The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-02
rrom the washington Star.


-, -be first of the year with so much JOY,
-he employes Of the express companies
~. rhem that day shines out as a beacon
- meaning that weeks Of incessant
-ou are over, and that they can settle
l-v-n 10 normal conditions
the messengers of the railroad cars are
a. mes that really do the most hustling,
,.,onqb their opportunities are better
~. sieep. Their responsibilities are
-.-ssrsr. as sometimes their cars contain
fabulous sums. And, besides, their risks
~ injury are big. Cooped up. as they are,
between walls of merchandise OF all de-
...rf,tions. it does not take a tremendous
Jolt to bury them under the mass, ana
Genuine collision almost invariably places
their names on the list of killed IN the
newspapers.
Few Deople realize the amount of val
,,abIes that have been transported by the
.Snress companies during the past month";
No one knows better than an express
messenger the truthfullness OF the oIu
lying that the most valuable goods are
foind in small packages, but seldom, IN,
deed does a package go astray- anu
money! They frequently handle money
packages that would permit man 70
spend the remainder of his days in luxury
While waiting for an overdue train at
week a Star reporter became engaged IN
conversation with a messenger who eX-
pected to go south on the incoming tram
southern connections. The SUBJECT OF the
holiday business was discussed, especial
lv the feature relating to the transporta-
ton of large sums of money, me re-
porter suggested that the temptation to
do wrong must be strong at such times;
especially as there was fair chance or
getting off clear.
astray with far less opportunities. but
messengers are honest and faithful in the
discharge of their duties. IL they were
not so the companies would suffer many
financial losses, and / am not throwing
bouquets at the boys when l make this
statement.
"The mere fact" continued the messen-
ger that man is bonded for few thou
sand dollars is not going to prevent him
from stealing If he desires to, is it, 1t is
the honesty of the man, not the bond,
that keeps him in the straight path. We
are always on the alert for the slightest
indications of dishonesty or treachery In
others. and that fact, together with the
arduous work and the ever present fear
of accidents on the rail, causes a con-
slant strain upon a mans physical and
mental powers. Ours is a life of watch
fulness, care and exposure to danger.s
II once had three ribs broken by a col
lson, and once / received shaking up
that disabled me from work for two
months. But my family and l were treat
ed royalty during the lay off, and I can't
complain. Our train jumped switch, run
went over an embankment, and the dug
me out of the wreck subject for the
hospital. You remember the accident? It
wasn't far from Washington, and two mail
clerks were ushered into eternity in the
twinkle of an eye.
Numerous scares have come my way,
such as close calls for collisions and at
tempted train wreckng, but / was about
as badly frightened over money package
once as | ever was in my life. 1 had
signed for some freight and money way
a
me some letters with the money pack
ages. l placed the latter in my safe, and
over my desk. After / had checked my
freight turned my attention to the money
run, when, to my horror, l was short a
thousand-dellar package.
Frightened? / was paralyzed. The clos
est search did not reveal the missing pack
age, and just as l had decided to tele-
graph back to the agent and ask if he
neglected to give me the money | hap
pened to look at the pigeon-hole. Like a
drowning man catching hold Of a straw,
| thought perhaps my salvation lay there.
had shuftled that package in with the
letters, and there it lay, an innocent
cause of my terror Even now it makes
the ch1llS chase down my back to think
of it, You can rest assured that taught
me lesson to be more careful in future
about handling letters and packages of
money together"
zone of the most remarkable cases which
has come to my notice is one in which
an agent named Huber fig
ured some years back. He was
the Erie road. He had worked his way
up from delivery messenger, and was held
in high esteem by the company that en-
ployed him. One night a train came in
having two safes. One was empty and
unsealed, and the other, it was thought,
contained nearly 100000 to be paid out
the next day to the miners. The mes
senger that brought them in got his re-
celpt and the next day the safe contain
ing the money was turned over to the
company with the seal still untouched.
When the safe was opened at the min
ing company's Office it was found empty.
You can bet the wires hummed for few
hours, but nothing could be found of the
money and great sensation ensued.
The agent at Philadelphia swore he had
paced the money in the sealed safe but
he was arrested, bailed out, and the de-
tectives watched him day and night like
haWk. The man was sensitive and Suf-
Tered terribly. His trial came on, and, /
thlnk, he was given a year in Jail.
Meanwhile, the company's detectives
We're not idle. Every man that had any
thing to do with that safe was Swallowed
nut Tor months nothing was developed;
huber was the last man suspected, and
ne was watched only on account of the
order given to keep tab on everybody.
could give you thousand guesses,
ana you would never guess what threw
suspicion on Huber. 1t was simply a
change of habit. He discarded overalls,
and went about his work in his regular of
important cleW. Other little extrava-
gances developed, and one day Huber was
arrested and a search of his home made
Back of the mantelpiece, concealed in
crevices, was discovered the money, all
but $3.50. 1t was a great day for the
detectives, and how the old man who
heads our company did chuckle at the big
find.
When taken to jail, and. later con-
Ironted with the proofs of his guilt, HUI
Der broke down and made q full confess
sion. He said that on the fateful night
the two safes arrived as usual, but in
stead of the one safe being empty, as
supposed, it contained the money for the
miners. He was so thoroughly booked up
IN the express business that he knew at
once that some terrible mistake had been
made, and that the agent at Philadelphia
would be held accountable for its loss.
HE was weak, and couldn't stand the
temptation, expecting to secret the money
ana in after years use it after the rob
perry had been forgotten. The man in
JAN was at once released, and sued the
company for damages but 1 think a sat
ISfactory settlement was arrived at But
mat mistake was terrible thing for him,
aS It took about twenty years of his life.
huber was given only a short sentence.
az nearly all the money was recovered,
eut his life was also wrecked, and the
daInllles of both men suffered. And all