Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1861-07-02
From Holbrook's United States MALL I.
RaScaIIv TrIcH

We have before alluded to the iDgenlou:
| frauds resorted to sometimes even by indivd
uals and business firms 10 good standing, to fl
distrust and suspicion on the postofice, in the
matter Of money remittances claimed TO have
been sent through the mails.
A case Of his kind has just been brought tc
| light within the boundaries of the "Nutmeg
State" land outside of all the counties with the
exception, perhsps, of old Middlesex), which in
justice to the Postoffice Department and is
employees Immediately interested, ought not to
be passed over In silence 1t vas none OF your
common place pieces of knavery, but cool, we'll
arranged scheme for fixiug criminal charge on
innocent parties connected With the ,stofice.
gentleman ~ doing business in NJ
was indebted to a firm In FL in the
sum of $l20 The money was 10 be sent as
other aemiuances had previously been, by mail.
The letter was received minus the cash. In
formation Of the loss was Communicated to one
Of the Government special agents. who investi-
gated the matter closely The first question to
be settled was, was the money actually inclosed
In the letter.
II appeared from the statement of the mer
chant, that having previously written the letter,
be sent bis clerk to the bank to obtain large
notes, two sos and one 90, which we're folded
into the letter In the presence OF the young man.
who took IL imme edistely TO the postofice. This
was fully col hrmed BY the clerk in question,
who, with great apparent, and, no doubt, real
honesty, insisted that he witnessed the whole
transaction the money inclosed, and the
letter sealed, which he carried directly TO the
Office, where he would take hs oath both the
letter and It's contents were safely deposited in
the hands Of one Of the posloffice clerks, oil
whom stamp Vas purchased aud placed upon
| Nho latto hora mad IN ka laff al. he
grounds upon which TO base a suspicion, out
side the postoffice at least. The thing had been
fixed up TO be cure, and our slippery friend, the
merchant, thought the agent might as we'll go
about other business, If he had any! ..-i
But certain indescribabe evidences of some
thing wrong In the merchants manner, and the
trifng affair oil three cents, led to the final dis
covery r. 7 ,o rs .e-st" t
In separately questioning the employer and
the employed, the forme stated that he sau-
the latter the money with which TO buy post
age stamp, while the clerk was perfectly SUI
that he went to the money drawer, some dis
ttnce from where the two had been standing,
f1r. the three. pennies. Here was exactly the
required opportunity for ,he babk nutes to be
WI hdrswn from the letter, without the clerks
knowl,dse. t. 1-- --li +
The next point was to epdeavor to discover
privately where our fiieDd had p.ssed the iars Z
bills which he had probably tailed to remit
Anticipating the possibility Of this discovery,
the merchant absolutely let pussy out of the
bag himself, He obtained two other hfties on
the same bank as the others, vent to q conf.
Dental friend, and asked him to take the bills
and hand them back to him, In order that If the
place OF exchange OF the frst notes was found
out, be could refer to this friend as having paid
him bills OF that denomination and bank! The
friend being an honorable man, and seeing that
the request bore upon the letter transaction,
declined to comply, and very promptly exposed
In the proper quarter the application thus msde
to him Not only did be do this, but knowing
of considerable payment recently made BY
the merchant, intimated where the original ff-
ties had been used The clue thus obtained,
brought out the whole Transaction. and effectn-
ally fixed the guilt Of this cunningly devised
plan upon the right shoulders. 0f HlAis ~
Il is to be regFetted that Congress- has pre-
vided no penalty for this class of tronbesomc
dehnquencies-