registered letters.

within the last few years the registered letter department has grown to enormous proportions. in former times the registering of a letter was only a notice to those handling it that it was valuable, the process being to simply paste a registered letter bill to the letter and place it among the ordinary letters. if any officer was dishonest and wanted the letter, all he had to do was to take it and destroy the bill, and the chances of detection were very slight. the fee was small and the safety smaller. under the new system which has been in operation some few years, and is copied from england, the safe[369] transmission and delivery of money and valuables is almost certain. only letters or other mail matter on which letter rates of postage are fully prepaid can be registered. each postmaster is furnished with all the proper blanks, including the package envelopes and seals. the latter is a large whitish brown envelope, longer and broader than an ordinary official size envelope, and “registered letter” printed in large red letters across the face. the seal is similar to a postage stamp, only larger, and is placed over the lap after the envelope is sealed, and then cancelled. when a letter is presented for registration at any post office, the postmaster must require that the name and post office address of the writer thereof be endorsed on its face; he must also see that the postage, as well as the fee for registering, is fully prepaid by stamps affixed to such letter; he will then fill out a receipt, entering thereon the number of the letter, the date and name of his office, the name and address of the writer, and the address of the letter, sign and deliver it to the person presenting the letter. the postmaster then makes out his “registered letter bill” and “return registered letter bill” each of which contains a full description of the letter consisting of address and number. the registered letter bill is then placed in the package envelope with the letter. the package is then sealed up and the name of the post office for which it is destined, and the number and stamp of the mailing office are plainly marked upon the package. it is then ready for delivery to the route agent or postal clerk upon whose route it properly belongs, who is required to give a receipt for it, and also to keep a complete record of it, as are all officers of the department who handle registered matter in transit. he must also take a receipt from the officer to whom he next delivers the package. the return registered letter bill is sent in an ordinary envelope in the regular mail to the office of final destination, which will, by reason of the fact that no registered letters are sent in through mails, and only in charge of postal clerks upon day trains, nearly always reach the office in advance[370] of the registered letter; and the postmaster, then knowing that such letter is on the way, is on the lookout for it, and if it comes in due time signs the receipt and returns it to the mailing office. all this is done for a fee of only eight cents in addition to the regular postage.

if a registered letter should not reach its destination in a reasonable length of time after the receipt of the return bill, the post master will notify the post master at the mailing office of the non-receipt of the letter. it then becomes the duty of the last mentioned officer to inform a special agent of the fact, who will make out what is called a “tracer,” which is a complete description of the letter, with blank space for each person who handled the original letter to state, from his records and receipts, exactly what disposition he made of it and whose receipt he holds; he then passes it along to the next. thus by this complete chain of records and receipts, though it may reach from the atlantic to the pacific, a registered letter may be readily traced to its final destination, or until the records cease. if a break should occur in the chain and the loss be fastened upon any post office or mail agent, the case is rigidly “investigated” by the proper officer, and if it appears that the loss occurs through carelessness, the loser is made to pay the value of the lost letter, and receive a severe reprimand, and if it should occur again is very apt to be dismissed the service. if the special detective is convinced that the missing letter is stolen, he then takes a different course and commences his system of “decoys,” etc., to catch the thief, and is almost always successful, as the man who robs the mails always becomes careless, and grows bolder with each repetition of the offense.

the amount and extent of the registered letter business may be judged when it is stated that during the month of january, 1874, at the post office in new york over sixty thousand registered letters were received, nearly thirty thousand of which were for delivery in the city, and the rest for other places, new york being a distributing office.

[371]

dead letters.

about all that people know or understand of the workings of the dead letter bureau of the post office department is that if a letter is not delivered in due time it is sent to the dead letter office, and there opened and returned to the writer. when, each year, they see the report of the postmaster general, the amount of money and number of letters that are returned to the senders seems enormous, but when it is considered that millions of letters and thousands of dollars are carried and safely delivered correctly each year in the united states, the number that fails of delivery, by contrast, does not seem so great. during the month of november, 1873, nearly ten millions of letters were received and dispatched in new york city.

every effort is always made to return money or any articles of value which may be found in dead letters. it is required that everything valuable shall be registered free when returned to the owners; but if for any reason it cannot be delivered to the rightful owner, it is held in the department subject to the owners control for four years, and after that time it is conveyed to the treasury, and goes towards decreasing the annual deficit in the post office department. all letters which are properly stamped and addressed, and go to their destination, but are not delivered at the end of one week, by reason of the person addressed not being found, are advertised, either by publishing once in a daily or weekly paper, or by posting the list in a conspicuous place in the office. at the end of four weeks all then undelivered are sent to the dead letter office. the matter of advertising in newspapers is left to the discretion of the postmaster general, and it is but few of the larger offices that are allowed to do so. the compensation is fixed by law at one cent for each letter, which is to be paid by the person receiving the letter; but by reason of the fact that by far the larger portion of those advertised are not delivered, the expense is so great that but few offices can be allowed to advertise. all letters which are dropped into an office without[372] stamps or only part paid, or the address is not readable, are sent at once to the dead letter office, except in some few offices where a bulletin board is provided for the purpose of displaying to the public letters of this character. when a letter which is wholly or in part unpaid, and upon which the address is legible, is found to contain a valuable enclosure a printed circular is sent to the party addressed requesting that the requisite amount of postage be forwarded in stamps and the letter will be forwarded to its proper address.

a great many articles which are of value only to the senders or the persons for whom they are intended, such as little baby shoes, stockings, photographs, etc., etc., find their way to the dead letter office. special effort is always made to deliver things of this character. perhaps the little shoe or stocking may have belonged to some little one whose feet are still forever, and is being sent to a grandmother or some other near relation as a memento of the little one that is gone. such articles as this may be of no possible value to any one but the owners, but the post office authorities make as great an effort, even greater to deliver this class of articles, than they do money or jewels. at the present time in the dead letter office are great stores of small articles of very little or no value to any but the owners, waiting to be called for.