Sec. 484. Return of Dead Letters Containing Money to Owners.-When dead letters containing money are sent from the Department to a postmaster for delivery to the owners, every effort must be made to discover the proper party to whom they may be delivered, and to this end these letters are inclosed to the postmaster open, that he may be enabled to identify the owner or claimant. The strictest secrecy must be maintained as to the contents. Under no circumstances whatever can a postmaster, or any other person through whose hands such letters pass, be allowed to make any exchange for other funds of the money originally contained therein.

Sec. 485. Return of Dead Money Letters back to Dead-Letter Office.— When such letters cannot be delivered after holding them thirty days from the date on which they were received, the postmaster will indorse the reason for non-delivery on the circular which accompanies each, and return the whole to the Department with duplicate lists (one of which will be verified and returned to the post-office) giving the Department letter, number, and book. The package will be plainly indorsed DEAD REGISTERED MATTER FROM (here add name of post-office) and be

addressed "Dead-Letter Office, Washington, D. C."

Sec. 486. Returned Dead Money Letters must be Registered.-If a postmaster neglects to register packages containing such dead letters when returning them to the Department, and they are lost, he will be held responsible for the value of the contents.

Sec. 487. Other than Money Dead Letters need not be Registered.-Letters containing articles of value other than money are not to be registered when returned to the Department, unless they were received registered; but they must be inclosed in a sealed envelope or package and addressed to the "Dead-Letter Office, Washington, D. C." No other kind of letters must be sent in the same package.

Sec. 488. Valuable Dead Letters must not be Forwarded.-Dead letters containing money or other inclosures, sent from the Department to a postmaster for delivery to the owners, must never be forwarded to another post-office, but must be returned to the Department with all the information obtainable as to the present whereabouts of the writer or owner; nor must they be retained by the postmaster longer than one month, unless he has been specially authorized by the Third Assistant Postmaster-General to hold them for a longer period.

Sec. 489. Dead letters not Valuable may be Forwarded.-Dead letters without valuable inclosures, when returned direct to writers (i. e., not under cover to the postmaster), may be forwarded to another post-office for delivery, if necessary.

Sec. 490. Postmasters to report Lost Mail-Matter to Chief Special Agent.It is the duty of postmasters to report promptly to the Chief Special Agent every complaint which is made to them or comes to their knowledge of the loss in the mails of letters or articles of value, whether registered or not.

Sec. 491. What Facts such Report must State.-In every case of loss by mail the Chief Special Agent should be immediately informed of all the circumstances connected with it, such as the name of the post-office in which the letter was posted and the date of mailing; whether by the writer himself or by another person; the names of the writer and the person addressed; the amount and a description of the inclosure; the post-office to which addressed; and whether registered or unregistered, and if registered the registry number, with any other particulars that may aid in making a thorough investigation.

Sec. 492. Postmasters to immediately Report Robbery of Post-Office. Whenever a post-office has been robbed the postmaster will immediately report all the facts to the Chief Special Agent, and to the nearest resident Special Agent. This report must state as fully as possible all the circumstances connected with the robbery, giving the date and extent of the loss. He must be careful to state whether the loss consists of stamps, stamped-envelopes, postal-cards, letters (stolen or rifled), postal or money-order funds, or government property. If the loss includes the mail-key the number should be given; and if registered or ordinary mail-matter, he must be particular to state whether the same was rifled or taken from the post-office. He must give all the information in his possession relating to each lost or rifled registered letter, such as post-office where mailed, date of mailing, number of letter and registeredpackage envelope, by whom written, to whom addressed, and contents. For the value of registered or ordinary mail lost by robbery of post-offices postmasters will be held responsible if, upon investigation, it appears that due care was not taken to secure the mail-matter from depredation.

Sec. 493. Cases of Mail-Robbery to be Reported at once.-Cases of mailrobbery should at once be reported to the Chief Special Agent, and information given from time to time of any new facts which may be developed in regard to them.

Sec. 491. Report Arrest of Criminals to United States District Attorney.— When a criminal is apprehended, the United States attorney for the district in which the offense was committed must be promptly informed of the facts, and his advice, and, if possible, his personal attention, be obtained. If from any cause the services of the district attorney cannot be had, and it shall become necessary to employ another attorney, the compensation of such attorney must be agreed upon before engaging in the case, subject to the approval of the Postmaster-General; and it will only be paid upon recommendation of the Special Agent who may have charge of the case.

Sec. 495. Examination of Persons Arrested.-Persons arrested for mail depredations should be taken before a district or circuit judge, or a United States commissioner, for examination or commitment.

Sec. 496. Robbery of Mail in Vicinity of Post-Office. If a postmaster has reason to believe that a mail has been stolen, in whole or in part, in the vicinity of his post-office, he shall at once examine into the evidence, and if satisfied that such robbery or theft has actually occurred, he shall take immediate and energetic measures for recovering the mail and for apprehending and prosecuting the offender, and shall notify the Chief Special Agent of the facts and of his action.

Sec. 497. Moneys Recovered from Mail Robbers.-All moneys recovered from mail robbers, &c., will be forwarded at once through the office of the Chief Special Agent to the Postmaster-General, who will, upon satisfactory evidence, return same to the owners. See section 62.

t

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

PAYMENT OF EMPLOYES OF THE RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE BY POSTMASTERS.

Sec. 493. Record of Arrivals and Departures to be Examined daily.-Postmasters will examine the record of arrivals and departures daily, when the same is kept at their post-offices, and report to the Division Superintendent at once all failures of employés to sign the same, and also all cases of advance signature. When the record of arrivals and departures are kept away from the post-office, they must be examined daily by some person designated by Division Superintendent, and all cases of failures to sign or of advance signature must be reported daily to him.

Sec. 499. Pay Withheld for Failure to Sign Record. The paying postmaster shall withhold not exceeding one day's pay for each failure on part of an employé to record his arrival or departure, or to perform service, until the matter is reported to the Division Superintendent and instructions received from Second Assistant Postmaster-General. Whenever a failure to record or to perform service is reported by a paying postmaster he shall consider such report as a preliminary notice and shall withhold payment, as specified above, until specific instructions are received from the Second Assistant Postmaster-General.

Sec. 500. Preliminary Notice to Paying Postmaster.-In case of death, resignation, removal, suspension, or change of paying post-office of an employé, the Division Superintendent will at once send a preliminary notice to the paying postmaster.

Sec. 501. Notice to Second Assistant Postmaster-General.-On receipt of each report of failure by the Division Superintendent, he will at once report the same to the Second Assistant Postmaster-General, through the General Superintendent, and at the same time will send a copy of said report to the paying postmaster as a preliminary notice to him to withhold payment, as provided in section 499, until instructions are received from the Second Assistant Postmaster-General.

Sec. 502. Absences more than 30 Days to be Reported.-When an employé has been absent from duty more than thirty consecutive days, on account of sickness or other cause, the Division Superintendent will report the same to the Second Assistant Postmaster-General through the General Superintendent, and also send a preliminary notice to the paying postmaster.

Sec. 503. Partial Suspension of Pay, pending final Instructions.—In all cases where preliminary notice has been received from the Division Superintendent, the paying postmaster will withhold from the pay of the employé a sufficient sum to cover all stoppages, fines, and forfeitures of which he has been notified until final

instructions in each case have been received from the Second Assistant PostmasterGeneral.

Sec. 504. The Cause of Deduction of Pay, etc., how Noted.-The cause of every deduction of pay, and the authority for making the same, must always be noted on pay-roll.

Sec. 505. "No Signature" and "Advance Signature," how Noted.-Whenever an employé fails to sign the record, the postmaster will write the words NO SIGNATURE in the line where the name should have been signed. In case of ADVANCE SIGNATURE, the same will be noted on the same line with the signature.

Sec. 506. Keys and Records must be Turned in before final Settlement.On the resignation, transfer, suspension, or removal of an employé, final settlement with such employé will be deferred until the paying postmaster has received from the Division Superintendent in whose division such employé last performed service a certificate that all mail-keys, records, and other property of the Department have been turned over to him.

Sec. 507. Record of Arrivals and Departures sent Division Superintendent -At the end of each month postmasters will promptly forward the record of arrivals and departures, duly certified, to the Division Superintendent for inspection; after which they will be returned to the postmaster, who will see that they are carefully preserved.

Sec. 508. No Discretion to be used in Reporting Failures.-No discretion should be exercised by a postmaster, or by any other person in charge of a record of arrivals and departures, in reporting any failures on account of any peculiar circumstances attending the case. The failure should be reported promptly for reference to the Department, for decision upon the merits of the case.

Sec. 509. Instructions as to Paying Employés, from whom Received.-All instructions to postmasters relative to paying employés in the railway mail service must come from the Second Assistant Postmaster-General, Division of Inspection. Any payments made to employés contrary to the regulations and his instructions.will be disallowed to the paying postmaster.

Sec. 510. Payments to be made promptly at end of Month.-Postmasters will be prepared to pay employés within three days after the expiration of the month in which the service was performed, but no payments shall be made until the month has expired, and no payment shall be made to employés after entry into service until the paying postmaster has been advised that the oath of office of such employé has been received by the General Superintendent of Railway Mail Service.

Sec. 511. Distinction between Substitute and Acting Employés.-Postmasters will observe the distinction between a substitute and an acting employé. A substitute is a person employed for or by a regular employé to perform his duties for him during his temporary absence from duty. An acting employé is a person employed temporarily to fill a vacancy caused by the death, removal, resignation, etc., of a regular employé. All sums paid to a substitute employé must be receipted for by the principal for or by whom the substitute was employed; but sums paid to an acting employé must be receipted for by such acting employé himself.

Sec. 512. Authority for Paying Acting Employés.-No payment shall be made to acting employés without specific authority from the Second Assistant Postmaster-General.

Sec. 513. Manner of Paying Acting Employees.-A receipt evidencing payment to an acting employé must be taken on a separate blank form furnished by the First Assistant Postmaster-General, Blank Agency. And these vouchers must be forwarded direct to the Second Assistant Postmaster-General, Division of Inspection, for necessary credit. The paying postmaster will also note on said receipts his authority for making the payment. Acting employés should never be put upon the regular pay-roll.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS RESPECTING DUTIES OF POST

Sec.

MASTERS.

514. Records at post-offices of property and sup. plies.

515. Inventories of public property to be made in

duplicate.

516. Duplicate, how to be disposed of.

517. Postmasters not to receive moneys from predecessors, unless.

518. Assistant to be appointed.

519. Oaths of office to be sent to Department.

520. Who to have access to mail-matter in postoffices.

521. Mail not to be opened in reach of unauthorized persons.

522. Postmasters must collect and examine wastepaper, etc.

523. No post-office to be located in bar-room. 524. Loungers not to be permitted in post-office. 525. Business hours at post-offices.

526. Transaction of other business at fourth-class post-offices.

527. Changing site of post-office.

528. Receiving-box for mail-matter at fourth-class post-offices.

Sec.

529. Place for mail-matter awaiting delivery and for stamps.

530. Sanctity of seals inviolable.

531. Postmasters not to give information respecting mail-matter.

532. Postmasters powerless to remit fines or overcharges on mail-matter.

533. Official correspondence; return of official papers.

534. How postmasters should reply to official correspondence.

535. Postal Guide supplied officially and to be consulted.

536. Postmasters in doubt as to law to ask instructions.

537. Attention to be given to official printed circulars.

538. How postmasters are to address the Depart

ment.

539. Public documents and property to be turned

over to successor.

540. Credentials of special agents to be demanded. 541. Postmasters not to act as lottery agents.

Sec. 514. Records at Post-Offices of Property and Supplies.-Every Postmaster shall keep a record, in such form as the Postmaster-General shall direct, of all postage-stamps, envelopes, postal books, blanks, and property received from his predecessor, or from the Department or any of its agents; of all receipts in money for postages and box-rents, and of all other receipts on account of the postal service, and of any other transactions which may be required by the Postmaster-General; and these records shall be preserved and delivered to his successor, and shall be at all times subject to examination by any special agent of the Department. (R. S. § 3842.)

Sec. 515. Inventories of Public Property to be Made in Duplicate.—On taking charge of the post-office, each postmaster will make, in duplicate, inventories of the public property belonging to it, as follows:

1. Of all postage-stamps, stamped-envelopes, newspaper-wrappers, and postal-cards, and newspaper and periodical-stamps, and postage-due-stamps.

2. Of all Postal Guides, books of Postal Laws and Regulations, circulars, orders, rating-stamps, etc.

3. Of all desks, cases, and other furniture or fixtures, books, maps, blanks, and stationery allowed or furnished by the Department.

4. Of all locks, keys, and mail-bags.

Sec. 516. Duplicates, how to be Disposed of.-He will deliver one of these duplicates, with his receipt thereon, to his predecessor, and transmit the other as follows: No. 1, to the Auditor of the Treasury for the Post-Office Department; Nos. 2 and 3, to the First Assistant Postmaster-General; and No. 4, to the Second Assistant Postmaster-General.