The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1907-09-06
Caught While in the Act.

John C. Wells, the young postal
clerk, who was arrested at an early
hour Sunday morning, was allowed
bond that night, and has gone to
the home Of his father, who lives IN
the southwestern part of the county.
The young mans bond was placed
at 81 900 and this was readily given
by his father and friend.
The arrest of young Wells came
as a great surprise to the people of
jackson, among whom he had
many warm friends, who regarded
him as one of the most upright
men of this community. He came
to jackson as a mere youth, and
obtained employment in the Clair
ion-Ledger office and during the
Worlds Fair at st. Louis accom-
panied Col. r. II Henry, who was
the commissioner from Mississippi,
to that place acting in a confden-
tial capacity. Soon after this he
was appointed TO a clerkship at the
postoffice, and has for some length
of time been working as the night
clerk.
For the past several months com
plants have been coming into the
office of missing packages contain
ing money, and Postmaster Ed
wards has a large number of these
complaints on file. Several inspec-
tors have been working on the case,
and their com bined labors resulted
in the arrest Of Wells, while he was
engaged in abstracting money from
a package mailed as a decoy. The
first time a complaint was made
was several months ago, when a
business man of this city mailed a
large number of cards in which in
dentions were made for imbedding
a quarter, and were mailed at night.
Not a one of these cards reached its
destination, in fact, none OF them
could be traced out of the city, and
suspicion naturally attached itself
to some clerk in the Jackson office.
But the inspectors are very careful
in their work, and it remained to
be seen who che guilty one was be-
fore an arrest could be made, not
wanting to place the stain OF suspl-
cion upon an innocent party.
In the postoffce there is secret
chamber that overlooks the inside
of the office and from which every
thing that goes on there can be
seen without those on the inside
suspecting that they are being
watched. In fact this secret hiding
place is so arranged that the pres
ence Of the person occupying it is
not known to the postmaster him
self, or any other person. The in
spector has a key with which to let
himself in and out without anyone
seeing him, and it was with the aid
of this peep-hole" that Wells was
detected. Some weeks ago Wells
left the city for a few week s
vacation, and the inspector
occupied the secret chamber many
times during his absence, and kept
a strict watch, but without results,
and at the same time it was noticed
that the complaints ceased. On his
return the inspectors again began
their surveillance, one of them mail
ing two decoy letters Satur-
day evening and occupying his
peep-hole'' that night While
making up the mail he detected
Wells come across these letters, and
placing them in his pocket, waited
until his fellow clerk temporarily
left the office, when he opened
them and took the money there
from. The inspectors then entered
the office, charged him with the
taking of the money. and placed
him under arrest. He was asked
if he had any money on his person
and he replied that he had, that he
had just been paid off The in
spector then told that he had placed
a secret mark on the money mailed,
and on examining the money young
Wells had on his person, these
marked bills were found, and the
Young man owned up to their alb
Wells father, while IN very ordl-
dairy circumstances, Is a good and
highly esteemed old gentleman, and
the Young man was also held I'D