The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1885-02-03
POSTAL THIEVES.
OCCASIONAL STEALERS AND THOSE
WHO STEAL STEADILY.
The Former Nay Escape. but the Latter
Are Certain to Get Caught
\ Matter of Very Simple
Arrangement.
Washington Cor. Chicago News.l

washington Ntli Siitttt[b NtNS.i
"This is the SEASON of the year when the
ttieving postal clerks can steal with impun-
ity." The speaker was Col Sharpe, chief in
spector of the PostotIiee department About
the holidays the Aunt Marys and Uncle
Johns who have nephews and nieces they
wish to remember ON Christmas, inclose 81
Or 81 III a letter TO the parents, with re-
quest to purchase whatever the youngster
may wish. The dishonest postal clerks are
aware Of this, and as the mails are usually
overcrowded during the holidays and every
thing is in more or less confusion, they can
steal letters by the bushel with almost abso-
Lutte freedom from detection"
But don't they steal as freely at other
timasl'
There is class that does, but they who
do are people we are always sure to detect.
There is another class that only steals at in
tervals Of one or two months. These parties
are seldom if ever caught"
Wouldn't it all you any if people whose
letters miscarry should complain to the de-
partmentT
Exactly That's Just what we want them
to do, but they won't. If everybody who
lost letter would notify us Of the fact we
could have every postal thief inside Of stone
walls within ninety days"
Have yuu any objection, colonel, TO ex-
planning tie manner in which these fellows
are unprecedented"
"None in tine least While apparently one
| Of the most intricate and difficult things i'm
aginabe, it is in reality susceptible Of easy
solution. Now, you would imagine, Of COURSE
! that a letter mailed at station b in New
.-s..r
| would be difficult to trace in case it were de-
str0yed en- route So it would be if it were
the only instance Of the kind Fortunately
! for us, We receive complaints daily. II the
person making tie complaint is particular 70
mention the exact hour at which his letter
was mailed, So much the better. | keep in
MY Office q huge map Of the United States.
ou which j. plainly marked every railway
| po.ta3-rouLc in tine country. Whenever Il com
| plant L. r,ca.veII notice carefully the Ii
rectiDn it takes from the starting
| point 10 it, destination We viii say
/ it Is going from New York t. San
| Francisco stick pin at both places,
| Oh the map | open another complaint.
This time the letter is going from Sandu>ky,
! Ohio, 10 Chicago | stick pins at both
! PLACES \ third complaint IS from Rich
mond VA, A letter going TO Omaha has
never reached its destination. Two more
| pins keep this up until the map shows
| that al the missing letters have, at some
! time or other. passed over one particular
route In this case it would be the Lake
| S1ore, }c-wean Cleveland and Chicago Til.
! poiut being ScJtl5d We take the hour al
which the letter wa mailed and follow it VI
! anti it reaches Buffalo. where new set O!
! postal clerks take charge of the mail rs ia!
rs ClucaG, We know the exact hour Al
which cara man rams in and out Of the ter.
mtnai points aud in this way can readily
fss.en 1t unau some particular crow You
see we now have the matter reduced almost
to minimum The detection Of The crimi
nal from tuis point is q simple matter OF De
teciive work