The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-01-16

,tated nv the Assistant U. S. District Attorney,
On the late trial Of Rosie, for robbing the New
York Post Office. that these robberles were be-
coming slarmipgly frequent. Within rev
cars past we ourselves have had some SAD
experience in this line, quite number OF re-
mittances said to have heen made to US from
different points having failed to reach us.
We are inclined to think that this compare
tive insecurity Of the mails arises IN q great
degree from failure to enforce the laws
thoroughly when detections take place. mis-
taken sympathy arising in behalf OF the ac-
cused. extending sometimes, we fear, to Jurors
themselves The penalties provided by Congress
are severe enough perhaps though not SO severe
as they are in England and many other coun-
tries. where such offences are OF very rare oc-
currence. and where punishment is sure to
follow detection. Another fruitful source OIL
these crimes in this country is the frequency OF
the exercise of the pardoning power 10y the
Executive of the nation when convictions are
obtained. 1t is very seldom that person sent
to the State prison for mail robbery serves out
his sentence, and in some instances within our
recollection pardon has been granted even
before sentence was passed, and in many sooa
after.
Now this is all wrong; and is not only ul-
just to the public but to the thousands ofyoung
men employed in orr Post Offices, and sur
rounded by strong and constant temptations,
unlike those of almost any other business en-
ployment. Let it once be understood that
every Post Office clerk. or other mail robber,
when detected is to suffer the full penalty,
and the correspondence of this country would
be comparatively safe much safer, we think,
than it is at present. There should be more
care taken, also in the selection of persons for
such important and responsible places Of trust.
post office is the last place that should be
used for the reward of political services, which
use, we fear, is too often made of it under the
present system of party politics. If there is
any branch of the public service where the
Jefersonian text of honesty faithiulness and
capacity ought to be strictly applied, it is this,
for the facilities and temptations for wrong
doing are vastly greater than almost any other
public occupation. And we are happy to state
that Judge Campbell, our present efficient
Postmaster General, requires strict adherence
to that test, on the part of his Deputy Post
masters, in the appointment of their assistants
and clerks
In conversation with one of the special
agents of the Post Office Department recently,
we were somewhat surprised to learn that q
good share Of the losses by mail complained of
in the large cities are traced to the dishonesty
Of porters and clerks employed in conveying
letters to and from the Post Office. IL appears
that within the past year quite a number of
detections among this class OF persons have
ally being young, and not connected with the
Post Office, the matter is usually treated as a
breach Of trust, and left to be settled between
them and their employers We are inclined to
think that the Post Offices have had to be
answerable for these depredatons by outsiders
and that merchants and others are by no means
sufficiently careful as to who they entrust with
their valuable correspondence. We know of
several firms who have been the victims of
numerous losses by mail within few months
past, where the agent Of the Post Office Depart
ment has succeeded in finding the rogue
among their own employees. Others should
profit by these discoveries
EFFECT or THE RECENT DISASTER ON News
PAPERs.-We have seldom seen the public av-
dity for news more strikingly manifest than
since the intelligence Of the loss of the San
baJ
stances enabled us to give much fuller nara
tives Of the disaster than any OF our cotempo.
raries: and in consequence the demand for the
HERALD has been SO great that had we been
able to print one hundred thousand COPIES a
day we have no doubt they would have been
sold; as it was, our sales nearly reached siytv
thousand on Saturday. and fifty thousand yes
tcrday. We republish this morning the main
points OF the news contained in yesterdays
issue, in order that those who were unable to
procure copy of yesterdays HERALD may be
posted up.
.dpropos Of this subject, the course pursued
by our contemporaries illustrates the principles
on which they are conducted, and supplies a
point to their assumptions Of peculiar morality
and rectitude. On Saturday morning our ac-
count OF the disaster was twice as long and IA
iull as any other, and comprised narrative
by passenger which was extensively read
TN Saturday evening this narrative-which we
published exclusively-ap appeared in the Times,
Tribune. and Express. The Tribune had
the honesty to append, in almost i'm
perceptlble characters, the word HERALD,
to its extract from our columns. The
Tunes and Eapress stole it without word
OF acknowledgment. They transferred to their
columns our intelligence, which had cost us
exeriions and money, and passed it of as their
own. Now, we don't want to interfere with
our contemporaries, or to cavil at their mode of
doing business, but we must make one sugges-