Evening star., 1926-02-21


~ HIS cryptogram. used as an ad-
dress on a letter mailed. ap-
parently, for "a joke, instances
The difficult problems which
confront the dead letter ONCE,
a division of the United States Post
Office Department. under control OF
First Assistant Postmaster General
John IL. Bartlett.
In addition, on the envelope bear
ing these lines, in lieu of superScrlp-
ton. We're only the words st. Mark
Ave" in one corner. 1t might nave
seemed a hopeless puzzle, but not 80
to Il certain woman employe OF the
dead letter office who is famous for
her feats us a blind reader"
Applying The word puzzle
test" as it might he termed. the
blind reader" looked up st. Mark s
Ave. in Brooklyn directory. and sent
a circular to every person named
Robert" living there. AS result,
the right one applied for the letter ana
got il,
This branch Of the Government de-
partment. under Postmaster General
Harry :. New, u which letters and
packages unclaimed and unbelievable
are sent from local post offices, is a de
facto museum OF curiositieS. Yet the
\
at anything, according To Frank E.
Staley. Superintendent of the division.
whose duties include. in addition To
overseeing the dead letter and dead
parcel-post office here, the supervision
of the three other branches in the
United States.
When they open u package, 1t is
nothing unusual for them to find a
horned toad. centipede. chameleon,
I,.,tz CD, rny,h n
petrified frog. an opium pipe, spirit
photographs. coffin plates. poker chips
or a set of false teeth.
A story is current in the division
! about the last mentioned. An old man
rushed up to the clerk i'll charge and
ella imed a set Of false teeth locked UP
in Il glass case.
Why do you think they are yours"
asked the curator
Because | would know them any
, where" said the old man. Il bought
them myself 10 wears ago. and used
! them until they were lost in the mails
! when l sent them to the city to be
| niendcd."
The teeth We're taken out of the
case; the claimant popped them into
| his mouth, and, 10, they fitted. A few
/ minutes later. after subscribing to GER
, tain formalities, he walked out Of the
place perfectly happy.
| * r +
nTHER stories are told Of poisonous
animals, living as we'll as dead,
| being received at the office. Visitors
/ to Arizona have been known to send
| home few horned toads as typical
souvenirs from regions explored.
Dead letter division clerks who
We're in the service when the Offices
We're in the old Post Office Depart
menr Building on Pennsylvania
avenue relate accounts Of a live Gila
monster forwarded ~ second class
| rates.
| Before the dead letter and dead
parcelpost division moved into its
present quarters in the City Post Office
| Building. west OF Union Station, a
| living rattlesnake with nine rattles
which went astray in the mails is said
! 20 have repoSed in a glass jar OF
alcohol labeled Prom Florida"
But the most alarming parcel ever
ploye Of the office. proved to con
tain j small snakes. all squirming
and wriegly; one Of which, by the way
an adder spotted in yellow and black
made its escape and crawled out
| from under "A desk a day or two later
! TO the great alarm Of the woman
| clerks"
! 4 venerable clerk of the old dead
/ letter office referred to the great
amount of trouble made by rats
which ate the contents of packages
! stored. In those days, he said, all