter office only
at rare intervals, namely whiskey.
Apparently people are afraid to trust
this valuable liquid to the mails.
On the other hand, this port of
missing letters and packages can show
large assortment of stills-big stills
and little stills-intended for home
manufacture of hootch.
Not SO long ago a japanese prince
died in California. The remains were
cremated and the ashes sent to Japan
NO one claimed them there and they
were returned TO the United States.
During the return Journey the senders
name was efaced, so the package
found its way to the dead letter office,
where it remained for many a day as
a paper weight on the desk of one of
the officials. One day the top of the
container came open, then came a
gust of wind through an open window
and the ashes of the Japanese prince
we're waiter away in the general direc-
ton of his fatherland
Handle Great Volume.
All the property that is turned into
the dead letter ONCE must be account
ed for. even to the last sheet of paper
contained in letter.
The total amount of mail handled at
ms once each year is enormous. In
1920 the registered and unregistered
domestic and foreign mails turned into
the place OF thousand thrills"
amounted to 19.353,4f3 pieces.
Not all of these were lost forever.
The dead letter Office is morgue only
"hen II has to be. One of its most
important functions is to find the per.
sons who sent the mail that arrives
there or locate the persons to whom
the mail was addressed So, out of the
aforementioned to ell the dead letter
oftiee last year returned, unopened,
452,9SS pieces of mail
Once a year they have a house clean
ing az the dead letter Office. It is
then that they sell the valuabIes that
come through the mails that have no
owners in fee simple. Letters that
contain no valuables or important
information are destroyed. Over 49,
100000 letters were DESTROYED last
year.
Little Money Lost.
There is usually considerable sums
OF money sent through the mails. bur
most OF it is sent under registry and
little of it is lost, however, last year
the dead letter Office turned over to
the treasury department a total OF
Sl5S, 466.96 in currency which had not
been claimed.
Checks and drafts to the amount OF
s6,@oS.996,1S were discovered in lost
letters in 1920, but there was little
difficulty in tracing the owners OF
these checks and drafts because the
names Of banks were printed on them.
There is no regular time for holding
sales OF unclaimed merchandise. Emer-
gency demands dictate the time for
such sales. A sale last year Melted the
post Office department $161.S27.69. IN
claimed stamps found enclosed in lost
letters last year were Of the value of
Sl,64G.32.