The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-06-27
FRAUDS ON POSTOFFICES.
NOTABLE CASES OF THIsvING BY
UNCLE SANS SERVANTS.

to Out of the Way Corners OF This
Big Country of Ours, Now and Then.
From the Nele York advertiser.
Probably no line of business offers better
field for criminals than the United States
postal serv .ce; it has a wide range of oppor-
tunities for irregularities by the public as
we'll as by its own employees.
To recall truthfully few cases, as sworn
to in court by postoffice inspector, VIII go
further 60 show what say about thieves in
general being unmethodical than as illus
trating anything noteworthy In the line OF
detective work.
One of the commoness abuses Of the mails,
and the hardest TO detect, is the fraudulent
claiming TO have sent, or claiming not to
have received, articles alleged to have been
mailed. This is done not only by profess
sional swindlers, but bv and between friends
and acquaintances. For instance, at Colo
RADIO Springs complaint was received from
the postmaster at Rearney, Neb. that
small oox, mailed shortly before from the
springs, accompanied by a letter saying
that the box contained a gold watch, was
received empty at kearney. The sender
and addressee were cousins, and presuma-
bly, no fraud was intended.
autographed to kearney for the box,
which / received the next day. l put my
own watch, an ordinary gold one, in the
box, and upon weighing the package then
found 10 was deficient In postage, and upon
weighing the box empty found there was
just postage enough to cover its carriage in
the mail. This was good evidence that the
box was mailed empty. / told the man that
the postage was just enough to cover the
mailing of an empty box. He replied,
THAT may be, but some of the stamps fell
off on the way. Iremember very well put
ting on more stamps" l asked him
what amount, and he answered, after figur-
ing mentally minute, "17 cents" "Yes,"
added his wife, II remember Charley put
on II cents, because he came home and told
me the postmaster gave him cents change
for a quarter. got the quarter out Of my
bureau-see it in there-and l got the s
cents now somewhere. If you want to see
EN- I'll get 'em for you.n
But" l suggested, Twas your watch a
very heavy, extra thick silver case watch
like railroad men carry, or about like
mine?"
40, thinner than yours-light Swiss
watch.
but the box and mine would only take
IA cents. and yours would have taken no
more postage.
20, that's all right, because now I come
to think OF it, l had a long talk with the
clerk and told him TO put on 3 cents extra
so it would go all right. That's the way it
was"
"Well, then, come with me and we'll see
this clerk about It," said. He held Off
awhile, but went down, and none of the
clerks was "the clerk" | drew up letter
to thed istrict attorney and had him arrest
ed. and he spent few hours in a cell to give
. HUn.z Co. &C.
some other matters until late that evening
and when went to dinner called on Char
ley at the lookup. He was anxiously await
ing me, and recollected now where he had
left the watch, as l thought he would. 1t
was very nice one, and had it sent for~
ward duly to the owner at Kearney.
There Is a wide difference between the ex-
posture of such transparent tricks as that
and the burglary OF an office, which is gen.
orally done by experts, whose plans are well
laid and the evidence destroyed. The post
office at Albuquerque, N. M. was robbed in
q very methodical way. When the postal
clerks had registered In from their runs aud
gone TO bed, at about 8 o'clock In the morn
ing, three burglars entered the rear door OF
the postoffice, seized the night clerk, a boy
OF 16, bound and gagged him aud proceeded
to their work very deliberately.
When l reached the place the only trace
discovered was a blacksmith sledge, which
lay among the weeds In the rear of the
building, and the owner of this we found
after dillgent search, TO be blacksmith q
half mile away. He remembered, too, that
the day before the robbery a stranger had
been in the shop asking questions, and that
the next morning he found his shop door
forced open and some of his tools missing.
We next learned that this stranger was the
son Of a ranchman living five miles away,
and that he had gone from Albuquerque to
a small town in Kansas There we had him
promptly ARRESTED, and himself and his bag
gage searched on suspicion; but, as he gave
q straight account of his proceedings, aud
no stamps or money were found on him,
he was released.
The adjoining officers were thoroughly
advised OF the details of the robbery, and
the kinds and quantity of the plumber, and
month afterward word came from
marshal Of Western Texas that a cew had
been found there. The inspector was in
that way put in communication with a
prisoner awaiting trial for murder Ia Ell
Paso. He told fairly straight story, Co the
effect that he was in hiding in a house on
the Rio Grande, about five miles below
Albuquerque, the night Of the robbery, and
one night his friends, who were outlaws,
came in with a lot of stamps and postal
supplies, which they hid in their garden a
few rods from the river. Before ne would
give their names he wanted the government
to pay him enough to defend himself on the
trial for murder. His figures were too
steep, and before negotiations were COM
pleted with him he was tried and sentenced
TO be hanged.
An inexperienced thief will seldom cares
fully cover up his misdeeds OF his where
abouts II be runs away. To illustrate. re-
call the matter of the postmaster at Leb-
anon, n. G. Some unpaid drafts upon him
for balances due tbs government were re-
turned, and the inspector went there to
learn why. The transcripts OF his accounts
as rendered to the department indicated 80
large an apeunt of business transacted at
bis Office that l expected TO find Lebanon
quite thriving town. l was therefore
surprised to find no settlement there at ell.
and it was with difficulty that could locate
the posteftice, even upon diiigent inquiry.
l finally found it in a small frame building
at a crossroads In the turpentins woods,
twenty-miles from Wilmington. The only
other building near the postoHice was a de-
serted "still, and do not mean q pun 10
saying the whole country had a very still
look.
The trees had dried up SO no turpentine
could be got from them, and the only man
to be found near by was the former partner
OF the absconding postmaster, who was
very reluctant to tell me anything at all
about the office or the missing postmaster.
l found that the latter, suspecting NV
coming, had sagaciously got as far away as
possible, as he was unable to raise the funds
to meet his balance. Offices of the smaller
-.