The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-06-13
r. 0. Authorities Admit Theft
Of Bag Containing $4,000
STOLEN NEAR KANSAS CITY
Los Angeles Postal Authorities Give Out
Details Of Loss Of Valuable Mail
Pouch Sent from That City on
June 4.

Los Angeles, Cal, june l3.---A regis
tered mail pouch containing bank notes
Of at least $4,000 in currency, and, it
is supposed, as much more in miscelan.
eous remittances and letters, has dropped
from sight with sufficient mystery to
battle the secret service.
For forty-eight hours post office in
spectors have been seeking an answer
TO the puzzle that PROMISES to prove one
Of the largest thefts committed from
the post-oilice department in years. The
pouch was in transit from Los Angeles
10 New York. From the check system
OF the department railway mail service,
it is known that the theft was perpet-
rated on Saturday night somewhere in
the jurisdiction Of the Kansas City d.
vision. Beyond that the officers have
found no clue that they are willing TO
publish.
That a pouch Of value has disappeared
was admitted yesterday by the depart
ment at Washington, BY Postmaster NJ.
II. Flint of Los Angeles and By Inspec-
tor w j. Vickery, attached to the Kan
sas City post-otfice.
The fact that mail in process of trans.
fer at the Union depot in Kansas City
is handled in temporary substation
since the destruction OF the regular
branch Office BY fire several months
ago supports the theory that advantage
Was taken Of conditions presumed to be
more lax than ordinary
Information relative 10 the package
of currency supposed to have been iii the
pouch has been obtained from Cashier
Charles Seyler Of the Farmers and Mer-
chants National bank Of this city, who
said:
According to our information mail
pouch made up here june 3, and leaving
for New York on the following morn
ing, has disappeared. A conservative
valuation Of the currency contents fur
nished BIZ this and other banks Of this
city viii be $4,000 The total amount
Ii made up Of between thirty and fifty
packages, the exact number being diff.
cult to determine
The missing funds were placed in the
post-otIice the evening Of June 3, their
destination being New York City, our
correspondent there being the Chemical
National bank, to whom our portion Of
the shipment was consigned"
1t is admitted that the lost pouch left
here over tbs Santa Re railroad on the
morning Of june 4 and was due IN KAN
sas City on Saturday.
Other Mail Losses.
New York, June b. No one connected
vita the loeal postoiliee could throw any
light this morning on the reported loss
Of a mail pouch. Neither Postmaster
Morgan nor Walter :. Mayer, chief post
office inspector, has heard anything about
the matter other than the newspaper
accounts
Inspector Mayer said Che present case
recalled to mind the Denver, Col, case
in 1907, when $4,000 in $l00 bills was
missed by the postal authorities. Two
men were suspected of The theft. For
weeks the inspectors were following
their movements One man was found
to be leading double life, 1t was
known that he had little money outside
of bis salary, and as the pay Of post
Office clerk il inadequate for carrying ON
two establishments, the inspectors fas-
tened upon him III the guilty one. As
hHE AHdA p NAlN NaA apparently Lila W~fN
of any disloyalty en- the part of her
husband, the post-ofice men turned their
attention TO the second woman. When
she was seen to pass a hundred-dollar
bill dit department store, she was AL
rested. Told by the detectives that the
bin had been stolen from the posteoflice,
the woman broke down and confessed |
that postal clerk had given it 20 her,
A confession was obtained later from |
the clerk. AN but $500 was recovered. |
The clerk went to the penitentiary.
Tn April. 1907, $4,000 III bills was
stolen from the Raleigh, M G. post.
Office. Inspectors fioten and Maxwell, |
under Chief Inspector Mayer, went to
work on the case. A few months LATER
William Nelson, a clerk, was convicted |
of the crime. The only clue In the case |
was the fact that four Of the bills were
known to have been stuck together with |
sealing wax. When these bills were found |
on Nelson an Identification was made
Only a few weeks ago, shipment Of |
thirty one 81 900 bills from the New |
York post-ofEice To Southern city WAS
reported lost. For three days All the IN.
spectors and post-ofiicc men il the city /
were on needles. just as Inspector May |