Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1880-11-01
rSpecial To Daily kennebec Journal.


NEW YORK. October 81. In the examina-
ton of Philip. charged with forgery of the
Morey letter. the following facts have been
proved by testimony which is not disputed by
he defence: The Morey letter is dated
January 81. 1850. 1t is claimed to have been
transmitted through the mail TO Lynn, Mass.
The envelope iIf which it is said to have been
so transmitted is produced by Philips counsel.
On that envelope are the distinct lines of
erasures corresponding in position to the
place where, if the envelope had been pre-
viously used, the address to person, the
city or town and the State would naturally
come. These crasures are distinctly visible
10 the naked eve What words have been
erasc cd cannot he seen, except that at the end
of the first erased line the word ESD" can
be made. In this envelope, which has then
obviously had upon j: some other address
than that which now appears, the Morey let
ter is alleged to have been transmitted through
the mail to Lynn, Mass. This envelope has
upon it an undoubted stamp showing that il
has been in the New York Iost-office. But
it is uudsputed that by the routine of the
post office no letters posted in Washington
and addressed to Lynn, could come into the
New York post-ottice. The bags containing
such letters pass directly from the cars at
Jersey City to the Boston cars IN the upper
part of the city. On Sundays, however, as
there is no morning train to Boston, the bags
remain in the New York post-ofiice, but are
never unlocked or opened. This also shows
that when this envelope was in the mail it
was not addressed to Lynn, but addressed to
a person in New York city. But more than
this there are IN New York city eighteen sub
stations, to which the general post-office in
that city sends letters received there by the
mails and addressed to persons residing or
having their place of business within the dis
trict in which the suh-stations are situated.
On receipt of Il letter at one of these stations
it is again stamped. The envelope produced
has on it the stamp of sub-station, thus
showing that il has not only been in the
general post-ottice in New York, but has been
sent from there to sub-station in that city.
What sub station it was cannot be ascertained,
as that has also beer erased from the centre
of the STAMP The result of this evidence is
that under the system prevalent at the post
Office. letter post, i in Washington and al.
dressed to Lynn could not under any cir
cumstance get into the New Y ork post-offce
If. however. it accidentally got there it could
not from there go TO a sub station 1t is by
this alone made perfectly obvious that the
envelope is fraud. That ,ne envelope of q
letter which was originally addressed to and
received in New York has had the address
erased and new address to ii. l.. Morcy
Lynn. Mass, written upon it. That it has
never been in the mail with that address or
it.
This address to Morey is. by the admission
of all parties, in the same handwriting as the
body of the Morev letter. This envelope
was probably selected for alteration because
it has on il the printed stamp ofthe House o.
Representatives. But the undisputed proc
goes further The Morey letter as already
stated is dated January 23d. 1880. The en-.
! velope produced is stamped with the Wash
ington postmark. The dag and month of the
postmarkng cannot be made ont, those hav
ing been erased like every other date. Tn,
| date on the envelope though in the ALLEGED
facsimile published, the date, January %, il
| fraudulentlv inserted, is erased. 1t is, how
eycr. absolutely demonstrated that the montl
| in which the letter was postmarked was moi
| January. for the postmark is made and the
postage stamp is cancelled by stamps which
were not used in the Washington postoffic,
until after February lst. The precise dat
when the change of stamp was made in tina
Office cannot be ascertained, but it was Ger
tainly after February lst, and probably afte
February 18th. letter dated January g.
wonld hardly be sent in an envelope not post
marked till after February lst. Further thai
this one figure is left without erasure in tn
date on the stamp, showing the receipt of tn
envelope at the New York post-oficc. Tina
figure is figure ''2.' 1t obviously forme'
the last of two figures. The dates on receip
at the New York post-ofhcc must therefor
have been the 18th or 22d of some month
A letter dated on January % would hardly b.
sent in an envelope received in New York o.
either the 18th or the 22d. 1t is thus abso
lutely and repeatedly demonstrated that tn
envelope in which the Morey letter is asserte
to have been seen is fraudulent. The sam
hand that wrote the letter admittedly wrot
the address on the envelope. Is there an,
escape from the conclusion that the letter
equally fraudulent? All the facts above state
are found by uncontradicted testimony upo
these points. 1t is now admitted by Phil
that he wrote the editorial charging Geners
Garfield with being a liar. The defence d,
MES that Philip wrote the Morey letter an
asserts that Garfield wrote it.
On the question whether Philip wrote it tn
prosecution have proved by persons intimate
that in their opinion he wrote it. One wi
ness under whom Philip worked for lon
time, states that nc recognized the Morey le
ter as being in Philips writing, and so stote
before he knew he was suspected. They l,a'
proved by Messrs. Paine, Southw orth. Hoga
and Ames, who are the leading experts
ba..dw riting in the country, that in the
opinion this Morey letter written by Il
same person who wrote the editorial no
admitted to be Philips though of course Il