The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-01-28
Mr.. HEWI77'S LETTERS.
Report OF The House Committee on the New
York Post Office.
POSTMASTER JAMES INDICATED
How the Mail is Received and
Despatched.


House Select Committee, OF which Mr. Cox was chair.
man. the Investigation OF the alleged tamperng with
mails in the New York city Post ONCE. The commit
tee That their examination being limited TO the
New York city Post Once and 10 the tampering with
the letters therein they proceeded once TO hear the
charge or surmise upon which the investigation was
raised.
The Hon. A. s. Hewitt appeared before the commit.
tee and reiterated substantially what had been said by
him In Congress He had no knowledge OF any tam
pering and had made no such charge He believed.
aud there Is doubt with entire sincerity, that his
letters had opened and such letters had passed
through the New York Post Office aud from ten 10
twenty per cent Of the letters that camc into his
hands were for the time under suspicion from their
peculiar appearance His suspicion aroused BY an
anonymous letter and he was induced thereby
TO scrutnlze his mail Hc found one class
OF IL which seemed 10 have an excess Of mucage
around The edges and the Hap Of the envelope Was
wrnKlcd had been exposed TO steam or heat and
opened recosed He showed these letters 10 Others
who thought that they had been opened Mr. Hewitt IN
his evidence further stated that from time 10 limo he
was confirmed in the 'impresslon'' that there was
iomething wrong in the New York Post ONCE. He re-
TERED the committee several persons who had seen
Ihese suspicious letters, among others 10 Dir. King
Colonel Pelton, Mr. Dickinson, Mr.. Cooper. Mr. Cole
General Richard Taylor, Mr. Parke Godwin aud Mr.
Hale, 0f Maine.
The committee undertook to find out the impress
OF these gent;cmen but II was no stronger than
that OF Mr. Hewitt, 10 say the least Mr. Hewitt stated
to the committee that he had proof OF the opening
Di his letters nor did he ever call the attention OF Mr.
James, Tue postmaster, or any experts III the New
York office 10 his mail He showed 10 the committee
Two envelopes. the only ones he had not destroyed,
when he regarded suspicious. One showed tho
effect OF having been wet and solcd; the other was
corrugated and puckered. and line all around which
indicated that the flap had not come down to the orie
nal place He had received many ike these TWO,
though he that they were not lair samples OF the
most suspicious letters, and unfortunately he had de-
siroycd them.
The gracaman and gravity Of this suspicion consists
IN throwing cloud ove- the integrity OF the New
York office thls that tor partisan ends the mail OF
The chairman OF the Democratic National Committee
was opened.
tendeat OF tho New York Post Office, Mr.. Hewitt
thought that clerk the Office by giving his ''at
Tor tho lainperng 10 concluding his statement he
SAID that OF fifteen or twenty letters which
came INTO his hands day IN New
York he three tour that seemed to have
been opened; and IN this he was confirmed by tho
wrinked character OF the envelope His suspicion
was impressed by the an0ny nous letters anc con-
6rined uy the gentleman to whom he showed them.
This IS the substance OF Mr. Hewitts evidence, upon
which the investigation was raised.
As TO those gentlemen named 10 whom he showed
the letter, the committee could not lind Mr. King He
was absent In The West. Mr.. Cole, Mr. Hewitt IN.
forgottenit 1t, II he ever had aud was not called.
MR. HEwITrs SECRETARY.
r..
National Committee, and opened Mr.. Aewitts letter
the Liberty street office He thought that in
instances the letters had been opened, because they
looked II the envelopes had been unfastcned and
then stuck down again. He would not say how
many there were Of these. They were SO few
hardly to be called a proportion OF those
received. Some rumpled MS IT opened
not put back well, leaving margin. Some had been
'.gummed up again" apparently. Tho suspicious
to The letters received by the democratic committee
did not point In MIR. Dickuson's opinion. to New York
city, but 10 the place OF mailing, or N transit Ono
1utt man onade V ng Very
suspicious; but aside from the suspicious he enter
tanned In common with Mr.. Hewitt as to the tamper-
Ing he had knowledge tn in the New York Office
or any Office letters were tempered with
WHAT COLONEL PELIoS KNEW
Colonel Pelton was connected with The democratic
committee and had seen some letters-nota large mum
ber--that had the appearance OF being opened He
gives the Tor his impression as Mr.. Dick
inson These suspicious began IN October and contiu-
ued up 10 the 10th OF November The '.mucilagc below
tue fap'' the SUSPICIOUS circumstance and the
rough and crumpled appearance on the edge. Mr.. Pei
ton especially remembers Florida letter, above
ierred suspicious He did not believe that there
was any systematic plan Of opening letters IN the New
email post Offices, where the 'rulcs are not 50 rigid
aud where there was less regard to popular rights
EXAMINATION AT THE POST OFFICE.
The committee proceeded to clear up any doubts
winch these suspicious may have aroused by per-
sona examination OF the Post Office and It's mode OF
operating
After assembling at the Post Office large number Of
letters taken promiscuously out OF the boxes were
Submitted for inspection, to show the committee
what large proportion OF letters were so carecssy
sealed as to present crumplod or cor
Hewitt to suppose that his letters had been
tempered with In the Of the examination
masses OF letters just gathered IN from the lamp post
letter boxes by some halt dozen letter carriers,
cmptied table These the committee critically
examined. The examination showed that from one
third TO onehar OF them presented tho rumpled
appearance those presented by Mr.. hewitt The
letter carriers were severaly sworn and testi-
fed TO the boxes from winch the letters had
been collected within the previous hour. They
takcn from different parts OF the city by the most
worthy and experienced letter carriers This exam
ination also showed that many letters were thrown
Into the dropboX unseaed Such letters, when dis
covered, stamped having been received I'M
sealed. The same stamp placed letters when the
envelopes are torn II also appears that letters COL
ected on stormy or wet day are generally worse than
those collected IN good weather. This examination
revealed many letters In worse condition than the Two
submitted by Mr. Hewitt.
Mr. Hewitt, being recalled, was questioned the
appearance OF letters fresh the lamp post boxes
Some looked to HIM suspicious; some did not look ~
to him which did look 81 TO others. The appearance
Of those letters was such TO arouse doubt, but tho
committee well knew that they freshly deposited
mud had never been tampered with Their wrinked,
corrugated, smuched, dirty and careless appearance
the condition of tho muciage and the evidence that
many OF them had been opened by after
sealing was clear; but all those cases account
ted by the OF the writers themselves he tes
tlmony Of Mr.. Gayler and others thoroughly ex-
perienced shows concusvciy that letters Ike these
which naturally aroused the attention and suspicion of
MI Hewut never opened unless by the writers
themselves; or If not opened at all, we're sealed so
bungllngly as 10 arouse suspicion in an experienced
mind. large humber OF letters coming through the
mall onethird al least as the committee saw and
Mg. Gay er states, have bad appearance about the
Hap In some cases the gum has gone over the edge
VI The envelope. aud has stuck 10 the next en-
yelope apparently III the process OF manu- acture,
80 that the gum shows on the outside oil the nap.
POST OFFICE PROCESS
The committee did not stop here They summoned
ana sworc every clerk VINO supervised the Incoming
md outgoing of letters from the New ork Post Oce
They. examined the process OF making up and dis
triDutIng mails, from the time letter is dropped
by inc public into the drop box, when they
mead than sta
separator, then 20 to the assoriers, and thence
10 the mail makers, AS we'll from the time they come
In from abroad for distribution as from the time they
are brought in to be despatched All the clerks IN
charge OF these departments were examined, those
VINO attend by day rs well AZ by night. Every SAFE
guard was tested Tar as personal inspection and
Examination ol witnesses was concerned
Letters which came IN Tor delivery either from other
Offices which ore In process oil assortment Tor CITY
delivery 20 TO the hands oi about Lhirty-nine
sorters In the first place. They make two assort-
ments The letters intended Tor boxes they assert ac