THE DEAD-LETTER OFFICE—ITS MARVELS AND MYSTERIES.
The Post-Office—The Postal Service In Early Times—The First
Postmaster General—The Present Chief—A Cabinet Minister—The
Subordinate Officers—Their Positions and Duties—The Ocean Mail
Postal Service—The Contract Office—The Finance Office—The
Inspection Office—Complaints and Misdoings—One Hundred and
Twenty Years Ago—Franklin Performs Wonderful Works—His Ideas of
Speed—Between Boston and Philadelphia in Six Weeks—Dismissed
from Office—A New Post-Office System—The Inspector of Dead
Letters—Only Seventy-five Offices in the States—Only One
Clerk—Government Stages—The Office at Washington—Franklin’s Old
Ledger—The Present Number of Post-Offices—The Dead Letter
Office—The Ladies Too Much Squeezed—Opening the Dead
Letters—Why Certain Persons are Trusted—Three Thousand
Thoughtless People—Valuable Letters—Ensuring Correctness—The
Property Branch—The Touching Story of the Photographs—The
Return Branch—What the Postmaster Says, 388