The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-25
SMASH-UP IN MAIL TUBES.
INTESTIGAT0Rs FROM WAsHINGToN
SEE THE GRoUND-UP MAI.

Spent All Day TryinE 10 Find Out East why
the Hundreds or Letters. Cheeks, &C.. Were
Destroyed ana whether More Are Likely TO
Be-whn HAS Been Done with the scrapsi
George W. Beavers, chief of the division Of
salaries and allowances of the First Assistant
Postmastcr-G enerals office; J. u. Maston,
special agent of the Railway Mail Service, and
Theodore Smith, an inspector from the Fourth
Assistant Postmaster.G Generals bureau, spent
all day yesterday investigating the accidents
in tho Tubular Dispatch Company's pneumatic
tubes. The two accidents occurred on Mon.
day within four hours of each other, and re-
suited In the grinding up and utter destruction
OF several hundred letters, Including many that
contained checks and other articles Of great
value. Mr.. Maston represented the Second
Assistant Postmaster General The Second
Assistant Postmaster.General has charge of
that branch Of the mail service that relates to
tho transportation of the mails, and IL is his de-
partment that made the contract for the Gov
eminent with the Tubular Dispatch Company
by which the company is to receive $14s. 800 o
Produce Exchange, and the General Post Office,
and Station H. in the Grand Central Palace, and
the General Post Office.
The commission organized with Mr.. Beavers
as Chairman. 1t called IN Postmaster Van
Colt, and he reported officially the destruction
Of the mail in the tubes, and explained all that
he knew about tho accidents that had resulted
In the destruction. The Postmaster had been
making an independent Investigation Of tho
accident, and he had the reports Of his men.
These reports he turned over to the commits
sion. After this and some formal talk, he &C.
companied the commission to tho inquiry do
partment for missing and dead letters. and tho
bags full Of ground up and destroyed mail
were shown to the commission.
There were two bags of it. Some of It was
dumped out on a desk and the members Of tho
commission xamine 1t closely. They were
considerably Interested in the extent Of the de-
struction. Tho stuff was in bits. black and
greasy. and nothing in 1t was decipherable. All
that was decipherable had been taken out and
forwarded, with the explanation that 1t was
all that remained of what had presumably been
letters, and that the damage had been done In
the pneumatic tubes.
Postmaster accompanied the commission to the
first floor of the building. where the tubes OF
stS e0 ana their dG" Working Mi i~ Was su expl MGss By yf the
men in charge. The commission talked with
the men about the accidents, and got from them
their opinion of the causes that led 10 them and
how 1t came that the mail in transit had be.
come so frightfully, mangled. They examined
ment for locking them. 1t is alleged by tho
company that the carriers that we're wrecked
were carelessly left unlocked by the clerks who
filled them. the clerks being employees of tho
| Government and not OF the company. The
commission asked n lot of questions about the
possibility of getting the mail out of the tubes
accidents. They didn't learn how it could be
done.
After questioning everybody connected with
the service mt the General Post Ofice.the COM
mission went to station = and watched the oper-
alton OF tho tubes at that end. The clerk was
there who Is accused by the Tubular Dispatch
Company OF carclessness in locking the carrier
that was wrecked. He was questioned closely.
He insisted that he had locked the carrier Sc
curely and that when 1t left his hands 1t was all
right and ready TO be shot through the tube.
From station P the commission went to station
II and made the same sort OF investigation.
All the men in the station connected, with the
tube service were questioned. After lunch the
commission visited the office Of the Tubular
Dispatch Company in the Tribune building and
heard the explanations OF the company,,s OIL
Gals. What these explanations were is known
only to the commission and the company.
Chairman Beavers of the commission was
asked by the reporter what conclusions the com
mission had arrived at. Mr.. Beavers said that
the investigation was not entirely complete and
| that the members OF the commission would not
speak of {. The commission had been sent on
by the Postmaster.G General and would report to
him. No information would be made public
until after this report was made.
All that part of the mail that was ground up
impossible is to be sent to the dead letter Office
at Washington where 1t will be kept the regu.
lation time and then disposed of. There has
been some inquiry on the part OF persons who
got fragments of the letters that were identifl-
able as to how they came to be SO black. Al
grease as well as ground up. 1t is explained
that the interiors OF The tubes are kept constantly
well oiled with lubricating oil. The letters that
were wrecked were ground up with this lubri.