Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-09-15

Employees, Who Afterward Proved 10
Be the Culprits-Oueer Case of u Man
Who Stole Letters.
Copyright, 1892. by Charles B. Lewis-l
In my time (said a little old man still in
government employ I have helped to send
| great many men to prison, and in each
and every case there were reasons why my
sympathies went out toward them Ny
| line for over twenty-five years was that OF
postoffice inspector, and you know what
that is. An individual may show mercy
to a dishonest employee, but the postoffice
| department never does The guilty man
| is punished no matter what influence is
Brought to bear. There are two chief rea-
sons for this In the first place, the en-
ployees Of the postal department are people
| of intelligence and of more or less social
| standing They know what is required of
| them. They know what will follow any
dereliction of duty. In the next, if punish
ment did not follow exposure the masses
would have no confidence in the depart
ment The idea of every postmaster gen.
.ral is TO give every citizen of the United
States such perfect confidence in the de-
partment that he will dare to place ten
dollar bill in newspaper and forward it
to friend located in the most obscure
hamlet. While l that only for an
illustration, let me tell you that that is
very common way of sending money. 1t is
estimated that more than 81 600, 600 is thus
mailed every year.
Before the day of postal notes, money
orders and the registry system people used
to inclose bills in their letters. There has
been no falling off in the custom. 1t is
calculated that one out of every ten letters
mailed has at least one dollar bill in 1t.
The sum total for the year runs up into
millions. The percentage of loss is very
small, but the object is to make it perfect
ly safe to send money in this way, and that
can only be done by obliging every en-
ployee of the department. to be perfectly
honest The percentage of dishonest people
Is very small, and yet on their account all
the honest ones must be watched. know
a man who has sent away over $1,000 per
year by letter every year for the last
seven and has not lost dollar, but it has
happened tina. others have been robbed on
the very first attempt.
There are many reasons why a man
steals or EN- beetles a small sum. He who
steals knowing that the chances are nine
ty-nine to one that he will be discovered,
must be either very desperate or very silly,
you take the case of a postoffice employee
you generally find that he is an intelligent
person and had no pressing need to turn
thief. The reason is sometimes an enigma.
In other cases it is TO crafty "A desire for
a luxury. If you will take up the case of
each individual letter carrier convicted
during the last five years, you will dis
cover that the temptation has been less
than thirty dollars on the average, and
that none of them had pressing need OF the
money. You will find about the same
state of affairs in the case of inside men.
There are, no doubt, plenty of employees
who have stolen n letter or two and gone
no farther, but it is also true that after
the ice is once broken a person seldom
holds up until exposure comes Letters
containing money are easily spotted" by
the handlers, no matter how much pains
you go to to conceal the contents. Sup
pose letter arrives for some merchant or
a firm which is receiving hundred a day
from all over the country. The ''feeP' of
this letter reveals its contents. 1t is stolen.
1t may contain a five dollar bill only
one dollar. AT least q week will pass be
fore there is any complaint, and when the
merchant writes that he did not receive 1t
the sender takes no steps to trace 1t. He
is just apt to argue that some clerk in
the merchants Office stole his money
that it was taken By a postal employee. 1t
is the merchant who finally moves. After
receiving a score of such complaints he
consults the postmaster, and the case is
given to an inspector.
had case in a western city five or six
years ago which astonished me, even
though | was old in the business and sell
dom surprised over anything A boy had
come into the Office and so conducted him
self for long term of years that he was at
last made assistant chief clerk. He had
of Gra md
all employees. During his time there were
three different inspectors on that route,
and all banked on him, the saying is.
He aided us to detect three or four thieves
in the Office, and such was his reputation
for integrity that no change of administra-
ton could move him. One day was sent
out there on an investigation There was
something crooked in the Office l con-
suited with the postmaster and he turned
the whole case over to Honest Abe, F" as
the boys called The man l refer to- He was
anxious to helm me straighten things out,
and he seemed TO make every effort in that
way. was about the place for week and
failed to get the slightest clew. Then I'M
beknown to airy one, but more by accident
than design. employed method which
cannot allow y-ou to make public The re-
suit was that arrested the assistant as he
was leaving the building and found no less
than twelve money letters in his pockets.
Even with that evidence of his criminality
bullying out of ais pockets he was on his
way to my hotel to see me and propose
trap by which the guilty party could be
caught, He hal u wife and three children.
His salary allowed him to live moro than
comfortably. Any bank in the town would
have lent him money on his unindorsed
note What did he want of the money! To
buy lottery tickets! He was buying them ut
the rate of 500 per month, hoping to make
a big strike. W hen his house was searched
we found 165 one dollar tickets for the cur
rent drawing, but he intended to make the
number an even zoo In six months he had