Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-07-10

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of the termini. Cook knew this. ant
as he was along the line he thc.lofa
2 that he was perfectly safe We sfiLa ally
: reached him. by comparing the haL.
81 writing with that on the fraud ens
1 registered envelopes
One of the listeners spoke Raior Ill
I genuity displayed by postal
and the new methods of hin, OF. at.
: mails which were constvtty. oe,n nj. a.,
tempted. He suggest ana' tef LIPS
there was an inte VI iueas
among the employ ana what one
| failed to think Of other would supply.
/ This observe On gave rise to the re-
; mark of Colgel Sharps. with which
} this articleIgins.
devise er own methods and work
them ut by themselves. They lie
waDnights thinking how they can
hoy on to the money which daily
uses through their hands, and at the
Ame time avoid detection. The con-
(stant thought of an intelligent mind di-
rected to one subject is bound to pro-
duce results, and so we have the num-
erous little schemes of the postal clerks.
Now take a single example. How is it
possible to find out whether a letter
contains money? The public, you
know. also rejects upon this sui; ect.
and has devised various little expedi-
ents to prevent the discovery Of money
in envelopes by mere external appear
ance or by feeling. This question is
suggested to a postal emploje. Per-
haps he has no intention of steal
ing and he may be working
upon the problem as mere
| mental recreation or as an exercise
in mental gymnastics. SO when he
goes to bed at night, when he walks
about the street or sits at home he pom
ders upon this problem. Finally it oc-.
ours to him that great many letters
come to the office with the ends broken.
He knows exactly why the envelopes
are broken; that when the distributions
is completed letters for one point are
gathered together the clerk draws
string about the bundle tightly, SO
tightly in fact that two thirds of the let
tiers are cut at the ends by the string.
The opening thus made, however, is
sufficiently large to enable any one to
examine the contents of the letters and
ascertain if they contain money If
letters are thus cut by accident they can
also be cut purposely, and who is to-
determine?''
'Ihis is the first stage remarked
the inspector, with thoughtful smile.
"Ihe discovery made the discoverer
pauses. The problem solved the stu
dent rests. The way lies open to the
criminal act. The determinat: on to
press along that path is proba IDLY only
Ne after OF time. The diScoverer is not
content with a mere intellectual tri-
umph; the practical results must follow.
He breaks an envelope, looks inside,
sees no money, and throws it In the
mail pouch. He tries another. finds
that it contains money, and quietly slips
it into his pocket. The philosopher has
become a man of action
''ibut another man reaches the same
result by an entirely different Method
and the Inspector gazed with unconcern
upon the inquiring faces of the listening
group. Then he crossed his legs and
leaned back in his chair, and the in
curing expression of the listeners
changed to one of pleased expect lncy.
The problem occurs to this other
man of hcw to ascertain whether let
ter contains valuable contents or not.
He thinks about it a great deal and then
one day his attention is attracted by a
break in the center of the letter. Not
that the break is such an unusual thing,
for that is common enough, the clerk
knows, but he notices that when he
squeezes it held lengthwise in his hand
that the break opens and he can see
what is inside Of the envelope. That is
what he wanted to find out. But how
are the breaks made? He picks up
pen and draws it over the back of an
old envelope. In the intensity of
thought he bears on the pen very hard.
1t goes through the envelope, and the
surprised clerk sees fac-simile of the
breaks he has observed so often in
letters coming through the mail
He knows that these are the
results of rough treatment or
break is sufficiently like the accidental
breaks as not to attract attention, An
other philosopher has approached the
makes practical test of his patent
some day. but invites no spectators. It
works all right, and he adopts it as
daily source of revenue until one day
an inspector taps him On the shoulder
and asks him to step down into the
Postmaster's room. Then the Govern
mcnt for the first time asserts its claim
for a royalty OF the receipts of this UNI
patented continuance, and the inventor
spends several years in paying it,
The inspector looked at the top of his
boots, which were elevated considerably
higher than his head, in silence, for a
few moments, and then gazing around
in an absent sort of way, he said,
slowly:
"Hinc lie lachrvm~," and the entire
group arose and slowly left the room,
| for 1t is we'll understood in the POST
office Department that when Inspector
| Sharp drops into Latin he has import
ant business ON hand and it is time for
! mere idlers to ssmosey along" -HGsh-