The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-09-24
ARRESTS IN POs1OPFleE
Two GaIvestoa nmployes Hid iaS|
Heavy Bosd. 81 M
4 STATEMENT BY THE INSPEcToas
A Decoy Letter was sent ana Assie
cies Were Found--UenplaantS
Have Hecn Numerous. ",

Galveston. Texas. September 2S.--Ausuq4
]. Weber. superintendent Of carriers = -
Galveston pcstoffice. and Mrs, Pauline Il
Keller. general delivery clerk, wars ar-
raigned this evening before United ekateo
Commissioners Fred w. Pickett on I char1n
OF robblng tho malls In default Of 5000
bail Weber was committed to fail. Mn
Keller WIS released ON her own rooognt-
rance. Tho arrests were made UPON Ia.
formation furnished by Postofflce Inspect.
ors " NJ Hamilton and l.. S. Wood, who
were sent out to discover how Il Wa that
In many instances money, jewelry. mar
chandise and letters addressed to Calves.
ton did not reach destination.
The Post correspondent tonight cav Z
great stack OF complaints that had been
sent to the postoffice department regarding
losses OF valuablcs sent to Galveston. Tha
stack contained about 100 complaints Tho
iifling OF tho letter. and packages IL said
to have extended over three or four years.
Inspector Hamilton. when aAked what
evidence he had against tho accused man
and woman, said he disliked very much "a
have anything to say about the affair.
woman being concerned In II, but W the
details were bound to come out In the
courts, he would give tho facts 60 that
there would be NO occasion for the public
thinking The case was OF moro magnitude
than In reality IT, is.
MIR. Wood and l werc put on this case
last Friday. said he. Our hcadquarteu
are In New Orleans, but by reason OF tho
fever trouble Austin is now our central
point. There have been many complaints
about losses at Galveston. After Mr.. Wood
ana had looked over the field here we had
pretty good idea where the trouble was.
ana In order to see " our suspicious were
correct, we laid Just common. ordinary
trap, That was tho first one. We fixed
UP some more elaborate ones, having little
idea that the first one would catch the
people we were after. but much to our sur
iTise the first simple. ordinary trap was
all that was necessary. Yesterday We went
10 Houston and made up package con-
tanning silk handkerchief and n pair OF
gloves and addressed " Miss Bessie Dell
amater, Galveston, Texas Tho handker-
chief and gloves were marked. The adj
dress was, OF course. fictitious. We mailed
the package whom we returned to Calves
ton. Last night after the regular day
force had gone home and the superlntend-
ent OF delivery had departed. wo searched
FOR the Miss Bessie Delamater' package.
IL was gone This morning we cauacd an
inquiry TO be made at the general delivery
window for package addressed Miss
Bessie Lelamater;' the delivery clerk sald
there was no such package Then NO sent
note to Postmaster shannon saying such
package had been mailed He went 10 tho
delivery window and informed Mrs. Keller
that a complaint was made that the pack
ago had been mailed at Houston and had
not beoB delivered. She said she had not
seen such package.
In tho meantime we had secured a
a. ~ wv Va wa lvai A hm
office and Informed Mrs. Keller that the
package IN question was decoy; that I
had mailed II and that Il was necessary
that find out what had become Of 1t.
While ] was talking to Mrs. Keller Mr..
Weber summoned negro hoy and told Elm
TO run 10 Mrs Keller's boarding house ana
tell the landlady TO give to him q silk
and a pair Of gloves which
were In Mrs. Kellers room. The boy went
TO the boarding house all right, but tho
did not like his looks or the mes.
sage was not delivered straight. for shs
refused TO send tho articles. I apologixe6
10 Mrs. Keller, but told her It would b.
necessary To go to her room. She ex-
pressed herself AZ perfectly willing. Mr..
Weber. who had Joined Us. offered to ac-
company me; together we went to Mrs.
keller's room. Mr.. Weber was moro than
affable; he was jovial on the way. He had
not learned that his message TO tho land
bureau drawer In Mrs. Keller's room I
found the gloves and handkerchief Wood
and had marked and sent In the decoy
package. The wrapper, however, was miss.
Ing In searching further. In hope Of find
ing the wrapper, I pulled the bed away
from tho wall. That disclosed fire grats
IN which there was great lot OF mail mat
ter. most OF 1t so badly charred by flrp a.
TO be undecipherable. but there were some
envelopes that had slipped through the
bars and had not been touched by fire.
One OF these was addressed to w. M.
King. The addresses OF the others do
not now remember. How often there was
a burning In that CRATE and how many let
tiers have gone UP In smoke Is. Of course.
a mystery. When we returned to the post
office l informed Mrs. Keller l had found
the gloves and handkerchief She aid
she knew would find them: she was very
cool: she acknowledged she had put the
stolen articles IN her bureau. but claimed
they were given to her BY q gentleman u
the posioffice. and told other thinga.
I'VE then arrested Weber and Mrx. Kei-
Ter and arrsigned them before tho Unitco
Statss commissioner"
What has been stolen from the mails II
GalvestonY" Mr.. Hamilton was asked.
Money. 5cweiry and merchandise"
Mr. Hamilton said Mr.. Wood left too
Houston this evening. What his missto0
Is in that city no would not state,
Austin, Texas, September 2s-Todsy Chief
Inspector Johnson. who has charge q tha
postoffice inspectors f0r this district, ~
ceived telegram from Galveston Anuoklnc-
ing that Pauline !. Keller. Z delivery clerk
in the postoffice there, bad been taken inte
custody for stealing ordinsry letters nu1l
packages In the mad At that office.
He was Also In receipt Of Z telegram fxuM
Us<,~k