, 1860-12-05
THE YOUNG MAIL R0BBER AGAIN
His Home and Parontagc.
HIS NODE OF EXPECTING THE LARCENY
4 Letter froE Col. Hammond.
CAMPBELL HELD 10 BAIL IN s5, 600.

CAMPBELL HELD 10 BAIL IN s5, 900.
The young man rres1cd 10 In our detailed
account yesterday morning Of his dcprcdatlons
upon U. 8. mail matter has, since his arrest,
persistently given his laneas Vim. ]. Hudson,
and stoutly maintains that It is his real name.
This is done by him to shield his relatives and
family from the poignant sorrow and disgrace
Of his present condition, but this regard fur
feelings OF father and mother most unharrily
begins too Late. It should have stayed him
earlier in his career; but, for the value Of tile
warning to thousands like him in being tempt
cd, but still without reproach, no subterfuse
or fictitious name can shield him now.
The young man is John Campbell, son of
Alexander Campbell, very worthy and cs-
teemed seotcllman-a retired clcrGJman-rc-
siding at Newport, st. Clair Co, Michigan, on
the river St. Clair, midway between thu lake
Of that name and Lake Huron. John is about
twenty-onc, and Of youthful appearance for his
age Ills parents arc plous and excellent Pco-
pie and have strircn by erery means in their
power to check the waywardness Of their sou,
who left them some three 5eara ago to e1'se
out his fortunes for himself, lily ballasted for
the voyage Of life, heIng runaway from his
home, having shaken of parental restraint.
lie hss, alas! made O short run Of it, and j
wreck, one Of the most remarkable in Its char
of young lives ruined.
He has been for three months In his position
as trafn-boy, with duties and relations fully de-
scribcd in Col. uammond's letter, which isap-
pended. During that time he has robbed the
mails Of an amount Of mail matter in face
v,lue reaching upwards Of tseslee thousand dol
lars. lie declares that he had no accomrlce,
and this is made probable by the nature aud
value Of the stolen drafts md Land Warrants
found in lis trunk at the Marble Pillar saloon,
near the Illinois Central T. R. depot, which
one more expert in crime would undoubtedly
have at once realized upon In some manner,
instead Of which young Campbell hi.l them
away.
Ills manner Of Tobbins the mails was to Sc
lcct always one Of the canvass sacks, in too
common use, nud as he hyupon the pile, break
up and crush apart the packages in the l,av,
then slowly work them down to the mouth,
where, by introducing finger OF two, the let
ters would be drawn out He never opened 4
mail ba::,, aud yet once uctually abstgactcl tic
entire contents Of bag sent from Chicago to
Quincy, leaving nothing but the wrapping ra-
per and twinc Of the package within, to the
greatest 1nys1:tcation of the Post Office OIL
cials.
III justice to those to whom credit is due, 1t
must be stated that no part Of this detection
OF arrest is due to any employee Of the Post
Office Department, but to the employees of the
Chicago, Burlington Il Quincy Railroad Cun,-
pany, whose conduct In the entire affair is
marked with shrewdness, sag1city aud hon.
csty to the public, in most important atlair,
an arrest for ecrics Of offences only parallel
led by the celebrated Tncker7nan robberies on
years ago, save that this Is even more remark
able from the youth oi Campbell.
Campbell las been for year past in the tn
| pluy ot II. Andrews, the general contractor on
tile c. Il, and @. 4. K for this department OF
train basincss, but only within three months
past on night trains. Nothing in his bearir:::
or conduct has Indicated thct he was lavish III
expenditure. lie was living chcaply and get
must have realized considerable cash sums
from his peculations. II is remembered that
at one timc not long siE:c hc was somewhat
I free with money, saying that Ills father had
sent him 500. In its general aspects, truth
fully stated the case is that Of a wilfu1 boy,
reckless Of consequences, who had turned his
back upon Lis home and home Influences. lie
r,.,u ,1runl- ~ +f,n 1fsrorrrr and en- 1ece ..,Y,
tious and the other cycnts have followed.
lie w:ls taken before United States Commits
sioncr 1Ioync at 2 P. N. yesterday, and con,
1ni1lcd in default of 5000 bail. lie makes 4
full confession, and JUDGED everything Is TOT
clear against him to admit Of defence. Cauils
bell is entirely broken down by his terrible
position, and went bitterly, pleading will. nj
who knew him that his fictitious ltamc ofI1ud
son might he Kept up, in order to shield hi.
friends, ana particularly his mother, from, !.
kno Tlctl.c Of his inevitable fate, doomed te
piss long years of his young manhood within
prison walls. And, indeed, rad IS it is, to tct
this lot bclall one 80 young, the call for I deep
CT sympathy comes from innocent friends, III,
home circle upon whom desccntls this b1astin;
and fearful woe.
The following, from Col. c. G. Hammond
Superintendent Of the Chicago, Burlington 4
Quincy Railroad, among other matters touch
cs divers points to which VIC referred ycster
day, especially in the care Of the mails, and ",
present entire, prcrnl>in. that this whole af
fair, painful as it is, has bright side relectin!
tue highest credit upon the railroad men con
nectcd with il.
LETTER FROM COL. c. e. HAMMOND
CHICAGO, Dec. I, 1S;O.
MEssRs. ED1roRs: Permit a rculark or tw,
in reference to your account OF the mail rob
berg. First-tl,e night mails arc carried in th
Baggage Car, with and under the care Of tn
baggage man, who docs not leave his ear with
out licking It, except as in the case Of sa.t'l
other coach candle to Tcplacc one tia
was burned down, OF nearly down, in Iii
room. Sccond-thc "tr.lin buy" as liz Is de
nominated always keeps his can for the SUI;
ply Of passengers, in the baggage car when b
is not actually passing water, and a''trai,
carries for sale. Third-the boy is seldom
known to tho general officers Of th
ruad; only to The conductors anil ba:::s1:;
men, for the reason that, ;ls i rule, the amour
sold on the night trains, (for the privilege {
doing which, tue service Of passing wafer t
iuc sallslIcalou VI luc cohuucloF Ii lcrfulfcu
oilers slight Inducements to remain III th1
employment any longer than something bel
ter turns up; and train boys usual
remain on night trims hut q short tims
Fourth-thc baggage car being the pLc
where his traps are Kept, lie naturally remain
there with the 1'a:.gsassenan when not OIL duty
aud he soon learns to cast himself down All,
where, and catch little sleep between til
necessary calls for watering the train whic
the conductor makes upon hiul.
Fifth Whatever power may be hidden in
"bcd Of plunply TILED mail bags to grow
first rate mail robtcr," is due to tho parsimon
of the General Government, who not only r,
fuse to furnish = route agent to travel wit
the night mail, but it utterly refuses, at til
North, to pay sum adequate 10 tho scryie
required Of us, much lcss such a sum as woul
warrant Railroad Company in providing
, perfectly safe room for thu mails. in car use
for that purpose. Indeed, We have no COL
tract with the Department-lt pays us what
pleases, and requires OF Us whatever service
sees tit. We hoye repeatedly offered to col
tract for this service at a fair compensation
but the Government lave hitherto refused.
, Sixth. This boy, as he Is In appearance,
. over twcnty-onc years OF age, and as hc state
:, to mc, when on f:ir presentation Of The CT
dcncc as 1t would appear against him, he CO.
: fessed The Saturday night robbery, had bct
+ sclooled in had company for nearly the thrt
;, years since he left his home against The reno
etranccs and cntrcatics Of his parents. Ho
: much ia due to the opportunity, nnd how mus
I. to deliberate wickedness, ne may not decid
= only conjecture. lie protests that no one IL
been in any way cognizant Of his crime.
: To Robert Matteson, conductor, and E. .
Sadd, ba:,gageman, arc the public indebted Il
the arrest and the preservation Of the eyiden
# Of the last robbery. It must be said that Sac
had no occasion, u you say, to "pass throu:
Il Ills car" for he remained there all the TIM
J except to 50 for the candle, Us before state
4 All our baSsgngcmen do ia to receipt for a :iy,
~ E,ra npi IN de1tror f1,,, s,,,,,,