Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1869-11-10

=, apprised of the under-life of the Who'll
community in which they reside, pei
: hapS to circulate scandal at some subsf
quent time. BY our shifting civil ser
vice, the office of Postmaster is rotary
and, every four years, out goes a set
Postmasters, who are "chOck fulP' {
news, the debts of sons, the disgrace {
daughters, the peccadilloes of husband
and fathers. You have, absolutely, sil
no idea of the extent and curiousnesS
this tampering with the Post Office an
making it offensive.
HOW TO BECOME SPECIAL DETECTIVE
How did you go into the business, Nh
Depro?
Well, by accident. Just after the clos
of the war, / was walking out in tn
suburbs of Columbia College, when
saw a pair of horses and fine buggl
come dashing down the hill at full gal
| lOp. / laid for them, flung myself OF
their brides, and hung on, though they
| dragged me and cut me considerably
/ Soon after them a liveried driver cam
/ along, and he said:
"This is the Provost Marshal 5 team
/ If l were you L would call ON him to
morrow. He won't forget YOU
So / called 81 his office and mentioned
who L was, and he said right of: 81
want special agent bad and believe
you're just the man. If you can stop two
runaway horses you can catch a thief"
Il can if ever get hold Ofshim."
So l was head over heels in investga-
tiOns within twenty-fOur hours. Then
was put under a new act of Congress in
a special postal agency, and remained
there till, by the expiration of the period
of the act 1 was left out.
This man is Just the picture of an
American detective. His eyes and hair
are very black; his voice is deep; and
there is tremendous magnetism in his
address. He has operated so successful
ly less by the arts of his business than
by his courage and quick introspection
of character. He is six feet high slim
and wiry, and after looking at him good
while you are unable to tell whether he
is a SOutherner or a Northerner. His
powers of description are fine and care
less. He told me that HOlbrOOk, the
author of Life Among the Mail-Bags,' y
had gone crazy through the Over-eXcite-
ment of his pursuit, and died some time
ago.
The fact is, said Depro, the worst part
OF that kind of life is the intense anxiety
into which one works himself as he ap-
prOaches the crisis of a case; the fear of
failing ''at the death = the narrow thread
or evidence or suspicion on which he
works, and the minuteness of his artifices
and strength to accomplish victory over
desperate offenders. l will relate to you
a case of a man made
A THIEF BY BAPTISM.
was ordered up to Newcastle, Penn,
a year or two ago, to examine into the
case of n man whose letters had been
taken out of the Post Office by some one
else, checks and money distracted from
them, and who was still subject to depre-
datiOns by this invisible unknown. The
mans name was Levi Miller. A person
had called at the Post Office for letters for
Levi Miller, and had received one in
which was a check for payment on some
lands which the writer had sold for this
Miller. Not only had the strange man
accepted the money, but he had replied
to the letter, continued the correspond
ence, and intercepted more payments
1t was a case which puzzled the Post
master and Miller also, to know how the
interloper had got the checks cashed. /
found that the latest letter received from
the rascal had been dated WilliamspOrt,
Penn, and he had ordered remittances
sent there. So / hurried to Williams
port, two hundred miles eastward, and
called at the banking house which had
cashed one of the checks.
''HOw did you happen to give a stran-
ger the money on this?''
1--WE did not. He left it for collection.
and we forwarded it to the drawer, who
duly cashed it. The man then came in
and obtained the money"
would you recognize him again p
81 don't think We would. We took no
notice Of him particularly, and it has
been some time ago.
! then went to the Post Office, and
asked the POstmaster's clerk if he re-
anybody stopping for letters
for Levi Miller.
"Why, yes! he was here few days
ago."
I took up printed notice and filed it
in with the announcement that there
was a registered letter in the Postmas-
ter's hands for Levi Miller, and this 1
dropped in the mail. Scarcely had done
so when the clerk said:
"Hist! Mr.. DeprO, here is the man out
side now, inquiring for a letter.
/ slipped out the side way and came to
the man from behind.
"Is your name Levi Miller?"
eyes,
"Come in here. There is a registered
letter for yOu.' He stepped inside and
| gave him the registered blank book,
telling him that he must sign his name.
As he did so I looked over his shoulder
and saw that the handwriting was the
same as that upon the intercepted
checks.
"You are just my man, sir! I want
you to come with me over 10 this bank"
''What do you mean?''
''That you've been robbing the Post
Officer As he went along with me,
'elt his arm tremble.
''See here he said; 81 have property
enough to pay for that check l took. l
lon't want to go to jail"
"How did You happen to get Levi Mil
er's letters?"
"BccdLSe my name is LSUi Miller. 1
was travelling through Western Pennsyl-
rania, and expected a letter. i opened,
lnsuspecting, the letter addressed TO me,
md found a check in it. 1t came over
ne in a moment to appropriate that
money, although l knew it was
meant for another person bearing the
,ame name.'
He was recognized at the bank, paid
lp the sums he had distracted, and was
not prosecuted,
ROBBED BY HIS SON.
\ very large percentage of depreda-
ions ON letters is made by the families
# men who suffer-" continued Mr..
Depro,-as an example of which recall,
ust now, the name of a celebrated claim
lgent Of Washington City. He was in
he habit of receiving every day large
lees from his clients in all parts OF the
country, and he came to the Post Office
20 complain that quantities of his letters
we're daily robbed of their remittanees
md returned to the writers with taunt-
ng remarks appended, as: 'Didn't you
hink this money was going straight?
You're a fool TO think that your cash can
reach the agent! Robbed by the Post
Office man; try again!' The agent came
10 the Post Office with loud complaints of
dishonesty there, and the Postmaster
lsked me to investigate the case. l saw
speedily that the emptied and returned
etterS were superscribed with the left
hand. II bothered me % know what
lbiect there could be in thus returning
he covers of robbery, and l was sure
hat no Post Office clerk would be SO alb
,urd.
/ dropped couple of letters to the
,laim agent, and in day or two called
IpOn him.
"Who gets your mail from the Post
)fice?@
''NIy son brings it every morning"
"Well, it is your son that is robbing
yOur'
The old man flushed up, Indignantly:
My son, sirl That is a slander it is i'm !
possible! he is the soul of honor, and my /.
.hief assistant"
"Well, do you want me to examine
lim?1
'Yes, sir; but you will find it vain.-