The Savannah morning news., 1902-07-22
VALUABLE LETTER LOST.
Was Addressed to j. Overton Paine's
Firm in New York.
From dc Boston Herald.

From the Boston Herald.
The theft of letter from the mails
containing securities to the value of
$4,000 is the sensational topic of dis
cussion among the heads of depart
ments at the postoffice, and the sub
ject of a great deal of thought and
work on the part of Postoffice Inspec
tor McMillin, who has been assigned to
the case.
The circumstances of this steal are
very unusual, both in the matter of the
amount taken and also in the manner
that 1t was done. 1t seems that Mr..
Edison f. Chandler, a prominent New
Yorker, had some securities of the
Eastern Forge Company deposited with
his brokers in this city, ]. Overton
Paine & Co., 35 Kilby street.
BY his direction, the brokers mailed
these securities to their New York
office on Broadway, so that Mr.. Chan
| dler might get them. One of the en-
| ployes of the brokerage firm was sent
| to the postoffice with the letter con-
tanning the securities and directed to
have the letter registered.
The employe, however, get mixed up
in his postal phrases, and instead of
registering the letter, he put on a spe-
cial delivery stamp. The letter was
mailed at $50 on the afternoon of June
2, but the New York Office failed to re-
ceive it. After a time the postoffice
department here was notified. but the
brokerage firm failed to tell the postof-
flee that there was anything of UNI
usual value in the letter.
1t was simply reported that a letter
had been lost, and as this is daily &C.
currence, this particular letter took its
regular turn and routine in the way of
Investigation In this investigation 1t
was found that the letter had been
mailed at $50 with a special delivery
affixed, and that 1t had been sent TO
New York by the IL o'clock mail that
night.
A reporter for the Herald happened
to hear of the loss of the valuable Sc
curities yesterday, and made an in
vestigation. Postoffice Inspector Nc
Miliin acknowledged that he had been
looking up a lost letter for the brok-
erage firm mentioned, but he said that
he had never been told that there were
securities in it worth $4,000. When Nc
Millin learned of that fact he at once
set the wheels of the Office in motion
with all possible dispatch to make a
thorough search for the missing letter.
The investigations already made abb
solves the Boston postoffice from any
blame. The records show that the let
ter was mailed and intrusted to the
care of the railway mail crew. running
from Boston to New York. It was
either lost or stolen on the train or
after 1t reached the New York office.
1t Is understood that the securities
are negotiable, but careful investiga-
ton fails to find that any attempt has
been made to dispose of them. Pay
ment has been stopped on them.
While in this particular case mis-
take was made in using a special de-
livery stamp instead of sending the
letter by registry. yet this same mis-
take is made by a great many people
on purpose These people believe that,
as both kinds of letters are specially
stamped and recorded, one is practi-
cally as safe as the other. Such an
idea is entirely wrong. AS a matter of
fact, the only particular care given a
special delivery letter is to hurry 1t
along as quickly as possible.
Postal clerks know that a special de-
livery often denotes value, instead of
hurry, and so. as there is not much
chance of detection, dishonest ones are
led to plumber. Repeated warnings
on the part of the postoffice depart
ment fail to impress on the public
mind that special delivery stamps
should not be used where registry is
desired,