The St. Louis Republic., 1900-05-29
POSTAL AUTHORITIES HALTED.
Injunction Restraints Further Ac-
tiOn Now in Nevada Case.

| Kansas City. Mo, May ga peculiar sit
| uation was created to-day when the United
| States District Court issued an injunction
staying an order of the Postmaster Gen
| eral.
II was the case. of stephen A. Weltmer
and Joseph III. Kelly. propr:etors of the
American School Of Magnetic Healing at
Nevada. Mo. whose mail WAS recently held
up by the Post Ofice Department at Wash
inEtOn Weltrncr and Kelly were indicted
for using the mails for the purpose OF
fraud. Following the indictment the Post
Office Department issued an order TO the
postmaster of N.yada bidding him hold all
the hrst-ciass mail that came to his office
addressed TO Weltmcr or Kelly or their
school. The school does an enormous mail
business. and IN short time about 1000
letters had accumulated IN the Post Office
at Nevada.
Wsitmer and Kelly employed Harkless.
Harkless went TO Washington 10 have the
embargo removed from his clients mail
He was not successful. He then appealed
TO the United States courts.
The Postmaster at Nevada had orders 70
return to-day the mail under embargo 10
the serders II possible. and when the send
dead letter Office. Before these orders
could BE- obeyed. Mr.. HAIRLESS secured an
Injunction from Judge Amos Thayer OF the
United States Court II Appeals restraining
the Nevada Postmaster from ol,eying tn
order OF the Post of!lco Department at
WASHINGTON. The injunction compels the
W,eltmer and Kelly until the injunction
has been argued. The in Injunction IS return
able Juno In St Louis.
Mr. Harhless. IN his argument before
judge Thayer, maintained that the with
holding of the mail and the return Of IL TO
the senders was arbitrary and uncanstttu-
uonal. because Congress had not the power
10 stop the mail of person who has been
neither tried nor convicted. also because
the general embargo laid on Weitmer's
and kelly's mall may include many letters
OF a purely personal and private nature
which have nothing 10 do with the school
they conducted
MAIL BEING RETURNED.
REPT'BIIC SPECIAL.
Nevada. Mo. May cS-Post Office In
spectors Ed Leland and Sam Frey have
been busy to-day In the Nevada post Office.
returning to the writers all letters directed
To the American School nf Magnetic Heal
Ing. 10 the president and secretary Of the
Institution and TO J. II. Kelly personally.
ing regula larly delivered 10 him. \ telegram
was received by Postmaster Mcknnultv To-
Gay. saying that the United States Circuit
Court would issue an order restraining the
Government from returning the nccrInlu-
la ted mail. This notification has not been
followed by any official instructions and tho
inspectors continued their work of return
ing the letters. a large part of the work
has been already accomplished Tho lot
ters which had no return cards on them are
being sent to the daad-letter Office where
they viii he opened and returned. Mr.. Kelly
is still absent from Nevada.
When Professor Weltmers attention was
called to the reported injunction order to-
day, he said; 1T comes as a surprise to me.
I know nothing about IL. I have been very
busy at the Institution and was not in
formed that such a step was contemplated. -
II is understood that the total number OF
letters which have accumulated will ap-
proX!mate 25.0G0.