The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-02-29
TWO MAIL BAGS
WERE SLASHED
One Month Before the $4,000
Robbery Another Pouch
Was Cut Open.

| Unless the officials of the Depart
ment OF Justice secure the conviction
of the person on the Island of HaH ali
who slashes registered mail pouches
open with a knife, the Postofhce de-
partment may take into consideration
the advisability of having registered
packages for the Kawaihae route
transmitted in burglar-proof safes or,
at the least, in pouches lined with
sheetiron.
It appears that the registered mail
pouch from which $4,000 gold or there
about was extracted, supposedly while
in transit from Kawaihae landing to
Kamuela postofice, Waimea, Hawaii,
and which was shown to the postoff1ce
inspector with a slit in it, was not
singular case Of the kind in that
region. A suspicious circumstance has
been noted in connection with that
postal robbery, which was that the
orifice in the pouch was too small TO
permit of the extraction of the missing
package of coin through it.
That particular ground of suspicion
is rendered more ugly for the handlers
of mail at Kamuela by the fact that
registered mail pouch from that office
was received at Honolulu, about
month before the mail robbery in
question, with a slit about five inches
long in it near the top. Advices en-
closed told Of registered package
containing $3.50 in the pouch. An ex-
animation of fhe contents showed that
no such package was there.
Here was an obvious case Of mail
robbery, with nothing wanting but the
capture of the thief. Before, however,
the authorities had time TO lay any
plans to that end a wireless message
was received by the postmaster Of Ho-
nolulu from the postmaster of Kamu-
Ella It said that mistake had been
made in the advfces sent with the
registered pouch The package of $3.50
had NOT been enclosed. Somehow it
was overlooked in dispatching the mail
and had been found safely reposing on
a shelf in the office.
So there were two Kanuela register
ed pouches slashed within the space
of about one month.
Moses Koki, postmaster of Kamuela
when these things occurred, was ar
rested following the $4,000 robbery. |
What he was charged with was en-
of postoffice funds, and for
this bound over to the grand jury ses- |
sion of the present special term of the |
Federal court. The cause of this COM
initial was a shortage in his accounts |
prior to the robbery which, though /
made good, remained against him I'M |
der the statute as the offense of en- |
It is generally supposed, |
however. that the authorities mean. to /
probe his possible connection with the |
robbery to the bottom.
1t this connection some talk has |
leaked, out respecting checks drawn, |
as high as $1,000, on a local bank with
the name of Koki upon either the |
front or back of them. Joshua D. Ko-
XII, a brother of Moses. accompanied |
the latter when arrested to Honolulu |
and, after a weeks stay, returned to |
Kamuela and took charge of the Koki |
store. He has been assistant post |
master at Kamuela, according to the |
Moses being deputy tax as
SCISSOR as we'll as postmaster. No doubt |
the Federal and the Territorial offices |
in addition to keeping the |
store, required an assistant.
Marshal Hendry is expected from |
Hawaii in the Kinau this morning, |
bringing Joshua D. Koki under a SUBJ |
poena to appear before the grand jury. |
His evidence may be very valuable |
with regard to the methods of handling |