The San Francisco call., 1899-02-19
THOSE MANILA LETTERS
THAT WERE RlFLED
MUNRO SAYS THAT SOLDIERS
ROBBED THE MAILS.
Attempt to Smuggle Merchandise in
Newspapers Thwarted by
the Postal OFF,
cials.

Postal Inspector Robert Munro denies
responsibility for the losses of mall mat
ter between the United States and the
Philippine Islands. He made a sweeping
investigation into the complaints several
months ago and found that the thefts Of
mail matter took place while the mail was
in the hands of soldiers for delivery.
Some months ago newspaper pub
lished in Nebraska stated that four let
tiers addressed from Manila to Mrs. Alice
Sims at Wauneta, Neb., had been tam
pered with and valuables extracted there
from.
Inspector Munro's attention being called
to the matter he directed L. H. Bricker,
a clerk in his office, to make a careful
examination of the mail pouches on the
steamship City of Peking on her arrival
in this port December u of last year.
Mr.. Bricker took the pouches before they
had been delivered to the Postoffice people
in this city and examined 5000 letters ad-
dressed to persons residing elsewhere
than in San Francisco. He found sixty
eight that presented the appearance Of
having been rified. These letters were
forwarded to the persons addressed with
the request that they should report as to
whether or not anything had been taken
from them. Sixty-three replies and fifty
four of the envelopes were received. The
replies stated that no property was miss
ing from the letters.
It appeared that in the hot. moist cli-
velopes stuck together and the soldiers
were accustomed to force them open and
reclose them with mucilage, thus giving
the letters the appearance of having been
tampered with.
Major Munro did not deny that arti-
cles had been stolen from the Manila
mails but he insisted that the theftS were
committed after the mails had been trans
ferred from the postal to the military, de-.
partment He cited one instance where
a soldier lounging in the Red Cross head
quarters saw another soldier inclose a =
money order in a letter to his wife and
Immediately called for writing material
and wrote letter which he also dropped
into the box. He returned about five min
utes later and asked permission to with
draw the letter he had just written. He
gave the address on the letter written to
the soldiers wife and was handed the
letter. This he took away with him, ao-
st1acted the money order and cashed IL
on forged Endorsement.
The postal authorities found large
lumber of packages, oStensibly neWspa55
pers, done up with unstamped letters anu
articles of merchandise inside. THESE
packages were opened by postal officials
and the unstamped letters returned 10 the
dead letter office and the unstamped nel-
chandise dumped into the waste Pep PddpTl
baskets. Mr. Munro thinks that consul tLo
able of the complaints made as 10 az III
non-receipt of letters and merchanouiI5
sent to soldiers in the Philippines cpuiu c
be solved by an examination or the Oa'
kets aforesaid. No
The mail designed for soldiers az at3ent a
Mia is placed in pouches, each reg giIii1nt Tnt
having separate pouch. These dbronded
opened at all on the trip and are nan bV
intact to the military authorlties'
whom they are distributed that II
The postal authorities here say en-! tne +ba
any. stealing is done it is done % en@@stsl @l au-
mail leaves the hands of the pos ae the .
thorities and passes into the hauus -
military.