Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-08-22
MODERN vlDoCQS AT LARGE.
De'ective Talent Running to waate-The
Mail Bag OF the Secret service-Postmaster
General wsnamaker the Prey for Begging
Correspondents.


= I...I. ..--.:- %, a. -, ,,,,h,;,
80 " 1N WIG e P10Ao
never near OF them-
Z "Crank letters" are a. much a part Of the
regular routine Of every department "a are the
rr;r,.5 e.. "a Ri. -rh;oh =. ,.,,.,..r
-,
iOr PrOPefit carrying On 'ne ousihoss- Livery
cabinet minister, head OF bureau and chief
clerk finds them in his mail So DO the Presi-
dsnt and other prominent nublie men I,ut
h..l. -. ,..,,,I. a. 49, -. :.
xbicb ,hess nso,Ia r,os,,v Is,aI ,ha;, .r,,,l.rv
'nese Peop1e mostly ieVei sheir aruilery
and OF all departments the treasury receives
the largest share The treasury, Of course.
always suggests morey, and there Is something
very attractive to the ordinary crank about
vast ana untold wealth.
WHERE CRANK n1ssrvEs oRAvrrArK.
And there il one Office in thu treasury to
xbi.b tho ,n.iori,v 90 III r.. ,,,,,,;,.. o;.ho.
~, e.. :. SIS 'A0'o '.'''''e' 80,
I'm. ~ 'no mrs. in''"nee UT ese are reierreo
10 IL oy otner bureaus after the receiver has
struggled 10 try and make out what the corre-
spondent Is driving at for II is one OF the pecu-
marines OF that versatile genius, the crank, that
he writes an almost undecipherable hand, and
ne supremacy indifferent to the rules OF or
typography and synta1, for which the ordinary
mortal has deierential respect This Of
nee IS that OF the secret service Ii only very
small percentage OF the letters are to be relied
upon. there Is more detective talent running
10 waste. especially IN the west and south. than
Is possessed oy the detective forces OF all the
great elues. ana tne amount OF crlmlnalIty
whleh evades the vigilance OF the paid officers
Vi the law Is appalhng 10 think or
ArePresentatNe OF LIE STAR spent an hour
or SO the other day In looking over the crank
NE nie n ,ne seere. service once 1t Is an anus
ing eohec,ioh- Ihere is one individual who ls
eduen. neutrality-suspicious. tue once, aitnough
Ne receNes no encouragement, put ~ Is one OF
we PecuilArIhes OF tne class tnat they thrive
,s. nou. ehcouraSement anu the iact that their
tet.ers are never answered makes no difference
" " IIen. inis ingenious parsonage mas habit
- .lIa " we onlce a. almost reg ular inter-
'el AIS rAns reaolhg something IKE tnn:
Wash;n,,aD N
~ 3 al III IN
Operator 80
These dispatches come from various towns in
.ne south, ana SO Tar he has never considered
~ necessary 70 send the once key OF his re-
Mos, r.onIs pn n,,is Is opera'or 81 crank
/. - ~, - = sas no ~ anu ye' ne may oe
Go, ,so,lia -. sa.An.' ior posing before
impre.. hi. grsatnsss or nv anu hno wants 70
tn, are who havs s.r,c,. nov nov INA many men
thing Tbsrs 90 s.o,as - -. .H.s sors VI
Who vrita 20 a. caso I'm M. mn
know os a 90, ,,o. -, s'aI sns ney
counterfeit money or commit some Other sns-
cies OF yilIainv wbich ,hax Iii e O.nei sye-
of,;cs will send them a co;,n;.s;o,, "rS sne
az a .scret &C.. ,t,oa. E, III oauso
badge In ,ba Trorsr d;,, ',e. est.k wants
icaI innctnra tbs Ss,ic,,xa 1870 ,h .e erl
his coat wben he bss c.nrht ~ liz, Dac i
ba,SsJ W.. ven ne mas eaughI the villain red
thee peonIe tbipk that No ,,eu 4. ,'ro,sn.i,y.
equipped es a detective miles. he bs, = badea.
some Of these letters annear 10 he gannfna
and at times the Office spends mora or les tins
in investigating to ASCERTAIN whether the avn.
teur detective 2eaIlv bas anv ar;5arco rsls.;,
TO criminals in hi. nos.sssion S.yar ,r;,his
the memory of the ofIe., cIsrl 4, ,ha o.,.a -.
the game been worth ,he candle Tbsse yxo,iJ.
be vidocqs are gifted with a great and lnIu-
rant IMAGINATION Init tbsv are NOT sonai 70
sustained eftorts
A MODERN vrpoco.
Another curiou. form of crankisu 10 s,ov,
by one individual. whose imaginative power.
must certainly be abnormallv develo,ed h
h... ,-;.L q, .-;,,,,, ,...o-. .. 81
- ..,.b. I.i-e = se'' W 'ne o"ce' WHICH
60 8.
Wiki OF TEE ohCKLI SERVICE,
washington, ID. e.
Dear SIR:
arrived here this a m i am now very
close up TO my man md traces OF him here.
ana u - evident that he must have q partner
somewhere in this neighborhood. I have two
men under suspicion and shall watch both Of
them very Closely i think you had better
send another operator here to help me. Let
nun nun IeaSe AZ once Tel him to inquire for
Richard White, i am registered by that
name i want man who has nerve; we NAV
have some hot work. This is big thing and
nave got the dots dead TO rights
Respectfully yours,
JOHN SMITH.
T. 5. Secret Service Detective No. IA.
This letter might be written by q genuine
secret service man. There have been several
letters written from this man. all in about the
same strain. When received they are numbered
and laid to rest in the crank file and MI.
Smith is not even honored with a reply 10
reward him for his di,in,erested serricss Int
IS he is perfectly satisfied to carry on q one
sided correspondence the fact that his com
munications go unanswered II apparently a
matter of small moment to him.
Mr. w,x.N.Kra's sraaYxa co,,xs,ox,.
pr, /, A.. -. 49,
H ie'sers are numerous the
begging letters are legion Appeals for money
are what every public man expects. He ia the
climate prey Of the striker, but Of all Of
them Postmaster General wanamaker. because
Of the reputation he has Of being the richest
man in the cabinet. receives more than his
share. There is one striking thing about nearly
all Of these letters. They are fun Of cant
Nearly every writer tells the Postmaster Cen.
eral that IL he will give him the loan for which,
ne ass the LORD VIII pay II back to him. as il
MI "nanaAr was expected 70 De Charitable
Here l. A samnie Letter from = wo,n.r ~ pero
svlxani. Win IN. .r.ll;,r .o,,a-l., 49,.