New-York tribune., 1907-01-13
POSTOFFICE THEFTS.
Government Spends Much Money
in Catching Rogues.

washington J61l IL tSpeClGD--No liiiei Is
harder to entrap than the one who robs the
United States mail, and for looking after them
the government spent S62l ,44S As in the last
nscal year-S347, Az "a for salaries OF postofice
inspectors: S177. $50 daily allowances for in
spectors and 500, ,621 Ii for salaries of clerks.
miscellaneous expenses. mail depredations. ETC.
The methods of the postofice thief in
genous, HIS plunder is so easily hidden or de-
stroyed and his rascalty is well masked by
the honesty and integrity of his associates that
he not infrequently continues his operations for
years before he is finally overwhelmed with
proof Of his guilt. disgraced and sent to prison
Though letters. and valuable ones. too, are
stolen every day and keen eyed inspectors are
hunting high and low for the thieves, arrests
for this crime are comparatively rare
1t would indeed be strange if the thousands Of
clerks who constitute the great mail army OF
the country were all honest men, 1t would be
stranger still If all Of them could withstand the
temptations that constantly arise as they handle
the millions Of precious letters and parcels
which are carried In pouches through all the
ramifcations of the railway systems. The gov
ernment does not guarantee the safe delivery Of
letters or parcels, but a matter Of precaution
IL provided the money order and registered let
ter system to prevent the sending of money and
valuables through the general mail. But even
letters and parcels sent by money order and
registered letter are not sacred to the mail
thief He robs them with as little impunity as
the humblest letter that falls into his hands and
looks good to him. The only protection the user
of the mails has against thieves is the postoffce
inspector His influence over the morals of men
throughout the great department Is simply
amazing. He is feared because his ways are
mysterious and he seems to be omnipresent.
His clever ruses to overcome the cunning OF
the thieves he is after, his nearly invariable
success in rounding them up, in sending them
TO the gangs where they practise the lockstep
daily, and the unlimited power he has at COM
Inand to carry his work secretly or publicly,
as he may choose. make him one of the most
important factors in the service.
The staff of inspectors has been largely aug
mented by an act of Congress which became
operative on December l, 1865. placing the dl-
vision superintendents. rural agents and clerks
at division headquarters under the postoffce in
spectors. BY this law the two great travelling
forces of the Postoffice Department were placed
under one head. Thus large number of really
first class men became inspectors and the Post
master General says in his annual report that
he believes that the year 1907 will show a vast
increase in the work done by the inspectors and
more noticeable Improvement in the postal
service. In a general wav the inspectors are
the direct representatives of the Postmaster
General in personal supervision OF the service
The inspection division is thoroughly organized,
and is perhaps the best detective service" in
the world. They are all what is known in police
parlance plain clothes men, They work
quietly and without display, their only badge
of authority being certificate from the Post
master General In an inside pocket. With this
document an inspector gains immediate access
TO postofflces, books cash and stamps. The
postmaster has say about it, matter
whether the inspectors dropping in is at a con-
venient season not The inspector is as likely
TO make a demand for keys and combination
TO the safe at midnight as at noon. He suits his
own convenience. or when he believes the best
time for making an examination of the office.
An old inspector says that years ago. on one OF
the old Star Routes out in New Mexico, hun
dreds Of letters containing money, drafts. checks
and other valuables We're being stolen daily At
first letters and ali disappeared with astonish-
ing regularity. Finally the thieves altered their
methods and instead Of taking the letter en-
tire, opened and took the contents resealing and
forwarding. Inspectors sent the
routes. spending sleepiess days and nights, and
the only facts gathered were that the letters
passed through many hands and that the thefts
did not abate. Men were watched and shad-
owed, but TO no purpose. Finally one of the
inspectors procured at wholesale drug house
a quantity OF different kinds of drugs which
carefully labelled and placed IN his grip.
The inspector started out on a supposed trip
of inspection of the offices along the routes
where the letters were being stolen He made
an examination of books and accounts and
while doing this he managed to slip little of
Of the drugs in the mucilage bottle. using a
different drug for the mucilage at each office
and making memorandum which would show
Just where the drug was used He watched re-
suits, and soon New York merchant produced
q letter which had been opened and rified of a
large sum of money The inspector took the
envelope, tested and smelled the mucilage, took
out his little book and in a moment told just
the Office where the letter had been tampered
with He lost no time in getting to the office in
the Mexican Rockies. Decoy letters were
started over the route and the postmaster went
for them like hungry duck. The result was
that in two weeks the inspector had his man
in handouts.
There are two successful ways to catch a
postal thief" continued the inspector "One is
constant watch, and the other decoy letters.
With these and a large supply Of patience the
game can nearly always be landed after a time.
1t often requires months, and sometimes years,