The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1873-05-17

ot quit Monroe, nor departed from his n
country knows full well II
hat the mail service has been outrage -
usly conducted-I know that COM N
,laints innumerable have been made L
o met is apparent that some mystic
ious cause has operated to stop an in G
of this robbery I'm the e
lame of law and reason why has this
not been fully and fairly inves-
igated, and the robber, or robbers,
brought to punishment?
Mr.. Selye's failure to go into a full
of the question, as to acho
broke open the letters put in his hands,
some one having opened them, is one
of the strangest features i'll this whole
some one robbed these letters, because
he has in the letter we now publish
acknowledged it:
OFFICE Asst SUIT R'LwAI MAIL SERVICE
AND SPECIAL AGENT =. O. DEp'ART,
Now Orleans, La, April IA, 1873.
Niessrs. Gcrspoch C. Herring, Monroe, L.:
Cents Enclosed herewith I hand you
letter which has been detained in The inves-
Louisiana & Texas Railroad, said letter
having been opened and in it's present con-
dition when received by me. -Acknowl- |
edge receipt, and oblige, !
EDGAR SiLLIE,
Special Agent 7. .. Department.
Here we find that Selyc received a
letter broken open. Who broke that
letter open: Did he do it? He denies
that he did. But he received it broken
open. Private letters arc not sent
through the mails with one end of the
envelope torn away, as this one was.-
Why has his investigation not shown,
either that some one did open this
| letter, or that the letter opened itself?
SeIye's investigation, unfortunately
for the service of which he is part,
after at least three months trial, has
shown nothing-except, that the letters
he received were, according to his state
| ment, open when he received them.
| That is ali this Special Agent appears
to have brought out in his tsinvestiga-
| tion.''
| The dirt in this business "pans out''
so abundantly that every one, innocent,
guilty, or mere spectator, is absolutely
shut off from doubt. 1t is not necessary
for any Individual to recall his own ex-
perience in the matter Of the mails, to
be convinced that some one has been
grossly derelict. 1t makes no differ
ence to me who the guilty party is; but
it does make difference when an inf;.-
nous crime like this can be committed
with impunitX and no one brought tC
punishment.
The aggregate interest centering il
the exposure / have made is limited
only by the number Of good citizens 0
. the country. The fact CANNOT be go
u around that the mails have not onl,
been handled loosely, but that ever
letters have been broken open. SOM
d of the letters thus touched with crimi
nal fingers are no'c in existence. Cal
Il such crimes be committed in this en-
lightencd age, and under q government
. Boosting of its power and its strict deal
y ing with its agents, and no one be foun
y blamablc: 1t has been suggested tina
, the finder of these letters did himsc
" break them open. lfsuch was the ease
why nave nOC Stops DeCn GtNcll 10 pun
~ ish him? If he be guilty, why has h
~ persisted in his disclosures, and why
~ he ready now to go into an iuvcstig;
ton: Has ho been favored: If 81
- who has done it? I will say for Pett
)" bone that his action in this matter, wit
=. :, me, has been straightforward and ma,
sc ly, and if he opened these letters, notl
~ ing that have seen leads me to belie\
~ it, except his finding the letters,
~ which circumstance the public is i,
~ dcbtcd to him only for proof of its cXi
Az tcncc. l have surveyed the who
~ ground dispassionately, and I am read
:" to affirm my belief in the robbery
the mails. l assume all the rcSpons
bility for the publication of the fact
and shall persist ut any aud cvcr
hazard III my original purpose to u
earth, if possible, tho offender or oite
ucrs in this most outrageous wrong up'
private correspondence end the publ
interests. There ought to he an imp:
tial, full and fair investigation of t
wrong, to the end that not only t
crime itself may be posi- tfVcly aSct