The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-12-19
More Mail ROberies.
ARREST OF THE POSTMASTER AT FORT
JEssUP, LA-HE IS COMMITTED FOR
ROBBING H MAIL.

ARREST OF ASSISTANT POSTMASTER AT
ALEXANDRIA o EMBEZzLE-
MENT-ATTEMPT TO RES
CUETHEPR1soNER.
lFTOm the New Orleans Tlmes.l
A short time ago the Special Post
office Agent in this city, Major Selye, as
is we'll known, took his departure for
the Red River country. but with what
intentions wa then unknown. Yestcr-
day q Times Reporter happened to stroll
into the office Of United States Com
missioner Grant and found him about
to commence the examination Of two
post office cases, which had been brought
before him by Major Selye. The first
and most important of these cases was
that OF Theodore Beck, postmaster at
Fort Jessup, Louisiana. It appears
that the proceedings in this case were
instituted before H. G. Meyers, Il Uni
ted States Commissioner at Natchi-
tOches, by whom the testimony taken
at the examination is certified. From
that testimony and the papers in the
case we gather the following state
ments and allegations, the truth of
which will hereafter be made the sub
jeCt OF more careful scrutiny and eX-
animation in the United States Court.
In brief, the charge against Mr.. Beck
is that being and acting as Postmaster
at Fort essup, La, he did, on o. about
the 9Th day of March, 1872, willfully and
felOniOusly rob the United States mail,
BY opening Il registered package num-
bered 4, which had been mailed al Ham-
iltOn, Texas, addressed to the pOstmas-
ter at New Orleans, and which package
contained q registered letter addressed
to Charles j. Peterson.
The testimony taken before Com
missioner Meyers is to the effect that a
letter of the description given was sent
from Hamilton, as stated, in a regis
tered letter envelope No. 4; that the
same passed through the mails regularly
until it reached the Office at Fort Jes-
sup that there the original package
envelope, which contained the regis
accused and riaed, after which the
same was re-sealed and placed in an
other registered package envelope, adj
dressed and p0st-marked by Beck, and
thus continued its way OIL to this city.
From the testimony of Major Selye,
taken in this case, that in November
past he proceeded to Fort Jessup and
confronted Mr.. Beck with what is known
as q tracer" which bore the endorse
ments and signatures of all the post
masters of the different offices through
which the registeredp package had passed,
including the accused, who acknowl-
edged his endorsement on the "tracer,"
and that the handwriting on the regis
tered package envelope No. 4, bearing
the pOst-mark and address, was also his
hand writing.
The testimony, further shows that on
| tho 0rrVoI nf tho C0al-0Eo OF Nau, Nv,
leans (Which was the only office where
it could be opened after leaving the
mailing Office), it was ascertained that
the registered letter had been tempered
with, and an endorsement was made
on it as follows: "Received, New Or
leans, i'll this cOnditiOn-has the appear
anCe OF having been opened and robbed.
w. Richards, Registry Clerk With
this endorsement the letter went on to
it's final destination, Philadelphia, where
it was again endorsed as having been
received in bad condition. The par
ticular point called out in the testimony
is that there is no similarity between the
handwriting Of the written post mark
and address IN the substituted regis
tered envelope No. 4 and the endorse
ment of the Postmaster at Hamilton,
Texas, on the tracer and that the
udAO w 2AGAAS III GlC CAIOO1SCIuGuI on
the tracer" Of the Postmaster at
! which appears on the registered pack
age No. 4, both of which it was proven
the prisoner acknowledged to be his
own.
On the examination before Commits
sioner Meyers, the accused was held to
bail in the sum Of $4,000, and was imme-
diately brought to New Orleans by Ma
jOr Selye, by whom the arrest was Origi-
nally made. The papers passing into
the hands of Commissioner Grant, a
further examination was ordered, but
the accused waved it, and was accor-
dinghy committed for trial, and bond re-
quired in the sum named above.
The other case brought before Com
missioner Grant was that of E. O..
BiOssat, Assistant Postmaster at Alex
andria, and a young man who has also
enjoyed a most excellent reputation.
Young Biossat it appears was arrested
OF the affidavit of Major Selye, Special
agent of the P0stOfice Department. and
by whom he is charged with having, on
the 10th day of August, 1873, felonious-
ly embezzled from the mails of the
United States a certain registered let
ter or package containing $500, which
package had been placed in the mail at
NatchitOches, to be forwarded to New
Orleans. The testimony taken at the
examination shows that three different
packages, numbered respectively, s, 8
and 10, had been registered and mailed
at NatchitOches, andal of them had been
lost. No. 8 was traced into the hands
of the accused, who was unable to show
what he did with it, having no record
in the Office of it, o any receipt. The
package was proven to have been placed
in q lock pouch at Natchitoches,
which pouch vas afterwards delivered
into the hands of BiOssat at Alexandria.
Some testimony wasalsO elected from
Henry Meyers of Natchitoches, res
pecting package No. 10, which contained
a registered letter from him to w.
c. Cole, of New Orleans. The letter
did not contain money, but a valuable
document.
No testimony was taken for the de-
fence, and so the accused was commit
ted for trial before the District Court,
and heldto bail In the sum of one thou
sand dollars.
An incident connected with the ar
rest of Biossat, was an attempt made
by the citizens to rescue him from the
hands of Major Selye, which we hear
through some of the passengers on the
LaBelle, on which boat both Beck and
BiOssat were brought to the city. Young
Biossat is the son Of the editor Of one
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