The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1894-03-30
GIVE UP in DESPAIR.
POSTOFFIcE DETECTIVES ADAM
DON SOUTH BEND.
Mall Robberies Continue Unabated I'm Spite
of the Efforts of Postal Inspectors to
Find the MISUNDERSTANDING Said to
Amount to $4,000.
Pilfers Their Mail.

BILE detectives who cannot find the
thieves, and hundreds OF angry cores
pondents whose money has gone astray,
have lately been making life miserable
for certain vendors of patent me1i-
cines and cosmetics at South Bend,
Ind More than $1,000 is said to hare
disappeared in some mysterious way
from the letters sent to South Bend,
and, Notwithstanding the efforts of the
postoffice inspectors, the leak has not
been discovered. Federal detectives
have prowled around the postoffice in
the Indiana town and have sent decoy
letters through the mails. The thief
or thieves declined to handle the de-
coys, and this scheme of catching the
pilferers failed.
The sudden disappearance of the in
spectors caused fernent among the
sufferers. When they learned that
the detectives had given up the job in
disgust the medicine men threw up
their hands and wondered whether
they would have to go out of business
compleXi ms were being ruined ire
.trievably and there was no possibility
of suing for damages. But the hard
est loss is said to have fallen on the
Indiana Travelling Mems Accident AS
ISOLATION, which has its headquarters
at South Bend. Secretary K. b. Rus
sell reports the loss of 100 letters,
each containing 81 or more. Angry
members claim they cannot be held
responsible fer the continuous theft of
their dues and the association has suf-
fered severely. Still the pilfering
goes on. 1t reached its height when
the inspectors had just warmed to
their work.
Audacity of the Robberies.
However worked, the scheme of the
thieves Is one of the m )st audaciOus in
the history of postal robberies. Every
employe in the South Bend postoffice
has been watched and tested. Over
the entire case an impenetrdb shroud
of secrecy has been flung by the post
Office departments. Though COM
plants were filed in Washington
months ago and inspectors had been
sent down to South Bend, nothing else
was apparently done. Letters are still
being purloined and robbed of the
currency they contain. Money orders
never reach their destination ard are
evidently torn up b. the thieves, as
the presenters would be instantly de-
tected.
South Bend is the home of the ratent
medicine man and the fair but elderly
vender o. cosmetics. The latter is
usually the wife of the former. Chief
of Police Rose claims that there are
175 patent medicine and cosmetic fic-
tories in South Bend The mail sent
to the city is enormous letters contain
ing remittances being fol warded from
every State in the Union and from
Canada.
Who're the letters have been diverted
from tn eir intended destination is II art
of the mystery surrounding the thefts.
Four postotfice inspectors have failed
to d scover at what point the letters
drop out OF sight.
Travelling Men Robbed.
1t was not until late in the fall of
1898 that the Indiana Travelling Mems
Accident Association began to miss the
dues sent in by members. Dues for
September failed to reach the secre-
tary's hands, but he did not notice it
until the next months payment fell
due. Then he notified the delinquent
members and in reply he received
DuSlcl VI lcbbcIS lIOIl
bers who declared they had sent in
their September dues Secretary Rus
sell wrote to Washington and was re-
ferred to the Fourth Assistant Postmas-
ter General. Three weeks ago he went to
Washington and pressed the investi-
CATION. Two inspectors had already
been sent to South Benz, but their
mission had soon become known and
they had to return TO Cincinnati.
Shortly after Mr.. Russell's visit to
Washington Chief Inspector Solomon,
of the Ohio Indiana and Kentucky di-
vision, went to South Bend and looked
over the ground. Soon afterward In
spectors Fletcher and Holden estab-
lished themselves in South Bend.
Fletcher had 200 decoy letters sent to
himself under the name of Wilson, but
not one of them was touched. 1t was
said more lette s, however, were
stolen while the detectives were at
L. hoY no