The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1906-07-04
Columbia Has Lost Many Pack
ages in Recent Past
HAVE BEEN STOLEN
Between Mail Room at Union Depot
and pestoffice. Inspectors Have !
Worked But, It Is Said, Have
Secured Little Evidence
of Guilty Ones.
of Guilty '0Ges.

There seems to have been consider
sS11es1 S11es1ss.ealtas s.eealtsaass ct letters and nsesaQes.
going on among the postal officials:
located In Columbia. a dispatch
from that city to the Charleston Post
says what Postmaster e 1sor calls '.a
regular Saturnalia Of stealing" has
been going on among the railway
train porters and perhaps others, who
have heen handling the mails betw, zen
the mail room at the union station
and the trains. He has failed to
locate over se7enuy-dse packages that
| hava been reported to him as having
been lost. the date OF the first pack
age mailed being D=cember 9 last,
and that Of the last April IA last.
How many more 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. AS
4 resulted OF a letter d.. Elsor wrote
to the Washington division Inspector
Williams, located at Chattanooga, de-
tailed Inspectors Pals. Ter, Banner
man and Webers On the case. After
several days work they were unable
TO trace any evidence against either
|of the three transfer CLERKS who are
In charge OF the mail room at the
union station, in relays. So far oaly
one arresJ has been MADE, that OF.
Sam Williams vino vas caught by q
decoy letter containing silver which
vas handed to him to be taken to the
train. he has been landed in jail by
Com missioner Werner In default of
bail.
Transfer Clerk Mobley, a negro.
was errest-d but was af5erward ra.
leased. Nothing has 80 far been DIS.
covered against the other colored
transfer clerk, @. P. Murray, and
both he and Mobley are still on duty.
Chief Transfer Clerk N. r. Davis is
the only white man In caarge OF the
mail room. ae Is a msa ct high Ia.
segrity, In who's everybody has per.
feet ccafdencs.
Sam Williams has 6een at
union station only touf ;montas. Each
OF the transfer. clerks aas Key which
fits al the tocksa pouches, aud Raicas2
ne Is required by the regulations tos.
carry On chain attached to his body
But whether anything has hssn stolen
iron the first class mail, which Is re-
quired 10 be locked, can not be said.
1t appears from the list OF lost pieces
which tracing has failed to locate,
that the stealing was confined almost
altogether to packages. These pack
ages are handled almost entirely In
large sacks, unlocked, which are
handled between the mail room and
the posaohice By portels. There ara
a number OF porters working In the
employ OF the pcs5oface.
But Sam Williams Is In no way con-
necaed With the Office. He snd other
railway porters and the postotf1ee por.
ters al have access to the nall room
and as the transfer Clerks have fra.
quently to be awsy from the room
there Is good opportunity fcr steal
ing.
Though the inspectors have given
up the fight for the time beirg they
have by no means given up hopes,
and other arrests are expected in the
Immediate future.
On one occasion eight packages
sent up on the Charleston train were
stolen before they reached the Colum.
hia Office.
Dr. Pike, a Columbia dentist, lost
nine packages, which should have
GENE to him In two weeks.
The thing has become notorious"
said DR.. Easor TO Tee Evening Post
representative. an awful stencil
had arisen to the noStrils OF the pat.
rons OF the Office, who were taking
their packages to the express Office.
The -Vestigation has dsclossd 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 redee-
tion on Mr.. Davis in whom we all
have the greatest confidence.
Whether any OF 5ne stealing has
been going or among the postal clerks
on the trains can not say, but l sup.
pose not. The students here IN the
male and female colleges have hardly
been able to get thing sent to them
in the past several months. The
thieves made a clean sweep. am
satisfied that not an article has been
stolen by any Of the employees OF this
Office, not only because 1 have conf
dence In them but the system would
require all to be 10 collusion II one
stole"
Burned 20 Death.