Evening journal., 1897-08-10
. ANNOY PUBLIC MEN.
~Crank' Letter Writers and Their
Fool Productions.
YGovernmentnI Heads at Washington
Are Made the Recipients of All
Kinds of Communi-
cntions.

The recent threatening letters sent
to Speaker Reed call attention 10 the
thousands of suchsmissives sent TO pub
lie men during the course of a year.
Ordinarily little attention is paid to
them. as they are usually the work OF
cranks who are harmless in other ways.
A large number of these letters are writ
ten as Jokes and with the expectation of
causing a brief sensation. Those sent
to Mr.. Reed were evidently the work
of some would-be practical joker, and
their contents, made no impression on
the big man. 1t is asserted that they
were written by some one who hoped
TO create little sensation and proba-
bly produce n story which could be
sold to newspapers, and libel suit
is now pending against a Washington
correspondent who charged a certain
person with the authorship of the let
ters and with motives of perpetrating
a fake" whichshe might dispose of for
money.
These 'falxe" schemes do not work
and more than one originator of spu-
rious sensations has come to grief 1t
is not so many years ago that fertile
Drained young man who had an am
bition to shine as n new journalist
conceived the idea of sending an in
fernal machine to the late Chief Justice
Waite. He prepared an ugly-loobing
package, including a cigar box filled
with black sand, lead slugs. pieces OF
brass, springs. fuse, etc. and had il
A. oI,sof s,,rffoatu ho1ca
He then visited several newspaper Of
fees, Offering for sale a sensational
story of howia an attempt had been made
on the life OF Chief Justice Waite, de-
scribing the "infernal machine" its
deadly character, and all the other de-
tails required to make big sensatior-
al scoop"
Unfortunately for the young man.
he tried to dispose of the story be-
fore the package reached the chief JUS
tice, and the inquiries made by the
newspaper correspondents to whom the
story had been offered revealed that
fact, so when the package did arrive
the young man was Immediately ar
! rested for having had something to do
with it. He broke down and confessed
that it was hoax, but his practical
| Joke cost him fine of S5 and led to his
retirement from journalism OF any
kind.
The lesson was appreciated and that
young man is to-day respected mem
ber of the bar in this city,
The person most frequently made the
object of threatening letters is the
president of the United States. Every
crank that imagines the country to be
troing to the dogs blames the conditions
on the president, and strnightway
writes to the latter. threatening all
kinds of horrible deaths IL he does not
reform these conditions or resign his
high Office. There are demands for
money and dire threats as to what fate
will befall the president if he does not
respond.
| These letters never reach the presi-
dent, and he is never aware of the aw-
ful doom that overhangs him in the
imagination of some flighty people in
this country. This correspondence is
usually turned over to the secret ser
vice bureau and an effort made to dis
cover the writer's. but usually without
success. The letters are written in
disguised hands and on common note
paper which cannot be traced to the
owner. When. however, a series of let
tiers are received the detectives are able
/ to find the writer and proper punish
ment is given. Many of the writers.
? of course. are harmless lunatics. and
when discovered they are put under
surveillance and restraint.
President Mckinley has not inspired
many cranks with the notion of threat
ening him by letter. Fewer of these
letters have been received at the white
house during III past few months than
for many years before.
The president is not he only public
official picked out by these letter-writ-
ing cranks. Cabinet officers. senators
and members of the house get their
share.
The congressman just now are re-
ceiving any number of threatening let
4 ters. but they are signed by the full
I names of some Of their constituents
t They threaten the political lives of The
b congressman if the latter insist upor
= making certain appointments of post
masters. etc. They usually begin with
3 n recitation of what stanch party meT
they have been and of the extent o.
> their influence. the retinue of relation,
l they can control. etc. and wind up by
saying that if the congressman nam,
n John Smith or Sam Jones for the cross
/, roads post offices in their district al
IS this influence will be turned agains
= them. As a.rule. these threatening let
l, tiers help to fill the waste baskets
Washington Cor. Philadelphia Press.