Evening star., 1922-10-20
$4,000 MAIL LOOT
OF POSTAL CLERKS
Some of Booty Laid to Thefts
by Forty at Council Bluffs
Recovered.
TRAP SET IS REVEALED
One Man Arrested at First and In.
quiry Closed as Bait to
Others Involved.

Filthy thousand dollars was the to-
tai Of thefts by forty-one employees Of
the railway mail terminal at Council
Bluffs. Iowa. warrants for whose ar
rest were announced late yesterday
afternoon by the Post ONCE Depart
ment.
Some Of the loot has been recovered.
and more is expected to be recover
ed. postal officials here announced
today. Omcials said the roundup was
one of the greatest Of Its kind in the
history of the postal service. larger
number of employees ever involved
than in any previous scheme to de-
fraud the government.
Parcels Stripped Of Wrappers.
The system. 1t wns revealed today.
involved the stripping Of insured par
eel post packages OF their wrappers
and addresses and the systematic
looting Of the parcels. taken one by
one as they came into the great par
eel post terminal at Council Bluffs.
Not only did the accused clerks take
the parcels. but forced the govern
ment to pay back to the senders the
cost, as the parcels were insured.
Reports Arouse Suspicion.
Authorities became suspicious here
when reports showed that too many
parcels were disappearing when they
reached the parcel post terminus. one
Of a system Of termini located through
out the country. the largest being at
Chicago.
An inspector who left Washington
to check up on the depredations,
which had been going on for about
two months: arrested one man. catch
night he was caught he had only $2s
worth. whereas on other nights he had
gotten about $1,000 worth Of goods.
After the apprehension of this man.
IL Is understood. the inspector an
nounced that he was satisfied that the
case Of Council Bluffs was closed. as
far as the Post Once Department was
concerned.
Others Thrown on Guard.
Tho inspector then returned to
Washington. thereby completely
throwing of their guard the other
employees of the terminal involved In
the scheme. Immediately inspectors
were sent secretly to Council Bluffs.
working so effectively that they be-
gan to apprehend men at the rate of
one a day.
1t is understood that twenty-six Of
the men confessed. but were allowed
to continue at their duties. thus lead
in the act Of robbing the mails.
Omcfals here regard 1t as a sig
nificant fact that practically all the
men are young. ranging from twenty
f1ve to thirty years old.
Postmaster General Work confer
red with his assistants and other
supervisory officials of the Post Of
fce Department today, discussing the
Council Bluffs case with other matters.
matters.
Serious Blot. Says Work.
Postmaster General Work today
characterized as a serious blot on
the railway mail service" the dis
covery that forty employees of the
parcel post terminal at Council Bluffs.
Iowa, had been engaged In systematic
robbery OF the mails.
Every honest employe in the serv-
ice will deplore the action Of those
clerks in their wholesale plunder of
the mails intrusted to their handling
and the stigma left upon the rail-
way mail service as q result of their
thefts." DR.. Work declared in q state
ment to all employees of the service.
Employees were warned by the Post
master General to study the postal
laws and regulations. and supervisory
officials are told to exert the utmost
vigilance at all times and give the
closest possible supervision to those
working under their direction.
Disciplinary action will be taken
in every case where 1t IL apparent
that a supervisory employe has been
lax in his duty" Postmaster General
Work announced.