The Portland daily press., 1896-02-27
AVERY SUSPICIOUS FELLowMn
self Jack Tracey-The Handwriting Is
Against Him,


on suspicion of having burglarized post
Office is still held at the police station.
Officer Jones di seovared yesterday that
when he came on the Boston boat he
registered as Frank Raymond. He had
another man with him aid they took
breakfast together on Commercial street.
Yesterday morning Postofice Inspector
Brown came here from Boston and with
Postmaster SWEET oslled at the police
station and h ad an interview with the
man under arrest. He told these gentle
men the same story that he told the mar
shall yesterday
Yesterday morning Marshal Tricky
received telegram from Taunton, Mass,
signed by Alfred B. Hodges Of the state
police. The telegram stated that the man
under arrest, might be one Of the two
men who broke into the postoff1ce at Nor
ton, Mass, on Sunday night and stole a
lot of stamps. The telegram asked the
police to hold the man until further or
ders.
A telegram from Boston, shows that
there is no such mum Der on Winter street
as 81 as the highest number is So and no
man by the name OF Tracey work or lives
there.
Yesterday Marshal Trickey had q
photograph of Tracey taken and sent 1t
to Chief Inspector of Postoffioes, T. j.
Bonyton of Boston.
The man is decidedly suspicious
character and it looks very much as if he
might be connected with the post office
break at Norton. or with some other post
office break.
The letter found on him by which he
explains his possession of the stamp is
certainly suspicious.
The letter addressed to Jack Tracey,
which he received at the post office here,
and which was postmarked ''Boston,
February 23d'' read as follows:
South Braintree, Mass, Feb. ED, '96.
Dsar Jack:
Enclosed find the amount owe you
$40. I tried to get post off ce order, but
you see we live so darned far from the
depot had to buy stamps instead. l
guess ] shall come down soon and see
you. I am working every day now, but
expect to have vacation soon, and then
am coming down cunning. Love to oil
BERT.
The other letter found on his person
was ADDRESSED to CHARLES Douglass
Auburn, Me-" and was not postmarked.
1t was as follows:
hatfield, Mass, Feb. 22d, '96.
Dear Charlie:
I received your letter yesterday and was
very pleased to hear from you as were
the rest of the family. am glad you'v
got the promise of a job, and hope you
will like the place. had to send you a
few stamps instead of a money order, as
you told me to send. But this is a lutte
one horse town, and they haven't got
you will have to excuse me this time.
Always your friend,
The possession Of suoh letter is
sufficiently suspicious in itself, and
Tracey gives no satisfactory explanation
of it. 1t is in the same handwriting as
the letter received from South Braintree.
They are written on the same kind of
paper. and blank sheets of the same paper
were found on Tracey's person.
Evidently he was going to Auburn and
fSC5lVS ULcrc buth l6be5I W Sutsfl6S
Douglass, that he himself would mail
here. Then if he was caught selling
stamps in Auburn he would have the
letter as an explanation.
On an envelope found oil his person
was written three names, as follows:
"Jack Tracey, Portland, Me. ="
"Charles Douglass. Auburn, Me. - and
Holland Gibbs, Lew iston, Me-" These
were in exactly the same hand writing as
that of the two letters.
1t looks very much as If this man in-
tended to assume these different names in
the different cities and had written them
down as a memorahd um.
Marshal Tricky requested the man to
write his name, Jack Tracey" He
evidently tried to disguise his hand, but
when no had finished it was almost
identical with all the other handwriting.
Nothing has as yet been proven against
him, but he will be held until there is
certainty that the authorities in Mass
achusetts cannot connect him with any
post office robbery.