East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1921-07-04

however were scarcely prepared to sc,
him become general IN the sons'
OF ono who commands large body Of
armed aud disciplined men.
Ne,cuhciVss, 10 a IN IN np q tree % |
a rohbcr in mail ear. It looks 4
though Mr.. Hays had done that verN |
thing, for at the present moment he
Is IN cOmmlnd of n greater number ut
armed men than George Washington
had under him during the creates
part OF the Revolutionary War. AS
! semhled in one place, General Hays
forces would make Pancho Villas
most extensive cohorts look like a
kitchcn-police detail, and would sur
pass both in numbers and equipment
the standing armies OF most of the
Latin American republics.
The Postoffice Department mas APP
! proNimatoly 100000 employees. An
4 order issued by postmaster-Genc
: llavs recently directed that every cs-
sential cmploye of the postal service
be armed with pistol or shotgun and
| instructed in its use, Within a week
/ thousands OF repeating riot guns.
more than 10000 automatic pistols
! and million rounds OF ammunition
| We're issued to mail collectors, mes
sergers. chauffeurs, Matchmen and
/ Railway mail clerks throughout the
! country, and these men were given
/ instructions to "Shoot to KILL
/ We simply have TO 20 bacl, to the
old Wells Fargo days and shoot to
{ Il,
General" Hays in commenting upon
( the order Il have been astounded ut
the fact which have discovered rela-
tive to tho mail rohberles with a
known loss Of s6.28i,0OO and with a
| known recovery of $3.030. GOO"
Record Crimo Year
Many of the postal employees are cx-
| service men who have tested their
| skill in the use of firearms on the bat
! tlefields of France. and they are eager
to have chance to meet the mail
robbers half way. a number of these
men are being used tC instruct other
employees Of less experience in the
handling Of weapons. and it is expected
that a regular course of instruction
such as is provided by many cities for
their policemen will be worked out
The Postmaster General has the ut
most confidence in the Inspectors
Corps of the Postoffice Department
the regular organization for the APP
prehension of those guilty of crimes
against the United States mails. He
believes it to be one of the most
efficient bodies of its kind in the
world. He is convinced, however.
that the present situation is an un-
usual one which must be met with
unusual methods.
For eighteen months 1t has been ap-
parent that a great crime wave is
sweeping over the whole world and
that the United States has been par
ticularly subject TO the epidemic. EX-
perts appearing before Congressional
committees have testified that the
year just passed was the greatest
crime year since 1897.
This crime wave. which has made
itself felt all over the United States
and has hit banks, transportation
companies, business establishments OF
all kinds. has been particularly strong
in the West and Middle West. The
attack has been made by armed
criminals upon both mail trains ans
postoffices, often Ivy young and mex
perienced men who were all the more
dangerous because of their reckless
ness
These criminals have frequently op-
Grated in broad daylight. enterine
postoffices. holding up trains. and
even rob5ing messengers between
postOffices and railway stations. Dur
ing the past two years the lives OF
many postal employees have been pu;
in jeopardy by these reckless bandits
and in the past four months three
postal employees have been killed in
the performance Of their duties.
Desperate Youth Dangerous
In two of. these cases the perpe.
traitors of the crimes have beer
brought to justice. and in the third
case the untiring efforts of the post.
office inspectors are expected soon tc
z oe crowned with success.
The first of the murders occurred In
the jackson street branch of the post,
office at Dallas, Texas. Five heavily.
& armed bandits entered the buiIdinp
Z late IN the afternoon and forced theil
way into the registry room. shootina
: promiscuously at the male and female
employees as they entered One old
and faithful clerk was shot and almost
instantly killed and another was
severely wounded. The bandits ther
selzed several sacks of registered mail
: ana escaped in waiting automobile
Whlle speeding to escape pursuit
however, the machine turned over.
killing one of the outlaws and serious
ly lnjuring another. The remaining
members Of the gang escaped, but
were captured few days later.
The second of the trio of murders
occurred at Pittsburgh, Pa, in Feb