Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-03-07
CHEATING UNCLE SAM.
How People Try to Beat the Govern
ment Out Of Postage.
They Seek to Get First Glass Mail in
With Cheaper Stuff.

you'd be surprised to know of the
means that honest people will employ to
try to get first class mail in with the
second class stuff said service
clerk the other day. There's a differ
ence in price of cent and falf an
ounce and it's ridiculous when one dis
covers to what depth a man or wo-
man viii stoop to save that mean little
amount of money. I'm not talking
about poor people. mind you, but about
the ones that are perfectly capable OF
paying first class rates and who ought
to have a sense of honor in them,
whether they are or not.
There was one case recently that
was about as small an exhibition on the
part of a man as / ever heard. He's
left town now. and to call names
wouldn't do any good He was in
terested in a scheme out in Chicago: a
scheme that made it necessary for
some heavy and steady correspondence.
1t was all right. at first. heavy letters
went out on all mails, and it must
have cost him something during a
month for what he turned into the
stamp room.
going and instead of that he'd brin, in
a photograph or newspaper or some-
thing to be sent to the same address.
After a while the people here and out
in Chicago in a sub-office had a sns-
picion that things weren't right. so
they opened one package, a photograph,
and found a cipher message on the
back.
Then they held up everything that
came along second class from this Office
to this particular address and they
found that in whatever was sent there
was some sort of a cipher message.
The other man, of course had a Key
that would translate it and he sent
word back in precisely the same fash
ion. When we had collected a noun
tain of evidence we sprang it on him
and he backed down in n collapse and
paid every cent that he had CLEARED the
government out of.
\ woman used to live here, too, who
was a past master at the art of dodg
ing postage. She'd go into the STAMP
room every day or so with nice fat
bundle of something that she'd push
out second class; and after a while
when they began to tap these bundles
they began to find all sorts of lectures
and essays and spring poems and let
tiers tucked away out of sight.
They waited a while in order to
catch her red handed. One day clerk
asked her point blank whether there
was anything inside the wrapper that
contained writing and she answered an
emphatic no. Then the bundles that
had accumulated for weeks. We're
brought for inspection and the story is
told that there was never more pltiful
exhibition of humiliation in the history
of the office.
How many long, loving messages
are sent on the backs of photographs 1
for asserting that there's big per
cent. of packages go across country
that aren't earning for the government
half what they are supposed to. 1t s
almost impossible to trace on until Z
person keeps sending steadily in the
same direction for a long time.
Service clerks have a perfect right
to open second class matter at any
time that they see fit. Sometimes this
is done III small offices for a test as to
What per cent. of people try to cheat
ana sometimes it is done by men who
are in the department who have a sort
Of second sight at digging out illegal
matter.
I'VE can never break a seal; never
are allowed to touch first class matter
except to hustle it along as fast as 1t
can go. But when clerk gets into his
head that there's something wrong i'll a
certain package in the midst of a great
jam of second class freight, he can do
what he wants to with it. 1t pays to
send first class, anyway, for the mat
ter goes much faster with greater sure
ty."