Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-10-26
]. L. BRIsTOW's REPORT.
Fourth Assistant Postmaster General
Summarizes the Work of His
Depurtment.

Washington, Oct. 25.-Fourth Assistant
Postmaster General Joseph l.. Bristow, In
his annual report, just submitted, lays
Gown the administration policy III estab-
fishing, disseminating and naming postot-
fees, and shows the following figures as
to appointments:
Presidential postmasters-On designations.
20; on expired commissions, PA; on re-
movals, 129; deceased, 40; offices becoming
presidential. 1874.
tions, 1928; on removals, 5,li5; deaths, e.
offices relegated to the fourth class 22
Massachusetts ranks first and North Car.
olina last as to average compensation OF
fourth class postmasters and as 70 gross
receipts of postottices compared with IS state
population. New York ranks first, $2.l2 per
capita, and South Carolina last, y cents
per capita, expended in the use OF the
mails.
The main recommendations follow:
Severer penalties for employees embeZzhng
or destroying newspaper mail; statutory
amendment making depredations OF ran
way postal clerks a continuous oHense'
more stringent statutes coVerins, y, SreIt oont
goods and obscene matter; a special lucent
Stamped envelope of superior material TO
obviate bad envelopes for registry: ana
that the subject of the use OF postage
stamps as currency should at least be cur
tailed by legislation.
MIR Brist0ws report mas the following
to say of a Kansas case:
| lone of the most successful and probably
the most important enterprises in which
our inspectors participated during the year
| was the breaking up and capturing OF Il
| band of burglars and bank robbers who
| had their headquarters at Hanover has.
| During the summer and fall OF 1856. the
| indiscriminate robbcries of postofhces, de-
| pots and banks in the northern counties
| of Kansas and the southern section OF
| Nebraska were of such frequent occur
| renee as to keep the law abiding portion
| of those communities in state CT per
petual excitement and terror. it was pialn
that the region was infested with an pr
| garized gang. Of burglars. A detail from
| the inspectors force was directed to co-
| operate with 4 special agent of the Mis-
| souri, Pacific Railway Company ard the
| state authorities in a united effort to To-
! cate the depredators and place them be-
| hind the bars. Instructions were given TO
| secure their apprehension. If possible, and
| to assist in their prosecution for the COM
mission of any offense for which they
| could be held, whether for postoffice rob
| berry or not. At Hanover. kas.. A. A:
Baird. alias Big AL E. j. Fuller and
| Fred Whiting were arrested for robb1ng
a bank at Davenport Neb., on Novem-
| ber 13.
Fuller is an all-round crook; Baird.
In the Sioux Falls penitentary. under the
name of Arthur Inman, for the robbery of
the postofice at Wentworth, s. D.; while
saloonkeeper and a fence at Hanover,
| his dive being the easy resort and haven
Of refuge for such sharacteTs char = as Baird pra and
and st. Louis SAM and other noted Grim
| inass of record. 1t is stated that it was not
| a very uncommon occurrence to see from
| twenty-five to thirty crooks in Hanover at
one. time. when 1t was their practice to take
their plunder over to st. Joseph and Grand
| Island roundhouse and there dispose of 1t
by seIc to certain citizens of the village.
Jim Burns and st. Louis Sam were sub
| seouently arrested for different offenses
when the former was recognized as one
of the men who murdered Nick Yager. late
marshal at Table Rock. Neb.. while at
tempting the arrest of Burns and COM
panion in the early summer, for which
crime Burns is now serving a six-year SEN
tence.
"All of the parties named, with q single
exception. have been tried. convicted SEN
fenced and imprisoned for long terms by
the state courts and it is probably that
two or more of them can be. indicted fol
the robhies of the postofices at Hollen,
berg, Kas.. Belleville. Kas. and Hebron
Neb.
"The Importance of this work is easily
seen in the fact that not Il single post
office robbery in this territory was reported
| for months after these arrests, while they
had previously averaged two week"