The Portland daily press., 1897-06-02
AN UNIQUE CASE.
In Which Togus Veteran and Post Office
Department Are Involved.

The latest case that has come to the
attention of the postoffice inspectors, says
the Boston Record, is unique. 1t is not
so because it relates to the transmission
through the mails of obscene letters,
though this is the case, but it is consid-
erably, out of the ordinary because the
writer was once an inmate of sold
iers home in Maine; because he sent out
his effusions from the Hoosier state and
because he employed go-between in
Massachusetts, to do the final mailing.
The mans name is Albert Woodwork
and the people whom he has been annoy
ing are some of the officials and few of
the inmates of the soldiers home at
Togus, Me.
Several months ago Gen. Stevenson and
Surg Maj. Goodwin of that institution
notified the postmaster at Togus that they
were being annoyed by letters, all OF
which they turned over to the postmaster.
The postmarks were those of Pittsfeld.
AS this comes within the jurisdiction of
the Boston postoffice inspectors who have
general oversight over all New Eng
land matters of the kind, Inspector White
was detailed upon the case
Mr.. White gives considerable credit to
the assistant postmaster at Togus, who
informed him after while that the post
marks of the annoying and obscure let
tiers was no longer that of Pittsfeld, but
of South birmingham.
This was Mr.. Whites first good work
ing clue and communications with the
authorities at Pittsburg and South Fran
ingham, developed the fact that bulky
letters which appeared to contain large
enclosures had been received at those
places, the address being written to Mrs.
A. A. Woodwork in apparently the same
hand writing as letters that Gen. Steven
son and Surg. AMI Goodwin had received.
These bulky letters all bore a post
mark of Indianapolis, Ind.
All of a sudden the Togus postmaster
wrote Mr.. White that their letters had
the Lowell post mark, and Mr.. White
found that from that time on no more
bulky packages from Indianapolis were
being received at South birmingham.
Chief Inspector Fletcher of Indianapo-
lis was then notified and Woodwork was
arrested last week and in no case did he
| admit any specific charges.
When he was arraigned before U. S.
Commissioner Van Buren, in Indianapo-
lis, he was told by the commissioner neith-
er to acknowledge nor deny anything as
he might incriminate himself.
But among his effects when he was tax
en- were found several pen drawings of
writing ink on poor quality of writing
paper.
While in very few cases the hand
writing and notes written around these
portraits were of an obscene nature,
everything seemed to indicate that the
work was done by man mentally I'M
balanced.
| Woodwork said that he had once been
an inmate of the Togus soldiers home,
but had had trouble with Gen. Stevenson.
The woman implicated in the case can
not be held, for there is no proof that she
had any knowledge of the contents of the
letters that she remailed for Woolworth
There is a grave question of jurisdic-
ton, however, in the case of Woodwork
himself. Though he appears to be I'M
doubted writer of the letters, he did not
mail them directly to Togus from Indi-
annapolis, and it is question at present
whether the case should be heard there Or
before the U. S. commissioner in Bos-
| ton