Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1884-02-20
Baggage Shsrps.

Some time ago General Baggage
Agent Freeman, of the Lake Shore road
was notified that a valuable trunk be-
longing to Mrs. Granger, Of Ashtabula,
and which had been checked from that
place to Cleveland was missing. The
matter was promptly investigated and
the following facts brought to light.
While the trunk was standing on the
platform at Ashtabula ready for depar-
ture, a young man took off the original
check and substituted another one
reading Buffalo to Painesyille." This
slick little job having been accom-
plished, the baggage was loaded and
put off at PainesyIlle. A letter was
then sent to the agent at gainesville to
forward the trunk to Ashtabula by ex-
press. Meanwhile description of the
baggage having been received ut PaiAes-
vile, it was forwarded to Cleveland at
Agent Freeman's orders. The would
be thief might have escaped detection
had not his honest mother discovered
his scheme and delivered the duplicate
Buffalo to Painesville check to the Off
cialS. The young man had gone to
gainesville and stolen the checks from
some baggage delivered at that point,
then returned to Astabula and operated
in the manner described. As he still
has the check which he stole from the
trunk in making the exchange, the
matter will be further investigated.
''You would be surprised to learn of
the many different devices used by bag
gage thieves, and the extent to which
it is carried on" said Agent Freeman
in speaking upon the subject. They
never succeed for any length Of time
because our system of check accounts
is 50 perfect that we usually succeed in
tracing the goods sooner or later. One
of the most successful schemes recorded
was that Of one of the discharged em-
ployes of road centreing at Chicago.
He would watch the residence of veal
thy citizens. If trunk was taken to
the depot, he would manage to get
there on time, and as soon as the ex-
pressman unloaded 1t be would coolly
claim it, have it checked TO some neigh
boring station and make away with the
contents. As usual. however, he played
this game Just once too often. The
baggage check exchange is the device
usually reSOrted to-"
A rich gentleman reported the loss of
a valuable trunk to Agent Freeman,
having come back all the way from the
South to trace the matter. a large
trunk was reported at Fremont as un-
called for, and other circumstances
seemed to point conclusively to the fact
that 1t was the article wanted, having
been simply miscarried. The gentle
man left with the assurance that his
trunk would follow that very day, the
agent at Fremont having been notified
to forward the same 10 Cleveland at
once. Instead of the baggage expected,
however, the horror-stricken officials
received an immigrants trunk about
the size of a One-stOry house, the con-
tents of which proved to be a wooden
foot rule and dirty handkerchief At
ter travelling almost all over the country
the right trunk was finally discovered
by Freeman at small station up in
Minnesota. Meanwhile the owner had
sued the company for the value of the
trunk.
One of the most important cases was
that of a New York travelling agent
who lost a trunk containing jewelry
valued at $4,000. He had been shad-
owed by a baggage thief from New
York. Arriving at Cleveland, the
sharper learned that the next de5tina-
tion was Chicago, and at once put his
plans into operation. Knowing that
the baggage weuld be transferred at
Toledo, he bought ticket and checked
his baggage, consisting of grlpsaek, to
that place. Arriving there he sue
ceeded In finding both his victims
trunk and his gripsack, and exchang-
ing the checks upon them without dis
covery. Having done this, he boldly
demanded the trunk for which he had
a duplicate check, had the same trans
ferred to a hotel, where he emptied 1t
at his leisure, Meanwhile the runner
had presented his check at Chicago,
and was paralyzed with astonishment
when the agent handed him the dilapl-
dated little black gripsack which his
check called for. The railroad COM
pany was promptly sued, and after
dragging the case around In the courts
for years, the Supreme Court Of New
L OIh IcCCullS aWdAOCu IhO JC"SAJ hAht
damages in full for the value of the
trunk and the costs Of litigation, etc
the total amount being $4,000.
Baggage Agent Calkins, of the Bee
line, a few days ago brought to light
the case of a New York travelling sales
man, who varied the usual order of
things by stealing his own trunk. The
drummer, who represented leading
New York cloak house, claimed to have
lost his trunk, containing 5000 worth Of
samples, made up mainly of fur-lined
cloaks, and at once set about to collect
the value of the same from the COM
pany. The fact that the check which
he presented was the one which should
have been attached to the trunk, led to
the discovery that he had stolen and
sold the trunk and contents to mer-
chant at Daville. He confessed all and
begged of the Bee line officials 10 be let
of, which they, in consideration of the
fact that the man had an eStimable
wife and two lovely daughters just
budding into womanhood. decided to
do.