Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-05-10
DISHONEST POSTAL CLERKS.
An Inspector Says They Are Sure
to be Detected.

An Inspector Says They Are Sure
to be Detected.
1T is because one man thinks him
self trifie smarter than another that
makes his thoughts run into dishonest
channels" said an old postoffice in
spector. II can account for the fire.
quent arrest in all parts Of the country
of employees of the postal service, es-
pecially clerks in the postoff1ces and
letter carriers, only upon this hypoth-
esis, and that there Is an Inherent
streak in his composition Of dishonesty,
because he knows better than the pub
lie that once we get after postal thieves
we never stop until we land them
in Jail. And still they go on all over
the land pilfering from letters, believ-
ing themselves safe. 1t must jar some
of them when they tumble into the
trap we set.
1T Is a matter Of corresponding In
terest to remember that, as these dis
honest clerks we'll know, the trap
which places the manacles around their
wrists Is the same old trap, like the
same old bear trap. reliable and certain
to hold fast once it Is sprung, only 1t
catches their pilfering hand instead OF
their feet. It Is the decoy letter which
the postal thief quickly and slyly picks
up and secretes about his person or
elsewhere, and once 1t Is in his hand
the trap is sprung, the hand of the In
spector on the case closes about his
wrist and he walks to the station
house to ruminate how easily he was
caught once the inspector decided up
on the man of the force who was gull
ty among the honest.
Now, since every postal employe In
the United States knows that once the
officials are suspicious Of theft along
his route or postal car run, that the
inspectors lay all sorts Of traps for him
behind the bars, why will they steal
money letters with apprehension prac-
tically inevitable? Because human
nature is the same in all callings. and
the postal employee Is cast In no diff
ferent mould than the rest Of US; 1t Is
only his environment. Yes, they know
instantly, instinctively, whether a let
ter contains money. as bank teller
can tell by the feeling of bill before
he looks at it that 1t Is a counterfeit.
We know this, too, and that Is the
reason why we fish for them with the
decoy letter, and land them, thus safe
guarding the public and the depart
ment from loss.
1.-The decoy letter looks no different
from any other letter, and 1t feels just
the same to the dishonest hand Of the
postal thief as any letter containing
money. We usually place three to five
marked 81 bills in the envelope. The
instant the fingers Of the dishonest
man strips along the envelope he
knows that it contains money, and he
will steal 1t II he can. His eagerness
and disinclination to let any letter
with money go by him enable us to
catch him when we learn to a certain
ty the route upon which money letters
are stolen.
"Some employees ere very foxy, and
go on long time before they are de-
tected. They often try to place the
guilt upon an innocent carrier in this
way. In making up their routes, and
getting their mail from the distribut-
ing tables. they handle the mail be-
longing to the other carriers. 1t Is an
easy thing to detect money letters In
the other fellows lot, and include them
in their own, to be purloined at leisure
and suitable opportunity.
Suspicion naturally falls upon the
innocent carrier and he is placed under
secret surveillance. Decoy letters are
mailed, and by other means 1t Is en-
deavored to fix the guilt upon him. If
our usual methods fail we too, become
suspicious that an innocent man Is be-
ing worked We drop him and try to
locate the actual thief, and 1t Is not
long before we have him in Jail. Some
times two dishonest employees will
work together, but as a rule postal
thieves are like the lone highwayman
and prefer to go it alone.
You see, the dishonest employe fool
ishly believes that he can beat the
game, and an arrest in a large office
only has a temporary deterrent effect
upon the secret thieves therein. They
are more cautious and may perhaps
lie low for a brief time, but not for
long. 1t is a singular but true official
fact tnat once man begins to steal
money letters he seldom voluntarily
quits, and we have had men confess
that they had been in this nefarious
business for years and would have re-
manned at 1t as long as they were In
the service but for their arrest. It is
an easy way to make money for the
whose salary does not meet his ex-
penses. He becomes emboldened by
the confidence in his cleverness to Sc
crete the money letters. forgetful that
with each report of theft the efforts of
the inspectors are redoubled to catch
him, and the closer are drawn the
meshes of the net slowly but surely
being entwined around him. Very
often the guilty man is positively
known to the inspectors for months
before they can catch him redhanded
the thief in the meantime believing
himself undetected. d."-Washington Ev-
ening Star.
LIKED Congressman
receive some pretty odd requests some
times" said ReDresentati tive COrnei:uS