Truth. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1901-1908, 1906-01-27


rested in the general postoffice at New
York, charged with Systematically
raising" postal orders. Numerous
complaints had been made of the wo-
mans operations during the preceding
to purchase small orders, usually for
twenty-five cents, erase the figures
with acids, raising them from SOS to
$780,, and inducing hotel-keepers or
tradesmen to cash them. When ar
rested half dozen such raised"
notes were found on her. Postoffice
inspectors who arrested the woman
say she Is the cleverest "raiser" Of
notes that the department has ever
had to deal with. She is forty-five
years old, and previously conducted
an express business in Philadelphia.
Temptations to defalcation and en-
bezzlement on the part of postmasters
are enormously increased by the con-
siderable amounts of money handled
by them in connection with the mon
ey order service. Postmasters are en-
titled to carry reserve sufficient to
meet any reasonable call for payment
of orders drawn on them. This re-
serve is sacred trust fund and
should always be kept intact and held
for inspection. But among the 10000
postmasters who sell orders are, of
course, due proportion of dishonest,
improvident, or careless persons who,
Notwithstanding all the watchfulness
of the department, dissipate these
funds, and when confronted with their
fault must take the consequences.
oil nnr.ta in,
loss to the government. If the bonds
men are insolvent the loss is total.
If they are solvent, congress is usually
appealed to for relief, and seldom in
vain.
The business of the money order
system is vastly swollen, and respon-
sibilities of postmasters correspond
ingly increased, with the resulting
chances for embezzlement, by it's en-
ployment in a channel widely diver.
gent from it's original purpose. This
Is the use of money orders as a saw
ings bank. OF course, the patrons re-
ceive no interest on the deposits, but
the investment is safe. The process
is to purchase an order payable to
ones self and hold until the money is
wanted. Among those who use this
method of saving funds are many the.
atrical people. The savings bank does
not appeal to those who leave New
York and do not expect to return for
many weeks. Road companies get
stranded, and it serves an actor or
actress much better to write to a
friend at home, enclosing a money or
der, and ask the friend to get the
money from the post office, than to
write to the same friend and ask the
loan of money.
At the New York postoffice a short
time since $1,000 was paid to Maggie
Cline on orders drawn to herself
while out on the road. Not long ago
a juggler who had been out with
Barnum's circus presented orders pay
able to himself aggregating $2,700. He
was asked for Identification and said
he could not prove his identity except
by Autographs. He unrolled pos
ter, representing himself between
two bulldogs and endeavoring to look
as fierce as possible. The clerk told
him that if he could make himself
look as he did in the Autographs he
could have the money. The performer
took of his hat mussed up his hair,
and made a face. The clerk imme-
diately counted out the money.
Congress and the treasury depart
ment are not always blameless in per.
,,,ittino on oman dOor RI fraud Thcra