Evening star., 1937-05-15

hdi edltl lluuSillS ana C6IllPTllle
instances after 'glimmer" men re-
ceived cash secreted in houses they
went back at night and robbed the
place with sawed-off shotguns, tying
up the owners and searching until they
found the hiding place. One of these
forays netted $4,000 in Liberty Bonds,
fortunately registered and not nego-
table.
In stampeding the "glimmer"
racketeers. the postal inspection serv-
ice sent 1000 news stories to news
papers, large and small, hoping to
warn every one Of the danger to their
pocketbooks, although ordinarily they
froWn upon any publicity connected
with methods of investigation.
ONCE Lady Luck worked hand in
hand with the Post Office when
$4,000 in cash in a registered package
disappeared in Florida in 1910. 1t
developed that railway postal clerk
had stolen it. gone out into the woods
at night and concealed 1t in a tree
stump. Next morning an elderly
cracker went out with his dog to
cut some fire wood for breakfast. His
land was near a railroad track, on
which a camp car railroad repair
men go about on these) was stopped,
with only the colored cook aboard.
The dog was acting excited about a
certain stump, so his owner and the
cook decided the hound had a rabbit
and went over to get him out for
breakfast. The rabbit turned out to
be the $4,000 in currency, which they
split.
A postal inspector was at work on
the case. He heard that a l4-year-
old lad had purchased a pony in a
small town, paying for it with a Sl0O
bill. A few days later the same boy
bought bowling alley with another
slO0 bill. Both bills were from the
lost package. When the boy was
asked about the source Of his cur
rency supply he admitted stealing
from his father, who had, he de-
clared, lots of money buried in his
back yard.
Although all the steps in this in
Vestigation are not disclosed, the
colored cook was found, even though
his employers did not know his name,
and he had long since disappeared. A
Woman's name and address was found
in his effects. and he was found there.
married to her and living high on
his $4,000.
In August, 1895. postal inspection
men were so well informed that they
arrived at the scene of a post Office
burglary before the burglars. This
was in Dendron, Va. A gun battle
resulted in two robbers being killed
and the other three being sent to
the penitentiary One had been
stopped by being shot in both ankles,
neat gunnery for any officer Of the
law.
"A Nationwide drive is now in prog
ress against so-called correspondence
clubs" OF which there are one each
in Houston, Chicago and Philadelphia
and two in New York, which violate
laws against sending obscene matter
through the mails. Nine thousand
persons, some with high standing in
their communities, are members of
these clubs.
\ DEPRECIATION involving a CO.
lossal amount Of labor by postal
inspectors was the theft Of sack of
registered mail dispatched on the
liner Leviathan in 1888, valued at
S131 900 in italian bonds. The in
vestigation extended to Great Britain
and France and resulted in seven
convictions, among them Morris Rem
koff, for IS years regarded as an in
ternational receiver Of stolen prop
erty.
The theft OF letters from apart
ment house mail receptacles is ap-
parently serious problem in large
cities. In addition to obtaining
money from letters so stolen, the
thieves forge and negotiate thousands
OF veterans, relief and dividend
checks.
One man convicted In Washington
admitted operating this scheme in all
cities Of more than $4,000 population
in more than Al States, obtaining
$38, 900 in less than three years.
Expert knowledge Of financial and
matters Is sometimes re-
quired of postal inspectors. For ex-
ample. Wallace G. Garland, Arnold c.
Mason and associates promoted some
80 corporations, selling stock to the
public to the extent ct 100000 An
investigation lasting approximately
eight months resulted in the indict-
ment Of more than so persons and 20
corporations.
Persons on relief in Floyd County,
KY, were the victims Of fraud that
makes holding up a man at the point
Of 4hRn LOOK Like I prank. Orders