The Washington herald., 1909-02-28
TAMPERING WITH THEMAILS
Every Civilized Government Makes Practice of Opening
and Examining Suspicious Mail in Transit



likewise declares that the mails shall
aot be used. OF rather abused. for pur-
eoses Of fraud and crime To prevent
-hese the Pos{-ofIce employs a corps Of
lighly trained and extensively expert
1nced Inspectors. who constitute what
IS probably the most efficient branch Of
the United States Secret Service.
Thanks 10 them. many dastardly out
ages and untold thousands Of cruel
5windles have been thwarJed as well as
elonies detected and punished But It
3 ridiculous to imagine that their work,
rhich IS ef such inestimable advantage
% the public can be performed without
.xaHlinlng the contents Of suspected let
.e-s and thus violating the secrecy Of
he mails
Americans who have been raising their
-oices during the last few weeks in pro
test against the opening Of any letter con
5ded TO the post, even by The Enited
States inspectors. should remember an
mat these useful functionaries have ac-
.omplished in the way OF the detection
nd the bringing 10 justice of wrOngdOers
nd in the prevention OF crime They
should also bear in mind that there is no
government IN the world civilized or un-
:vilized. which does not exercise an
snalogous supervision over the mails in
-rusted 60 Il for conveyance
Theoretically. all the powers forming
art Of the international Postal Union are
-ommitted to the doctrine Of iRviOlabil-
.rr of the mails But not one Of them ad-
seresI TO il IN practice II goes without
saving that the state cannot consent 20
promote the designs OF malefactors by
srrying their messages back and forth
md by acting IS means OF connEnica-
-i0n between them. That is Why the pos
al department. of every country IS equip
-ed with a bureau which is pOpUlariy
1aown by the name of the Black CGbi-
leT"
Many statesmen have scOffed al the
iCtiou and denounced Il as myth. but
5thers equally reliable have admitted its
7xisteDce. their admissions. usually re-
Ictant. receiving plenty of continuation
y hard. incontroverUble fact.
The Black Cabinet consists of that
-Jrps Of men who are skilled in the art
T opening letter and mail packages and
If reclosing them without trace Of their
l3ndiW0Tb in the event Of the contents
proving harmless. Abroad, as also here
p America. these inspectors of the postal
department. are men Of considerable ex-
1erieace and acumeu, who by dint OF
ieng training are able 10 form a pretty
shrewd guess OF the nature of the CORE
spOndence that passes through their
hands
Sometimes il is the handwriting some
lines the postmark. or even the feel Of
-he letter or the texture of the paper
hat attracts their attention
One thing Is certain: they seldom. very
seldom indeed make a mistake. One
-sreA- hears OF perfectly innocent and
harmless letter being tampered with in
ile mails delayed. or lost Honest bona
ide industry. trade. and finance seldom
= ever complain or have any cause 10 do
80. Criminals whose correspondence has
-3een tamPered with or has been stopped
md condscated likewise find it prudent
90 maintain discreet silence.
Il is only now and again that political
1ntagOnism or diplomatic indiscretion
brings 70 light the fact that the mails are
subjected TO a constant. careful and
iyEx-eyed supervision. and II is doubtful
whether the people Of the United States
gOuiG have even thought of the matter
had il not been for the recent controversy
between the President and Senator Till
man in connection WI the abuse OF leg
isiative franking privileges
Whereas here in America. crime con-
sists solely Of infractions Of the law Of
The land. IN most foreign countries. en-
nifty. and even mere opposition 10 the
government are construed as such The
border line between onenses that are po-
litical and those that are nonpoliticaI is
so III defined as to be almost imper-
-epJible, and owing 10 the practice Of
certain political cults in resorting TO
felony and outrage 10 emphasize their
views. to terrorize their foes, and 70 carry
out their ends, It is difficult to blame
the Old World police, and the postal in
spectOrs Of foreign countries. II their
supervision Of the correspondence Of poll
licianS committed 10 criminal methods.
occasionally leads them 10 tzmpeT with
The mail of politicians who restrict their
warfare against the government 10 purely
constitutional means. The result Is that
fhe letters Of any man OF importance are
liable 20 be opened and examined when
passing through the foreign p0st-offices-
OF course. this assertion VIII be strenu-
susly denied. But the fact remains that
throughout the greater part Of the last
Jweive OF fourteen years Of the nineteenth
century. the correspondence passing be
tween the members Of the various factions
OF the Irish Home Rule party and their
svmpathizers and friends here in the
United States, was subjected 10 the clos
est scrutiny at St Martlns-Ie-Crand,
that is t. say. the general post-office in
London.
There was not an Irish politician Of
note i1 those days who did not have
reason 10 complain that his letters had
been held up. delayed. and investigated,
and Sir Robert Anderson. so long the
head OF the criminal investigation de-
partment Of Scotland Yard. and others
associated with him in the watching OF
the militant element OF the Home Rule
camp, have virtually admitted in print
and by word Of mouth thatit was through
clews obtained from letters opened and
examined IN the post-office that they
were enabled TO Illustrate dynamite out
RACES.
NoS has the English government con
tented itself with watching the mails Of
those whom L had reason 70 believe TO
be connected directly OF indirectly with
warfare upon itself It sometimes per
forms this service for foreign powers
From time immemoriai II has offered an
asylum within lis borders fer foreign
political refugees But It viii not. II II can
help II. permit them to anuse this hos
pitality by organizing on British soil out
RACES Of a criminal character against
friendly powers
II may safely be assumed that all the
correspondence Of the Russian terrorists
in England. OF the Portuguese and
Spanish Republicans. possibly that too Of
Tire advanced wing OF the French royal
fists. is investigated when any Of It hap
pens 10 pass through the English mails;
and We have Official admissions that
when MszzinL that Italian arch con-