The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-10-26
DARING ACT OF A SNEAK.
Robbery Of the Mails in
Broad Daylight.
Eaward Wadham Says He Saw Letter Col
lector's Wagon Pilfered in Front Of
the Phelan Building.

The United States Postal Inspectors dur
| ing the last week have been investigating {
| peculiar case Of robbery of the mails II
broad daylight.
| The case was reported to the office by {
citizen who says he witnessed the robbery
which took place about o'clock in ths
| evening in front OF the Phelan building
| while hundreds Of people were hurrying II
and fro, as the business Of the city haC
ceased for the day.
The citizen who saw the bold robbery il
| Edward Wadham, son of ex-Tax Collector
| Wadham. Edward Wadham is contractor
In telling his story lie said:
while driving about a week ago down
Market street passed the Phelan building
about o'clock in the evening. AS turned
the corner saw United States letter col
lector's wagon standing in front Of the
main entrance. Suddenly / perceived a
young man in citizens clothes approach
the wagon, lift the lid in the back where
the letters are thrown in by the carrier ana
deliberately abstract large bundle.
was paralyZed al the b0ldness of the act, as
l knew the young man had no right TO
NEEDLE with United States property. as he
was not in uniform. AS soon as the young
man distracted the bundle of letters he
down the street.
IL got good look at him and | saw his
face. He was pretty well dressed, had a
slight mustache, DARK gray eyes and wore
derby hat. OF course you cannot rec0g-
niZe a person from general descri ptf6n.
could have caught the young man II had
not got entangled In crowd OF vehicles
which throng Market street at that hour.
| kept my eve on him rs followed, and
saw him cross Market street into Fourth.
While on Fourth street Isaw him open one
of the letters and read it. | kept looking
out for a policeman but could not see any,
Before | could catch up with the thief he
had turned into a side street and dsap-
peared.
1T was one of the most audaclous cases
Of sneak-theving | ever heard Of |
promptly notified Superintendent Cox and
the postal inspectors, giving them descfip-
ton of the thief"
The name of the letter collector whose
wagon Wadham says he saw plfered is
Cushman. When the United States Postal
Inspectors were asked about the case yes
terday one of them lifted his eyes In sur
prise and said, h esitatingly; Robbery Of
mail in front Of the Phelan building, oh,
yes, have heard Of the case, but there is
nothing in It,"
Did not a reputable citizen and a we'll
known business man state that he saw the
robbery and reported 1t to you?"
les you mean w aunam. lie tolu us all
about it. But it's funny nobody else saw
the robbery at an hour when hundreds III
people we're passing by. Besides, NOBODY
has made complaint about losing letters
in that Leighborhood."
1t was suggested to the Postal Inspector
that probably not sufficient time had
elapsed, and that the reason that the theft
was not more observed was on OccOunt OF
the very crowd thronging by, for it is in
such crowds that sneakthieyes operate.
To these suggestions the Postal Inspector
returned that lie knew no more about the
case, and could find no more. Ii the man
had stolen letters he was gone, and nobody
could discover him. He said the driver Of
the wagon should not have been moro than
a minute away from the wagon, and in that
time it was hardly possible for any one to
rob the wagon.