Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1883-10-11
A MAILBAG STORY.
HOW an Inventors Wrath Led to a
Fatal Duel.


How an Inventors Wrath Led to a
Fatal Duel.
Hundreds of inventors each year de-
wise some system which they imagine is
the one thing needed to make the postal
service perfect Sometimes it is lock,
sometimes pouch, still again patent
is presented. The bureau of mail equip
ments in the general postoffice is the de-
pository of numberless designs Of more
or less ingenious articles originally in
tended to revolutionize the postal service.
The head Of the division is Mr.. johnson,
who has filed the place for years. he
would make an accomplished burglar if
he chose to adopt that profession, as he
is well up in the art Of picking, and
for getting into nted-not-to-allow
entrance-except- through -the-lock mail
bag his equal has not yet been born.
The Washington correspondent Of the
Buffalo ETpress says a short time ago
sanguine inventor sent sample bag de-
signed to carry foreign mails to the de-
partment, and requested that it be
adopted. This bag was fastened with
strap and seal which the inventor stated
must be broken before the bag could be
entered. johnson sent the bag back next
day. The tie and seal were intact, but
the bag contained a piece of straw board,
eight by four inches, on which was writ
ten, "Inserted at postofice department
=, 1888" The correspondent asked
johnson if he had received any remark
able or notable addition to his collection
recently. He said that he had not, but as
advertisements for new pouches were
about to be published he expects to have
plenty in the near future. Then he
launched into the usual story. "Thcre
is not much romance in this branch of
the service, =" he said, {" but there was one
romance Of a mail bag which has never
been printed properly. 1t was back in
1888. A sanguine inventor had mail
bag; he submitted it it was
rejected Then he became angry.
He went to the Senate for an in
terview with Senator Ruggles, who
was chairman of the committee on post
offices at the time. He urged Ruggles
to use his influence to obtain the adop-
ton of the bag. But the senator said
that was matter for the postmaster
general to consider, and he refused to
listen to arguments. The inventor got
still more mad He went back to his
hotel. He was stopping at the National,
and growled around there great deal.
A friend intimated to him that he should
have offered Ruggles $780, This set the
fire. Mr. Inventor talked more fully
than ever. He swore it was an outrage
that poor man could not obtain hear
ing unless he ponied up to a senator,
He swore vengeance. The ubiquitous
newspaper man was near by. In this
case his name was Matthew L. Davis; he
asked for Information and received all
the speaker knew, with great deal that
he did not know. He wrote the story
up for his paper, the New York Courier
Enquirer, owned by Watson Webb.
AT the time hot-headed young fel-
low from Maine had seat in the House.
His name was Silly, and he was warm
friend of Senator Ruggles. When the
Courier Enquirer arrived here Silly, of
course, saw the article rejecting upon
his friend and colleague. He immedi-
ately arose from his seat on question of
privilege and poured forth a torrent of
invective against Watson Webb. He
abused him in the choicest parliamentary
billingsgate of the date, and was not at
all choice in his denunciation. Every
body then believed in the CODE and
Webb Immediately sent challenge by
Graves, of Kentucky. Silly refused to
accept, stating that he could not fight
lutH WIZ Was u 5COuHOtICl, duu OuC WAOlH
be had publicly denounced as such.
Then Graves took up the quarrel and
requested Silly to fight him. The matter
was arranged. They were to meet at
Bladensburg. Henry A. Wise, Of Vir-
ginia, appeared as Graves second, and
George W. Jones, of Iowa, stood by
Silly. Everybody knows the result
Silly fell, mortally wounded, and Con
gress passed that stringent law against
dueling in the district which Is on the
tatute books y
"There," said Mr.. johnson, "you
have for the first time the true story of
the celebrated silly-Graves duel Numer
Gus accounts Of Ruggles' connection with
the affair have been published, but this
is the only true version