, 1877-07-14
Detective Ingenuity.


The old proverb, murder viii out, Is
constantly justified, and 1t Is curious and
interesting to see how, as the craft OF
CRIME deepens with the progress OF civllI-
zation, the ingenuity of discovery keeps
equal pace with it.
0ld-fashioned robbery, the foot-pad and
the highwaymen riding up, as IN the last
century English novels, and presenting
blundcrbuss at the coach window while
the company aLght and are relieved q
their purses by the masked Robin Hoed,
who leaps into the saddle, and touching
his hat, with round compliment To the
ladies', gallops away-al this has passed
away with the bailiffs and spongng- houses
of the Fleet and the Marshaisea. The
garroter and the masked gang OF burglars
are the familiar form of robbery N our
day, while for great and difficult crimes
the wits of Tascals are matched with those
of detectives, and the rascals are very
sure 10 go to the wall.
4 recent capture of mail robbers well
illustrates tbs, and Is signal proof OF
the skill that foils the most careful crime.
Merchants and others in Philadelphia
who had dealings with Boston found that
the most valuable and important letters
constantly miscarried. They disappeared
without a clue, and the correspondents
soon complained at the post-otiiee depart
ment, which, upon full information, ap-
Piled itself with the most skillful detect
i've force to the discovery of the thieves,
but in vain. But similar detective skill,
differently employed, struck the clue
The detective agency of an express COM
pany was busily engaged In the search
for valuable baggage that had been stolen,
and some Of the agents, who had been
" Swallowing" two suspicious persons, fol-
lowed them from house on Prince street
to the office of the American Express
Company, at the corner of Broadway and
Fourth street. The suspicious persons
here left two packages addressed to Can
ada. When they had left, the detectives
entered the office and told the agents Of
the express company their suspicious that
tie packages contained stolen goods. The
packages were at once opened. One was
found to contain a mail b&5 and the other
a travelling bag or Satchel in which were
the stamps OF mail-route agents outfit.
| This discovery was at once made known
at the postoffice, and its agents at once
examined the contents OF the two bags.
The mailbag contained mutilated letters
which had been evidently mailed at York,
in Pennsylvania, and the satchel the
working tools Of route agent upon The
Pennsylvania railroad. Here was the
iong-sought clue, and the postofliee and
the express detectives followed 1t closely
TO the end.
The satchel had been stolen from a
mail wagon while going from the New
York postofiice to jersey City. One of
! the drivers was arrested, and his capture
| led to that Of man named Kelly, the
apparent leader Of the gang, and a wo-
man with whom he lived, and other con
federateS The woman's house was search
ed, and in a trunk claimed 10y her were
found letters mailed few days before in
Philadelphia, containing checks payable
in Boston. Other letters were found
from which the Enclosures had been taken,
and itappeared that money had been paid
upon forged Endorsements of signatures
obtained in this way. The last man who
was arrested WAS found TO be the mpOr-
tant confederate He was mail driver
who allowed the bags to be taken from
the wagon. When the bags had been
thoroughly rifed, they were carefully
done up in packages and sent by express
to various distant cities, addressed to fc-
titious names. All traces of the bags thus
disappeared.
Il was clever scheme, but not clever
enough. Corruption wins not mole than
honesty As Fielding is fond of saying,
it hath been remarked by some wise phi
losopher that the ingenuity which is de-
voted to knavery, if turned to honest in
dustry, wCald not only suffice to carry
the world far forward toward virtue, bat
would make the knaves prosperous and
respectable citizens Ia the meanwhile,
Il is comfortable TO see the constant evi-
dence that, sharp as crime may be, jus
tee Is sharper