The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-03-24
LETTER FROM INDIANAPOLIS.
An AdFOft SWindle-Llabillty OF TX.
press OOmpanies-A Railway Deeis-
i0n-The Milligan Uase-The State
House. 4


LIABILITY OF EXPRESS COMPANIES.
INDIANAPOLIS, March 81.
Editors Journals aIe H
Among the decisions of the Supreme
Court just handed IN, is one of spe-
cial importance as tending to show
the liability of Express Companies,
while it is based upon one of the most
adreitly managed swindles of the
present decade Of years. In 1864,
James Stack, Of Chicago, Illinois, en-
listed as a soldier, at LOckport, Nj
agara County. New York, receiving as
his bounty 5000 in money and two
niagara County bonds, of five and
three hundred dollars, respec.
lively. The bonds he sent home
to his wife, Hannah Stack,
at Chicago. On the 10th of
the next May, Stack having been mus
tered out, arrived at his home in Chi
eagO. Previous to this. however. on
the 11th, Hannah Stack received a
telegram from James Stack, dated at
Albany, New York. directing her to
send him those bonds, to "A Mont
gomery Street, Albany. She took
them to the Provost Marshal's Office,
in Chicago, showed the telegram, and
the clerk put the bonds in package,
properly directed, and stating also,
on the outside, that the package
was from Hannah Stack, Chicago,
Illinois," This was put in charge OF
the United States Expre ss Company,
who delivered 1t to the American, at
Buffalo. He sent by mail at the same
time, a letter written IN her
name, directed to "a Mont
gomery Street, informing James
that the bonds were sent. On
the 18th they arrived at Albany. The
delivery clerk took the package to
No. "a Montgomery Street which he
found to be a boarding house kept by
one Lilis, who informed him hat
Stack was not then IN. The next day
James Stack called at the express
office, asked for the package, and
showed the letter which he had re
ceived from his wife. The clerk re-
piled that this was not sufficient, and
that he must get some one to identify
him. He then brought Lillis, but the
clerk did not know him, and required
some man to youch for him. They
then brought another man, who
was known to the clerk, who said
he knew Lillis. and that he was a re-
liable man. The Clerk then asked
Lillis If this was James Stack, and he
replied that it was. To a question to
Stack as to what the package con-
tanned, the latter replied that it con-
tanned two Niagara County bonds of
$500 and $500, and they were from
his wife, Hannah Stack, at Chicago.
They were then delivered to him and
he went away. 1t turned out that the
man was an impOsteF, and that the
real James Stack knew nothing of the
transaction, and had not sent the tel
egram The impOster had evidently,
by some means, found out enough
about the bonds and the owner, upon
which to work. A week or ten
days before the delivery of the
package, he had called at the
boarding house of Lllis, stated that
his name was James Stack. that
he was a soldier at the barracks be-
tween Albany and Troy. and asked
for room IN which to write a letter
/ The letter written, he asked Lillis his
address, and said he should receive a
reply to his letter In few DAYS. and
asked permission to have it sent to
that address, "a Montgomery Street.
which was granted. Of course. the
letter was not sent, but some DAYS af-
terward the telegram was. TIE man
called now and then and got meal
at Lillis ;, aud finally, at the proper