Evening star., 1895-08-03
GEORGE CARSON.

to sleep. leaving the two negroes alone.
BURROWS had a little canvas bag with him
at the time of his capture. He asked these
negroes to get this for him, saying that it
contained some crackers and he was hum
cry. They did this. Burrows at once put
his two hands into the bag. and, notwith-
standing the handcuffs cn his wrists. pulled
out two pistols With these he covered
the negroes. He made them go and bind
and gag the white man, and then made
one OF the negroes bind the other. The
unhound negro he compelled to lead him
vas sleeping. He made him knock at the
door and say to Carter that he was wanted
at the jail. The result was Carter opened
the door and found himself facing the cold
steel of Burrows revolvers. He .did not
finch, however, but pulled his pistol and
began firing. A number of shots were
exchanged, and Burrows was killed. Car
ter received several wounds, but he recov-
cred and got his reward.
Big Stamp Robberies.
One of the biggest robberies of stamps
that the department has ever known was
that which occurred here last fall at the
bureau of engraving and printing. The
government up until within a short time
has been having the stamps made by the
American Bank Note Company Of New
York. 1t cost the government cents a
stamps. and saves 100000 a year by doing
SO. Last October, however, it was found
that two of the employees of the bureau had
been stealing stamps by the thousand. The
officers woke up one morning to find 10000
2-cent stamps missing, and it was ,liscov-
cred that these men had sent out short
packages to the various post offices and
had sold the stamps they stole There
We're two women mixed up in the case. and
just before discovery the men took a
satchel filled with stamps and ran of
with the girls to New York. They returned
within day or so and went back to work.
They denied Their crime upon being ar
rested, but were convicted. and are now
serving out their sentences in the peni-
tentiary.
A big stamp robbery occurred at Mime
apolis nine years ago. The thieves stole
100000 stamps. They did 1t at night,
breaking into the post Office and crawling
were locked up in the safe, but the burg
lars opened 1t with a diamond drill. The
value Of their steal was about fourteen
thousand dollars. They took their booty to
through some men who acted as postage
stamp fences. They had still four thou
sand dollars worth Of stamps left when
they were discovered, arrested and sent
York do not seem to have this trouble in
disposfng Of their stamps. A vast amount
of stamps come into the big cities in the
transmission OF small sums through the
brokers at a small discount and millions Of
stamps are disposed Of in this way. 1t
Is estimated that New York uses 100000
worth of postage which she does not buy of
the government. There Is no way of detect
ing a stolen stamp. and the postage stamp
fences thus have little trouble in getting
rid Of the amounts they buy from the rob-
berS.
Some Southern Robberies.
The officials of the Post Office Depart
ment tell me that robberies and defalca-
lions are most common during hard times
Just about the time of the panic there
were a great many post Office burglaries.
and the robberieS were most in those sec
tions where the times were the hardest. A
number of arrests were lately made in
South Carolina, and not a few in Texas
1t Is now about a year since Gen. Maxwell
got a telegram describing the robbery of
the mail stage on it's way from Robert
Lee to Ballinger Tex. The stage was stop
ped by two masked men, and the register
ed mail stolen. In this mail it was stated
that there was q letter containing s., 100 of
money order funds, which had been sent
from the post office at Robert Lee. Gen.
Maxwell handed the case over to Mr.
Wheeler. An inspector was at once put to
work, and it was found that the assistant
postmaster, one of the postal clerks and
the stage driver had conspired with W. F.
Buchanan, the president of q bank at Rob-
ert Lee. to steal this $3.1OO from Uncle
Sam. The postal clerk and the stage
driver, the night before the robbery, slip
ped out Of town with the three registered
letters in their hands. Two of these they
had taken from the mails One contained
70 and the other So. The third letter con-
tanned nothing. but it was labeled to con-
tain s.. 100. and the register account at the
post ohice was manipulated to show that it
had been received. These two men took
these letters to the point where they de-
cIded that they would swear the robbery
occurred. They tore up the two bona fde
registered letters. and took the money,
leaving the envelopes on the ground They
tore also the bogus s3,1OO envelope, which
contained nothing, and then went back to
town. The next morning the stage driver
left with the mail. As soon as he got to
this point he cut open the mail pouch
When he arrived at the next post office he
told how he had been held up and the mail
pouch cut and rified. The idea was that
the government would pay. back the 100
supposed to have been stolen. Uncle Sans
inspectors, however. discovered the fraud,
and all Of the parties to the conspiracy
were convicted.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.