New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1899-04-19
OPENING { LETTERS.
SOME SECRETS OF THE ENGLISH GEN
ERAL PosToFeIcE.

Il 80
-
Methods by Which the Omcials Be-
come Acquainted With the Con-
tents of Suspected Comm mn cations.
/ Private Tests Which Fail.
1t is a somewhat remarka BILE fact
that the general public Of England
knows very little concerning the secret
fservice + Of the general postofce, al
though the service is probably the most
complete of its kind in the whole world
| To the outsider the secret service is
known as the postal secret inquiry
branch, and not one in hundred of
those in the employ Of the pcstof6ce
knows the exact workings of the secret
service, as the department. has the dis
tinction Of being in the charge Of GER
tain permanent officials, under the di-
rection Of the home secretary and the
prime minister for the time being.
Once, and once only, in recent years
has minister Of the government allow
| ed himself to be drawn into making a
| statement which admitted that the Sc.
crets Of the pcstofice were used for po-
litical purposes.
Such an admission was made in the
days of the first dynamite scare, when
| an Irish member made a general charge
against the government of tampering
with the correspondence of certain Irish
men. Lord John Manners, in reply,
evaded the question in an ambiguous
manner, but indiscreetly called atten-
tion to clause in the postoMce act
which empowers the postal authorities
to open and even con6scate any letter
or package which they might reasona
bly, suspect covered some infringement
of the rules of the department..
The secret service is divided into two
distinct branches, the higher and the
lower, and the duties of the latter are
brought to the notice of the public very
frequently, as it has to do with the pros
ecution of dishonest men in the en-
ploy of the postoffce. The great bulk of
the robberies committed inside the
walls of the postoffce is attempted by
the younger hands and it is for that
reason that every newcomer is occasion
ally subjected to keen watching from
quarter that he least suspects. 81.
Quite unknown to him, he is kept un-
der the observation of a keen eyed
watcher, who is securely hidden from
view in secret alcove, almost within
touch of the sorter. messenger or what
ever the employee may be- Every move
ment is noted and analysed, and it
would take very expert man to try on
any underhanded game and escape de-
lection. ,-s
On the continent the correspondence
Of private individuals is liable to the
scrutiny Of the police or other govern
ment agents, and no secret is made of
the fact; but, on the other hand, our
officials write indignant letters of de-
NAL and reputation, while all the time
they are perfecting the fine art of open
ing letters without leaving any traces
of the operation.
Like most clever arts, that of opening
letter without causing suspicion is
simplicity itself A glance at the quail
ity Of the stationery decides the opera
tor on the means to be adopted. Some
kinds Of paper will bear the steaming
process without leaving any traces, and
in that event the operation is very
simple. The contents having been ex-
amined, and. if necessary, copied, they
are restored to their envelope, which is
regummed, the flap FURNISHED with a
bone instrument. -
Contrary to general belief, the sealed
envelope presents no difficulty to the ex-.
pert A piece of new bread, kneaded in
to a firm ball, is pressed on the seal and
the facsimile is obtained. Various other
methods have been attempted in taking
the design of seals, but the enc we have
quoted has been declared to be far away
the best for the purpose, the bread be-
ing clean and less liable to leave any
trace of tampering behind. This dough
matrix is hardened as soon as the seal
has been modelled, and when the con-
tents Of the letter have been obtained
the envelope is closed and resealed with
the dough mold.
When it is deemed unsafe to moisten
an envelope, it is cut open. The opera
ton is delicate one and to any but
an expert very difficult to perform prop
erly. One end Of the envelope is held
firmly between two fat pieces of wood,
the edge of the paper projecting about
the twentieth part of an inch. The ex-
pert passes the back Of his knife rapidly
over the end, roughening and hattening
it, while an equally quick pass with the
razorlike edge cuts the envelope open.
When the contents are replaced, the
edges Of the envelope are stuck together
with hairline of powerful gum, sub.
mitted to pressure for few minutes,
and no one not in tbs secret would
guess what had been done.
So long as the flap and seal appear
intact the receiver is invariably salts
fed. Now and then suspicious CORE
spondents place sand, powder, hairs or
other minute objects inside the envelope
by way of test, but this does not trou-
BILE the expert little bit. He is on the
lookout for that kind Of dodge, so is
careful to open the envelope over
large sheet of pure white paper. When