Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-04-05


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 venders of patent medi-
cines and cosmetics at South Bend,
Ind. More than 1000 is said to have
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 a ferment 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
compilations 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.
sociation, which has its headquarters
at South Bend. Secretary E. b. Rus
sell reports the loss of 1000 letters,
each containing 81 or more. Angry
members claim they cannot be held
responsible for 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 most audacious in
the history of postal robberies. Every
employe in the South Bend postoffice
has been watched and tested. Over
the entire case an impenetrab,e 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 and are
evidently torn up by the thieves, as
the presenters would be instantly de-
tected.
South Bend is the home of the patent
medicine man and the fair but elderly
vender OF cosmetics. The latter Is
usually the wife of the former. Chief
of Police Rose claims that there are
It's patent medicine and cosmetic fac
tories in South Bend. The mail sent
to the city Is enormous, letters contain
ing remittances being forwarded from
every State in the Union and from
Canada.
Where the letters have been diverted
from their intended destination Is part
Of the mystery surrounding the thefts.
Four postoffice inspectors have failed
to discover at what point the letters
drop out of sight.
Travelling Men Robbed.
It was not until late in the fall OF
1893 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 II
until the next months payment fell
due. Then he notified the delinquent
members and in reply he received q
bushel of letters from indignant mem
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 Bend, 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. It was
said more letters, however, were
stolen while the detectives were al
work than ever before