The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-08-02
CRIMINAL CODES AND SIGNALS.
Difficulties i'm the Way of Safe Trans
mission of News.
Philadelphia Ledger.

Philadelphia Ledger.
So elaborate and ingenious as to appear al
most incredible are the methods by which
professional criminals communicate with
their accomplices. Nobody knows better
than the rogues themselves that by sending
their messages through the ordinary chan
nels they place both their liberty and their
plans in jeopardy. But it is SO important
that they communicate with each other
swiftly and secretly, to elaborate some
Scneme or raScallty or TO give warning or
danger from the authorities, that the clever
criminals set up peculiar postoffices that are
distinctly their own.
The United States Secret Service agents
and the United States postal inspectors run
across a large number of varied systems OF
this kind. From the stories they tell Of
postoftices" they have discovered. 1t APP
pears that nothing is too audaciouS for men
playing game the loss of which means for
them term in stripes behind bars.
Out in Iowa a few months ago." said
Secret Service man who was transferred re-
Gently to an Eastern station, myself and
four of my associates were detailed
battling case of cOunterfeiting. The State
had been flooded with spurious coins and
some less cleverly made banknotes. and lat
er 1t appeared that the same stuff was going
into all parts OF the country. We COULDN'T
locate the plant, and it was evident that the
work of manufacture and distribution was
being directed by master mind that was
wise enough never to go near the plant.
There was a suspicious newcomer in a
small town on the Mississippi river, who
attracted attention. He man of
some education and very reserved. He lived
in fine style In one of the best houses in the
place. We watched him for nearly a month.
There was nothing TO give any force to our
suspicion, but we kept him under eye. He
never got letter at the town postoffice that
he not willing that any should
In fact, he very frequently read them on his
way home. and then threw them carelessly
into the street. They were innocent appear
ing notes, all of them, containing not clew.
Every morning at about O'Clock young
milkman went to the mans house and left
a quart of milk. The milkman was a new
conner, too. He had arrived about week
before the other fellow, and had bought out
a small dairy with money which he said
had been left him by his father. stout
cook at the fine strangers kitchen always
took the can of milk and handed the young
milkman the can that had been left the day
previous.
These cans, as we learned afterward had
false bottoms in which letters were placed
letters to and from the fine appearing new
conner. The letters were from the men who
were operating the plant (Which we subSe
quently uncovered in a town eighty miles
away, and from agents in various cities
who were showing the queer The answers
were the master minds instructions. The
milkman and the cook were faithful ac
completes. The milkman had been set up in
business there for the sole purpose of de-
livering the correspondence that directed
the whole works"
The operator of a notorious get-rich-quick
concern eluded the police when a raid was
made recently upon his establishment upon
complaints of score more of persons in
several States that they had lost many thou
sand dollars. He secreted himself under GER
tain plain DISCUSSES in a tenement house in
q street in New York not more than dozen
blocks from the police headquarters. Sew
eral postoffice inspectors and Central Office
detectives were searching for him. The
fugitive had a number of friends who
wanted to prevent his capture, one of their
reasons being that his trial would bring out
their names and show their cOmpl city in
the unlawful scheme they had worked.
These men. however, were known to the
police, and it was impossible for them to
communicate with the man in hiding-who
may be called Logan. Much more was it out
of the question for them TO visit him. But
they agreed TO keep watch on develop
ments in official circles and TO serve Logan
in whatever way they could. Within week
danger was lurking near for the fugitive,
He sent a servant to the telegraph office
with this message to friend In Chicago:
"Your Aunt Helen died to-day"
Mastering his grief with effort, the
nephew went to a telegraph office and wrote
this message, addressed to a clothier in the
vicinity of Houston street and the Bowery:
Deliver at once to Henry Prescott (Lo-
gan's aias) at = Elizabeth street, six pairs
plain black sox.
With this the Chicago man sent tele-
graphic money order for an amount suffi-
G emit to cover the cost of the articles or
dered.
The socks were delivered to Logan that
day When night came he disappeared from
- Elizabeth street. The Chicago man had
told the fugitive when and in what direction
to go-the firm chosen, the article, their
number and color all being a part of a
clever code which the hunted man under
stood.