The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-06-10
A DISTRESSING CASE.

before him this week one of the mos
distressing and disreputable cases tina
has ever come before him in his more
than twenty-five years of experience
in the newspaper business.
| 1t involved two trusted employees Of
the paper. They were both discharg.
ed Immediately, instantly as soon a.
| the proof of their dereiictions was
beyond question.
One of these employees, a youth OF
16, messenger boy and trusted with
| the carrying of the newspaper and
letter mail from the Topeka postoffice
to the State Journal office and also
entrusted with the delivery Of papers
day by day to the hotels and news
stands and the collections of the pen
MES therefrom for these papers, which
are paid for each evening as the news
dealers desire and in the quantities
they require.
The name of this youth is Comstock.
custody by two postoffice inspectors
Monday night and was admitted to
bail. County Commissioner Sims being
his bondsman, and bound over to the
October hearing of the United States
court.
The other employe was helper in
the press room and had apparently well
attended to his mechanical duties for
over a year. His name is Harris and
he is a young married man.
Comstock's parents are high minded,
respectable, Industrious and this paper
sorrows with them over the actions of
their son. Harris has recently married
into a respectable family and his wife
is to be commiserated.
For several weeks the State Journal
has missed important letters contain
ing drafts, money orders, checks and
cash, the latter in small amounts. Las.
week the matter became aggravated
showed unmistakable signs of having
been opened and resealed. An inspector
of the postoffice department was called
upon last Saturday, Mr.. Charles A.
Mills of Topeka, who invited to his as
sistance Government Inspector J. c.
Lindland, also of Topeka. This paper
had no knowledge of the guilty party
but presumed that it was someone con-
nected with the postal service.
On Monday afternoon Messrs. Mills
and Lindland obtained the indisputa-
BILE evidence that the thief was Com
stock, the State Journal messenger
boy. Monday afternoon decoy letters
were mailed addressed to the State
Journal. They contained marked pieces
of money. The messenger boy was seen
to take the letters in due time with
others from the postoffice. The same
should have reached the State Journal
at the 2:30 and 400 o'clock deliveries
made by the messenger. The two let
tiers were not among those received.
The boy was summoned before the
postoffice inspectors and while first
stoutly denying his guilt, or that he
had ever taken any money or letters,
at last made a confession saying that
he had been taking small sums out of
the newspaper sales for some time, and
for the last 80 days had been opening
letters, abstracting and pocketing the
cash they contained, destroying some of
the money orders, express drafts and
checks, and also the letters. and also
putting back into many letters he had
opened drafts and checks and resealing
the envelopes. Some of the checks he
did not destroy. but held, or concealed.
The inspectors found the marked
money which had been placed in the
decoy letters in the boys pockets.
Yesterday morning Harris apparent
ly hearing of the trouble of young
Comstock. with whom he had been
intimate, came to the proprietor of
this paper with check dated May 9th
for SEAS payable to the order of the
State Journal and drawn by the Royal
Baking Powder company of New
York in payment for advertising; also
another check for a smaller amount,
saying he had just found the two
checks in a chink of the wall of the
of the big press. This in
formation was at once communicated
to the postal authorities who gave it
to the United States District Attorney,
H. ]. Bone.
On the evening before when Comstock
made his confession in reply to ques-
ton from the inspector asking how he
happened to begin taking these letters
and this money from his employer said:
Harris told me that several years ago
when he worked on the Topeka Capita,
he had opportunities to get hold of
mail and that he took letters, kept
their contents and destroyed the let
ters and envelopes by putting them in
the furnace. You can do this; you
carry the letters; it is easy. They can
never find it out
Yesterday Harris was summoned be-
fore United States District Attorney
Bone and admitted that he had made
such statements to young Comstock.
Why did you do this?" said the dis
trict attorney.
Harris was frustrated, hesitated and
finally said: II don't know, 1 guess
was a fool"
Harris told the district attorney that
ne had known about the checks which