The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-08-13
HOW AGO ROBBED MAILS
Novel Method By Which
He Escaped Detection
So Long.
JERSEY POLICIES GOOD WORK
They Found Clues After
New York Detectives Had
Abandoned the Search.
JERSEY poLIcE'S GOOD WORK


The arrest of John w. Jago, Chief Of
ficer Of the White Star Steamship Bri.
tanie. in Queenstown, yesterday. winds up
long career Of mail robbery on the high
seas. and larceny of valuable goods from
the ships cargo byta gang Of thieves this
leader of whom was John w. Jago. He
mas risen to a position of Chief Officer
through the various grades of the Whfts
Star service, where he has been for over
ten years On account of his general ef-
heieney as a seaman and his high posi-
ton on the ship he was not suspected OF
wrong doing by anybody Had it nos
been for Kynaston's arrest in this city.
and the subsequent finding of tho owner
Of the coupons in his possession, this sys-
tematic mail robbery on the Britannia
would no doubt have continued for some
time to come
Jago's system of robbing the mails was
as follows: AS Chief Oficer Of the vessel
MS right to go to any part of the ship at
any time was unquestiened. The mail
was slowed below and Jago had possess
sion of the key to the mail room The
police can prove that he had prepared
small wax candles that he took with him
to the mail room where he opened the
registered pouches, picked out such pack
ages as he wished to rife. and with
sharp knife cut the end of the letter and
abstracted the contents. sealed up thesfet-
ter and with acids erased a portion OF the
address. and added thereto a new naIne or
address so that the letter would be event.
ualiy marked mot found and satn 10
the Dead Letter Office, at Washington,
D. c., where after six or eight weeks tho
letter would be sent back to the writer
minus its valuable contents. AS a result
the authorities would find difficulty in
finding where the larceny from this letter
took place. and thereby making them un-
able to discover the thief
In the larceny of the coupons found
with Kynaston the letter cotaining them
was addressed, IF. R. Sparks. g Hudson
street. N. Y" Jago altered that adj
dress to read ssP. R. Sparrow, 50 Leonard
street. N. Y..p sealed ii up in such way
that it was quite difficult to detect that
it had been opened. This letter was then
put back in its place in the mail, and In
due time was sent to 81 Leonard street.
and returned to- the @postofflce marked
mot found, and would have been sent
to the dead letter Office had not the Jer-
sey City police, as has already been said
discovered Mr.. Sparks. Detective Pres
cott found receipts for three registered
packages in the lining of an old uniform
coat belonging TO Jago in his room. which
had been searched by the Government
officials prior to the finding Of those re-
ceipts.
Prescott had received information Of
the fact that Jago had mailed those let
ters on the day of his arrival in New
York. Chief Murphy will send today to
Mr. Bennett, Assistant Consul, a state
ment of facts that can be proven by the
Jersey City police that will no doubt con-
vict those engaged In the robbery of the
mails
For the present the police refuse to say
all they know about the evidences, as It
may interfere with the ends of justice.