Santa Claus in the Dead Letter Office.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 44, 20 July 1885, Page 4

Santa Claus m the Dead Letter Office.

T went tlii't»un[h the 'dead letter office of the Post Ofiico department the other day. lam rather sorry I did, although I always wanted to look into its mysteries; Imtl ou^'ht not to have gouts at Chris:na-« time, writes a Washington correspondent to the Philadelphia Record. If it 'had not been lor the cool u ess anl calmness of Major l)a|la<, the chief of the office, who is not " easily affected" by such thing-;, the watel* would hava stood m .my eyes several times as I' looked at Christmas. packages which had been turned from the general cr.rrent of the mails into this stagnant pool/ It was really very touching to see, after passing through the museum into the large room, where tho" dead „ letters and packages are opened, letter sifter letter cut open by the dexterous bunds of the expert cleric at the rate of 1600 a day, each with its lutle messages of love arid cheer. Mere vrcuia little moneyv there a Christmas' cird or a souvenir m hairwork all were full of ; the Christmas spirit. At side tables •iiit other skilful clerks. Opening and .'cataloguing the misdirected, or unstamped or-f' unclHimed packages. ■Many of these hai the Christmas .'flavour;, they held all sort of .pretty 'things.' : One which touched me contained simply a fleecy pair of white hand-knit soft wool mittens and a Christmas card. =■ For many years the letters found ih the mail addressed to ■Santa Claus or •^riss ; _ Kringle were 'sent to the tlead' letter oniGe. But seven years ago a big-hearted gentleman on Capitol-hill, m Washington, iarranged that instead .they should all Xq sent/to liita He lias "ever .since answered each letter whose. writer he boulU.trace, 1 avid has doiie ; what he could to supply the place of the dear old Christmas; saint. Often has lie fouud-that the parents of the children addresdhig.Santa Claus through the mails -.-were perfectly able and willing to meet all their requests; and then again he has found cases such as that pf two -old .'-people m 'comfortable! circumstanceSj but who, m their sorrow over the death of their idolised' sou and and his wife, had" for years neglected -to make Christinas bright for the two little orphans left to their' 1 care. .It was simply a-case of uncon-. scious neglect, and it did not take the San I a Claus of Capitol-hill Ions? to bring joy into that household again t