The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1885-03-27
POSTAL THIEVES.
OCCASIONAL STEAlERS AND THOSE
WHO STEAL STEADILY.
The Former May Escape, but the Latter
Are Certain to Get Caught
A Matter Of Very Simple
Arrangement.
Washington Cor. Chicago News.l

Washington Cor. Chicago Newsl
"This Is the season Of the year when the
thieving postal clerks can steal with impun-
ity." The speaker was Col Sharpe, chief in.
spector of the postoffice department. about
the holidays the Aunt Marys and Uncle
Johns who have nephews and nieces they
wish to remember on Christmas, inclose 81
or S2 in letter to the parents, with q 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
timesf'
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 il ever caught"
Wouldn't 1t aid you any IL people whose
letters miscarry should complain to the de-
partmentp
Exactly. That's Just what we want them
to do, but they won't. II everybody who
lost letter would notify US of the fact we
could have every postal thief inside of stone
walls within ninety days"
"Have you any objection, colonel, to ex-
planning the manner in which these fellows
are apprehendedP
"None in the least. While apparently one
OF the most intricate and difficult things i'm
aginable, it is in reality susceptible of easy
solution. Now, you would imagine, OF course,
that letter mailed at station B In New
York city, addressed to San Francisco,
would be difficult to trace in case 1t were de-
stroyed 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 the complaint Il particular to
mention the exact hour at which his letter
was mailed, SO much the better. l keep In
my Office huge map Of the United States,
on which is plainly marked every railway
postal-ioute in the country. Whenever a COM
plant is received notice carefully the di-
rection it takes from the starting
point to its destination. We will say
1t is going from New York to San
Francisco. l stick pin at both places
on the map l open another complaint
This time the letter is going from Sandusky,
Ohio, to Chicago. 1 stick pins at both
places A 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 all the missing letters have, at some
time or other. passed over one particular
route. In this case it would be the Lake
Shore, between Cleveland and Chicago This
point being settled, we take the hour at
which the letter was mailed and follow 1t up
until it reaches Buffalo. where new set OF
postal clerks take charge Of the mail as far
as Chicago. We know the exact hour ut
which each man runs in and out of the ter
minal points, and in this way can readily
fasten it upon some particular crew. You
see we now have the matter reduced almost
to minimum. The detection of the crimi-
nal from this point is simple matter of de-
tective work.