Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-09-17
WADE GUILTY.
Former Augusta Postal Clerk
Convicted at Portland
Of Having UnIa~fuI|y Taken Money
From the United States Mail.
Sentence viii Be Deferred to the End
Of the Term.

II
the United States district court re-
turned verdict of guilty, at GA.
o'clock tonight, in the case of James
+. Wade Of Augusta, a former posta
clerk, who was charged with stealing
money from the United States slnails
on one count of the seven in the indict-
ment, and not guilty on the other six
That on which he was found guilty
was for the larceny of 81 and the
other counts specified six distinct let
ters. He will not be sentenced until
the END of the term. Wade took the
verdict calmly. He had expected dis
agreement.
The defence opened when the court
convened at 10 o'clock in the morning.
Benedict F. Maher of Augusta, opened
for the defence.
James E. Wade, the respondent, was
called to the witness stand. He made
a good impression on the jury and a
good witness for himself. The govern
ment had claimed that Wade had en-
bezzled six letters. Twelve test letters
in all had been sent through the mails
that Wade was to handle. OF this
number owens, the post Office inspec-
tor, withdrew four from the mails him
self for some reason, two others
reached their destination, one never
reached it's destination and five We're
found in Wade's possession when the
arrest was made in Augusta.
Wade testified that he had dropped
these five letters on the floor of the
car when handling the mail and haG
not discovered them until after he had
locked up the pouches for Augusta
The postal regulations require, so ii
was shown in the course of the evil
dence, that these five letters Wade
should have put in some pouch which
he should have reopened for the pur-
pose or should have put them in his
registered letter bag and turned them
into the office with the registered let
ters Instead of doing this Wade said
that he had tied them up and put then
in his pocket. When he reached the
Augusta post office he had Just "signeG
in and had momentarily forgotten
these letters in his pocket when the
post office inspector touched him or
his arm and put him under arrest. As
he did so Wade said he remembered
the letters and took them out Of his
pocket and turned them over to the
inspector, at the same time telling hin
how he happened to have them in his
possession. This accounted for five o.
the letters, but the sixth one which
was missing has never turned up, bu+
n marked 81 bill, which the post office
inspectors swore was in this letter, was
obtained in Devine's drug store, where
the government claimed Wade had
spent it.
The government contended thar
Wade was the only person who har
access to the mail in this car and was
therefore the only man who could have
taken this dollar bill from the Letter
and spent it in Devine's drug store
Wade said that he was not the only
man who had a chance to take this
letter.
He said that from Portland to Var
mouth another man, whose name he
did not know, rode in the car with him
This man got out of the car at Var
mouth and there Owens, who was pos
luS IS 1t railway HAL tleIh. DDdIutl
the car with Wade until Augusta was
reached. Wade said there We're Other
people in the car besides him an(
Owens and that there We're people pass
ing in and out of the car all the way
to Augusta. One man whom he testi-
fled he did not know had boarded the
car at Brunswick and went up the road
quite distance This man had helped
him work the mail.
On TUESDAY Inspector Owens had
admitted that ,H.re was man in the
car whom Wade introduced to him and
who rode with him from Brunswick to
Gardiner and might have helped little
about the car. but he had watched him
all the way to Gardiner. Wade per-
sisted that he did not know this man
though he knew he was a postal CLERK
After Wade had concluded his testi-
mony, John Fl. Ellis. a postal clerk,
was called and said he was the mar
who boarded the car at Brunswick and
rode as far as Cathance with Wade.
inspector Owens had claimed that the
man had rode to Gardiner and he had
watched him all the way. Ellis said
he got off at Cathance and that during
this time there We're people passing
back and forth through the car and
said that this was not an unusual thing
in Wade's car. Inspector Owens had
testified. Tuesday, that this man Ellis
was the only one who was in the car
from Yarmouth to Augusta.
When it came to questioning Ellis as
to whether he knew Wade or not, Ellis
said that Wade ought to know him,
as he had been going fishing and hunt
ing with Wade for some time and he
thought Wade knew him well.
Wade in his testimony said that the
man who was in his car between Var
mouth and Portland he did not know
but that when he reached Augusta he
Went down towards the post office and
saw lhls man standing on the corner
near Devine's drug store.
The Inference was, ard it was so
claimed in the argument for the de-
fence that this unknown man had ac-
cess 20 the letter that was missing and
had chance to spend the marked dol
iar Dill at Devine's drug store before
continued on page 81