large part of this mail had to be opened in order that restoration to the owners could be effected. Many of the letters, etc., were found to contain valuable enclosures, as indicated by this tabulation: OPENED DEAD MAIL WITH VALUABLE ENCLOSURES Number Amount Money 10,352 $ 27,559.93 Drafts, checks, money-orders, etc. 35,178 2,528,844.19 Postage-stamps 98,413 4,641.67 Many letters found to contain drafts, checks, money-orders, etc., are restored to the owners, for if the contents do not themselves disclose the address of the owners, the banks upon which the checks are drawn are communicated with to secure the information desired. The Inquiry Department includes the Indemnity Bureau, which reviews, adjusts, and pays claims involving loss or damage to insured or C. O. D. parcels. Of these claims 112,432 were filed during the last fiscal year, and the amount paid on the claims was $544,314.46. Another bureau of this department is charged with the duty of examining all misdirected letters and parcels which cannot be distributed or delivered by the employees regularly engaged in sorting the mails. The carelessness of the public in the matter of addressing mail is apparent from the statistics of this bureau for the year just passed, which show that it handled 1,576,366 letters with the very creditable result that of this number it succeeded in correcting and forwarding 686,233, from which it is evident that the post-office took more pains than did the senders. Of the number handled it also restored to the senders approximately 424,000. _Order and Instruction Section_ This department is under the supervision of Mr. Edward R. McAlarney and is maintained for the issuance of various bulletins of information, public announcements, news items, and the circulation through official publications of instructions, orders, and intelligence regarding postal matters. It is "the office of publication" to the post-office; it issues posters, bulletins, news of the service, notices announcing the change in rates and conditions, the sailing and arriving of ships, changes in time of despatch and routing of the mail, etc. It is a busy department and the magnitude of its service corresponds to the great volume of work that it performs. _The Examination Section_ HOW THE EMPLOYEES ARE TRAINED