Free trader-journal and Ottawa fair dealer. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1920-1927, 1921-11-09
MARINES WILL BIZ:
EMPLOYED To GUARD
MAILS IN TRANSIT.
POST MASTER GENERAL HAYS
PLAN TO USE ARMED SQUADS
TO SAFEGUARD POUCHES GETS
APPROVAL OF PRESIDENT
HARDING.

Washington, Nov president
Harding and his cabinet today order.
ed the marines to guard United States
mails from bandits.
Within twenty-four hours as many
devil dogs" as are needed for the
service will be riding on ever train
and mail truck which carries valuable
mail and stationed at every point
where valuable mail is handled
They will have instructions to shoot
to kill
Orders were telegraphed tonight ~
Postmaster General HAYS and Major
General Lejeune commandant of the
marine corps, instructing detacl
ments of marines 10 report at once
to the postmasters and mail superin.
tendents of large cities where the
bulk Of valuable mail is handled.
Under the plan the marines wiUI
guard the mails until q permanent
force Of more than 1000 former sery. /
ice men who saw active fighting I'm /
the world war, can be organized 10
take their places.
The ACCESSIBILITY Cf enactlng leris. I
lation authorizing the government toll
pay death benefits 10 the families oil
postal employees slain by bandits Is ,
understood to have'been discussed TO- !
day by the cabinet
Coincident with the announcement.
Of plans TO wage military warfare /
asains, the mail bandits Postmaster
General HAYS ordered the suspension
of three leading officials in the New
York City pos;ofiiCe. They are charg
ed with aereiictiCu Ct duty !u c-auea-
t.on With the robbery Of Sl000.00HI
worth 81 registered mail recently i- /
the New York financial district.
Tho suspended officials are Elijah /
NJ. Norris, superintendent Of mails,
Henry Lippnan, superintendent Of
registry. and Walter $ MAYER. super
irteDdelI O. money oriars. They
were ordered suspended as the result
Of an investigation conducted by pos
tai inspectors under orders Of Hays
1T was an absolutely ineycusable
dereliction Of duty in New York.
said the postmaster general He
added:
The investigation viii be contin-
ned as the matter has not vet suf1
GENTLY developed to enable us to
know definitely whether or not
there are others guilty Of definite
dereliction
Asked whether the postal authcri-
ties believe there was any collision
between postal employees and the ban.
dts in the New York robbery, Hays
said
We cannot say as yet whether IT
was an inside or outside job"
The plan to have marines guard
the mails was laid before Pres. Hard
ing and the ether members Of the
cabinet by the postmaster general at
today's meeting. The president and
heads gave it full approx
al and Secretary DENLY Immediately
Gen Lejeune to issue the
instructions and Score,
tary Weeks ordered the army 70 equip
the marines with sawed-off shotguns ,
and ammunition.
The marines will establish head :
quarters in Boston, New York, Phila j.,
aelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Allan ,,
Ia, Chicago st. Louis, Minneapolis
Kansas City, Dallas san Francisco 4
and Los Angeles Federal reserve
banks are located in these cities and
large sums of money are sent through
the mails from them,
AS a further move to safeguard /,
the mails Postmaster General HAYS =,