The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1906-07-05
Columbia Has Lost Many Pack
ages in Recent Past
HAVE BEEN STOLEN
Between Mail Room at Union Depot
and Postoiiice. Inspectors Have
Worked But. 1t Is Said, Have
Secured Little Evidence
of Guilty 0nes.
of Guilty 0nes.

Secured Little Evidence
OF Guilty 0nes.
There seems to have been conside.I
able stealing of letters and packages
going on among the postal officials
located in Columbia. A dispatch
from that city to the Charleston POST
says what Postmaster. .Easor calls "a
regular Saturnalia Of stealing" has
been going on among the railway
train porters and perhaps others, who
have heen handling the mails between
the mail room at the union station
and the trains. He has failed to
locate over seVen5y-f0e packages that
have been reported to MIN as having
been lost, the date Of the first pack
age mailed being December 8 last.
and that OF the last April IA last.
How many moro have been stolen DR..
Ensore has no idea.
There may be many cases that
were never reported and still other
cases that will be reported later. Az
resulted of a letter DR.. Ensof wrote
to the washington division Inspector,
Williams, located at Chattanooga, de-
tailed inspectors Pulslfer, Banner
man and Webers on the case. After
several dayS work they were unable
to trace any evidence against either
oil the three transfer clerks who are
in charge of the mail room at the
union station, in relays. So far only
one arrest has been made, that OF
Sam Williams who was caught by q
decoy letter containing silver which
was handed to him to be taken to the
train. he has been landed In jail by
Commissioner Werner. In default Of
bail.
Transfer Clerk Mobley, o negro,
was arrestad but was afterward re-
leased. Nothing has 80 far been dis.
covered against the other colored
transfer clerk, O. P. Murray, and
both he and Mobley are still on duty.
Chief Transfer Clerk N. j. Davis ls
tho only white man In casrge Of the
mail room. BE Is q man Of high In
tegrity, in whom everybody has per.
feet confidence.
Sam Williams has been at the
union station only four months. Elch
of the transfer clerks has key which
fits all the locked pouches, and which
ne Is required by the regulations to
carry IN a chain attached to his body.
But whether anything has hsen stolen
from the first class mail, which Is re-
Quired to be locked, can not be said.
1t appears from tine list Of lost pieces
which tracing has failed to locate
that the stealing was confined almost
altogether to packages. These pack
ages are hapdled almost entirely In
large sacks. unlocked, which are
handled between the mail room and
the postoft1ce by porters. There are
number Of porters working IN the
employ Of the postof1ce.
But Sam Williams is In no way COZ
nected with the Office. He and other
railway porters and the postotace por-
ters all have acess to the mail room
and as the transfer clerks have fre.
quently to DO away from the room
there is a good opportunity for steal
Ing.
Though the inspectors have given
up the fight for the time being they
have by no means given up hopes,
and other arrests sre expected in the
Immediate future.
On one occasion eight packages
sent up on the Charleston train were
stolen before they reached the Colum-
bia office.
DR.. Pike, a Columbia dentist, lost
nine packages, which = should have
ceue to him in Two weeks.
The thing has become notorious.
said DR.. Easor to The Evening Post
representative. An awful stencil
had arisen to the no5trilS Of the pat
rons OF the office, who were taking
their packages to the express offloe.
The /. vestigation has declosed that
the mail room down there has turned
out to be a regular den OF thieves.
OF course hope you will say nothing
that might be construed as q redec-
tion on Mr.. Davis In whom we all
have the greatest confidence.
"Whether any Of the stealing has
been going on among the postal clerks
on the trains l can not say, but sup.
pose not. The students here In the
male and female colleges have hardly
been abe to get thing sent to them
ln the past several months. The
thieves raade q clean sweep. am
satisfied that not an article has bean
stolen by any Of the employees OF this
office, not only because have conf
dence in them but the system would
require all to be iD collusion II one
STOLE"
Wanted to Hear Tilman.