Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-23
DOOM Of THE GRAF TER
Post Office After Numerous
Get h-Quick Promoters.
MANY FRAUD ORDERS
TRYING TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC
AGAINST ITSELF.
inspectors Conclude That There Must
Be More Than One Sucker
Born Every Minute.

Copyright. 1905, by John Elfre,h watkins.)
Written for The Star.
The arch-enemy of the CRATER just now
Is George Bruce Cortelyou, Postmaster
General. How he Is exterminating such
vermin as get-rich-quick promoters, gam
blers, cheap jewelry bunco steerers, patent
medicine quacks and fakirs fattening upon
the superstitions of the people is meat for
a good story. When it comes to one-man
power, he yields more by far than any OF
his cabinet colleagues and more even than
any one prosecuting or judicial officer of
the government. By one fell stroke Of his
pen he can utterly blast a mans business
career, and from his judgment there Is abb
solutely no appeal it is not renewable by
the courts.
What worse fate can befall a business
man than to be forbidden the privilege of
receiving letters and to know, besides, that
all such communications addressed to him
are returned to the sender with the awful
brand fraudulent stamped across his
name in damning scarlet letters? Such is
the penalty of the fraud order" given only
to the Postmaster General to fnfiict. The
first fraud order was issued in 1879, against
the promoter of the famous New Orleans
lottery. During the few months that Mr..
Cortelyou has been in office he has issued
more of these judgments than were signed
in the first seven years of the fraud order
laws existence. He has run out of bust
Iess more than double the number of graft
ers who fell a prey to the most energetic
of his predecessors during the same months
of any year. Promoters of fraudulent en-
terprises have been excluded from the
mails at the rate of more than one per day
since the former secretary to President Nc
kinley took the reins of the largest of our
executive departments.
An anti-graft innovation was put into eff
feet almost soon as he took up his new
duties. Former postmasters general had
been content to simply wait upon the COM
plants of outraged citizens who had been
buncoed. Not until then was the ball set
rolling for an investigation. Mr. Cortelyou,
however. had more strenuous notions. That
busy corps of detectives known as post
office inspectors had been lately transferred
TO the immediate office of the Postmaster
General. He ordered these sleuths to search
a certain class of journals for suspicious
advertisements. Ostensibly private cit-
zens, the inspectors now answer these Sc
ductive offers and Uncle Sam returns the
amounts to which they allow themselves to
be buncoed for the sake of cleaning evil
dence. The bunco shop is then visited, and
If affairs there are down to the inspectors
suspicious action is Immediately taken.
First Fraud Order.
The man who does the actual work of
Judging the culprits is R. P. Goodwin, the
assistant attorney general for the Post Of
fee Department. The bunco man Is sum-
moned to appear before him In Washington
and to make such answer or defense to the
charges preferred such explanation con-
corning them as he may desire. After a
full hearing a brief of the evidence sub
mitted and of the conclusions reached by
Mr.. Goodwin is handed to Mr. Cortelyou
who either issues the fraud order or dis
misses the charges. In most cases the ac-
cused person appears with lawyer who
vigorously defends him. Some of these
hearing have consumed fortnight. If the
accused fail to appear action is taken
whether or no. The Postmaster General
seldom, If ever, ignores the superior legal
opinion of the assistant attorney general
and 1t Is safe to say that fraud order
recommended by the latter will be issued
Although, as stated, there is no appeal from
the Postmaster General In the matter he
may revoke a fraud order when the assist
ant attorney general so recommends. A
large proportion of the 1900 fraud orders
issued since 1870 still stand on the record
as unrevoked. One assistant attorney gem
eral of past administration was noted for
his activity in revoking orders and it was
no uncommon occurrence for him to have
one revoked two days after 1t was promul-
gated. At present, however, 1t is more diff
ficult than ever before to have such YER
dict reversed. The first fraud order-that
against the New Orleans lottery-was. by
the way, suspended for a time, but now
stands on the record as unrevoked
The enterprises which may thus be blast
ed are lotteries or similar enterprises whera
prizes are distributed on a chance basis or
any scheme to defraud. The order when
put in effect directs postmasters not only
to return, as stated, all first-class matter
addressed to the subject of the action. but
to withhold the payment of money orders
and the return of the money to the re-
mitters. In cases where the senders are
unknown the letters are sent to the dead
letter Office and the money contained, if not
finally traced, is dropped into the treasury
of the United States.
he 5ota mi out all
bunco enterprises under the direction
of William ]. Vickery, chief inspector of
the Post Office Department. hoosier vet
eran of the corps who before his recent
promotion to the top of the ladder had
charge of the Cincinnati division of post
office inspectors He is the chief watch
dog" of Uncle Sans mall and to his lot
falls more particularly the responsibility OF
hunting down those who rob the malls, of
instructing new postmasters of tracing lost
mail and the location or naming of new post
offices.
Patent Medicine Frauds.
another official concerned In the hunting
down of the CRATER Is DR.. Harvey w.
Wylie chief Of the governments bureau of
chemistry Any patent medicine or other
article suspected by the Industrious In
spectors il sent over to Dr.. Wylies labora-