Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1898-09-02
OFFICIAL PAUL PRYS.
POSTAL SNEAK THIEVES or THE
FRENCH GOVERNMENT.

Dcllcate Methods Employed BY Them In
Opening Estters-wIth q Little Patience
They Overcome Gum, sealing wax or
Metal Fastener.
Tho Incident which occurred IN the
French chamber concerning the viola
tion Of the secrecy Of letter addressed
to NJ. Delcasse by high official Of the
ministry Of marine has stirred the pub
lie, which is surprised that such pro-
ceedings take place under the third re-
public. Created IN 1880, the cabinet
noir was n permanent office under
Louis Philippe and Napoleon III, who
used and abused it In order to learn tho
political secrets Of their opponents Il
was generally believed by the public
that the office Lad long been suppressed
by tho present government But after
the incident mentioned those who still
believe In the secrecy of the post, of the
telegraph or OF the telephone exhibit IN
incredible credulity which is extremely
rare at this fin de siecle. Those who
ure SO imprudent as to write their i'm
most thoughts concerning any politician
in power will be wise no longer to i'm
hgine that letter which arrives nt its
destination apparently unopened has
not been read by third party As is
we'll known, it is also easy for an Off
cial to learn the secrets of the telephone
by applying his car to tho receivers at
the central Office. and by so doing to
intercept phrases which are both in
structive ard amusing 1t now appears
chat tho postoffice officials also give
themselves up to the delicate pleasure
of satisfying their curiosity.
They employ 20 different methods In
order to assuage their professional in
quisitiveness If an envelope is closed
in tho ordinary manner by q thin layer
Of gum, they have tho choice Of two
systems-whcn tho paper is tough and
strong they slip with great precauticn
o very thin but not cutting blade be-
tween tho two gummcd parts, and with
little practice they are soon ablo TO
separate the paper without any tear;
when the envelope is thin and brit
tie they open it Ly tho primitive and
homely means of steam. These proceed
ings are extremely simple, and the cor
respondence Of many masters and mis-
tresses has often been slyly treated in
the samo way by an inquisitivo domes-
tic. This industry requires very little
skill, and tho only capital necessary is
q small amount of patience. The more
suspicious individuals fasten their let
i1ters withscaiiug wax and imagine that
they are consequently perfectly safe
from any surreptitiOus attack. The
, officials of the cabinet noir, however,
nre not so ensiiy defeated. By judi
ciously bending and twisting the part
OF the paper surrounding the seal they
gradually detach the latter, which final
ly remains unbrohen in their hands with
very thin layer Of paper adhering to
1t. After examining the contents Of the
letter they replace tho seal intact ut the
exact place which it previously occu-
pied, and both the sender and receiver
of tho letter remain IN blissful igno-
rance Of their maneuvers.
Other correspondents, even more sus-
: picious, are not satisfied with gum and
wax. but supplement them by small
metal fastener, which is guaranteed by
its inventor to render any tamperiDg
; with letter impossible. This, although
. its efficacy is far from that promised by
0 tho stationers, certainly complicates the
work of the intruding official. he rises
to the circumstance, however, and after
carefully removing the stamp and max
0 ing O CROSS cut ON the square from
which 1t has been removed he intro
> duces n small steel instrument with a
special hook at the extremity. This
hook grips q corner of the letter, and by
carefully twisting the sheet round the
stem of the instrument it can be finally
extracted without any apparent injury.
If by chance the note paper is refractory
and cannot be twisted owing to its stout
ness, the operator cuts the entire length
of ono side Of the envelope. The con-
o tents are easily obtained In this man
: ner. but the reclosing of tho envelope
requires much delicacy of workmanship
and is, in fact, almost worthy Of au
artist. About q millimeter Of each OF
the cut edges is carefully folded inward,
gummed and pressed together until dry.
This phase of the work. although rather
difficult to q novice, is ssoon acquired by
o practice.
: There arc many other tricks employ
ed. some Of which speak volumes fol
human ingenuity. It sometimes hap
pens. nevertheless, that a letter bafilel
all the skill and experience of the entir'
department. In that case their meaD
are rough and ready-they suppress 4
y altogether. The exterior appearance O
the letter addressed to NJ. Delcasse be
i trayed the work of the Cabinet Noir
= This proves not lack Of skill Of those In
trusted with such an important but un
derhand duty, but simply negligence. =
London Globe.