The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1888-03-10

cealed under their sleeves or turbar
cloth. Each finger and each join
of finger represents a certain fig
ure. So the pair can bargain BY
the hour-as they often do-to theil
hearts content, and none of tht
noisy and gaping busybodiet
around them be any the wiser for it
LETTERS OPENED BY NIsTAKE
The law inflicts a severe penalty
upon citizen who has been proven
guilty of willfully opening the mail
of another. After a letter has been
stamped and placed in govern.
ment postoffice or other receptacle
provided for it, it is supposed to
be under the protection of the
United States, with an army OF
officers of justice to enforce it's in
volatility and punish the citizen
who desecrates it.
But on the same principle that
one dishonest citizen steals a coat
by buying 1t and never paying the
tailor, the reader of other peoples 8
letters can get around the law in a
way equally tricky but equally safe.
If he wants to peer into confiden-
tial correspondence he boldly opens
the letter, reads and masters its
contents, put the letter back, and
then calmly writes on the envelope,
"opened by mistake" and perhaps
adds, mot read"
This habit is practiced in many
New York business houses. If an
employee is suspected of relations
with other firms, or any offense
that a human being can commit
against the person who hires him,
his mail matter is quite likely to
be "opened my mistake" This is
said to be especially true in cases
where statesmen with a valuable
clientele have left an establishment
and taken their trade with them to
some competing house. By open
ing mail, wrongly addressed to the
care of their old employer, a good
order can be sometimes filched,
The well-dressed and self-respect-
ing culprit, who thinks that he is
not doing anything dishonorable,
appropriates and fills the order,
and if any confusion subsequently
arises from the exposure of his
method, he explains it away loftily
and haughtily with the familiar,
"opened by mistake; thought it
was addressed to the firm"
The law in case like this does
not punish man for his mistake,
although the man who by blunder
alone bitches an express train and
kills some of its passengers is quite
likely to be sent to Jail. The excuse
"ditched by mistake" would be
met by rebuke ''but you had no
right to ditch the train by mistake.
Of course the opening of letter is
not so serious as wrecking a train,
but parallel can be drawn between
the two from a legal standpoint.
Except in the case of a fatal ac-
cident due to carelessness, the
law always considers the intent or
malice of the accused. Therefore,
if prosecutor can prove that his
mail was being continually opened,
and so often and under such cir
cumstances as to show a very
strong probability of the "open by
mistake" inscription being lie,
and couple with this good reason
why the defendant should desire to
read his mail, a conviction can be
secured. AS the offenders often
hold good position in the world
and only break the law in the par
ticular line of pilfering from the
mail, it is somewhat difficult to get
a jury to convict.
The trouble and misery that can
arise between husbands and wives,
women and their best friends and
partners in a firm through the
habit of willfully opening letters by
mistake is very great. 1t is hard
to tell man that you think him
mean enough to want to pry into
your private correspondence, and
the man who does it can usually |
get off scot free, bacause of the un-
willingness of the victim to hurt
his feelings.-N. Y. Press.
All Drinks the Same to the Drunk.