Chapter XIII: Special Agents (1)

“The special agents are the eyes and hands of the department
to detect and arrest violators of the law, and to render the
mails a safe and rapid means of communication. In their
selection I have endeavored to secure the qualities of
integrity, sagacity, and efficiency.”—_Report of
Postmaster-General Montgomery Blair, June 30, 1861._

In England “special agents” are considered among the most important adjuncts of the post-office department. In this country they are equally important, and hold the most responsible positions in the general arrangement and organization of its managerial system.

It was under the administration of Amos Kendall, whose devotion to the interests of the office forms one of the most interesting features of our postal history, that the special-agent system was introduced. As Mr. Blair observes, in the passage quoted above, “special agents are selected for their integrity, sagacity, and efficiency:” it required more than mere political influence for an applicant to obtain an appointment, simply from the fact that _party_ studies its own interest first and leaves the consequence of its intrigues to time and opportunity. But the postal department, aware of the sort of material which generally makes up the political elements of party, very wisely made the selection of special agents a matter of more serious consideration. And yet we are fearful that even this department will, if it has not already, become one of the links which bind and connect it with the spirit of party and to the chain of its political power. As far, however, as we are able to judge of the character of those who now fill these offices, the _upas power_ of _party_ has not been exercised to any great extent in procuring their appointments. We do not imply that from the political ranks there cannot be found men in every respect calculated to fulfil any office in the postal department, but we do mean to say that in numerous cases men are selected not for their ability to perform the duties intrusted to them, but for a blustering, roystering reputation they had gained in their respective wards. Every failure in our state department, the want of energy, the lack of intelligence, the confusion attendant on improper amusements, can invariably be traced to these improper political appointments.

Special agents, apart from those qualities alluded to by Mr. Blair, should be men of intelligence and character, and possess an intuitive knowledge of physiognomy, phrenology, philosophy, or the ancient Moshical, or, rather, the Mosaical, so as to be able at a glance to read men and become acquainted with their “inward dispositions and with the faculties of their souls,” and be enabled to say, with Mr. Evelyn, who studied the science, “that man is all dissimulation.” But we contend that there are men who, having made the subject of detection a study, not by examining the features or watching the actions of others, but by analytical observations, are alone capable of fulfilling these positions.

The system of ferreting out losses, or, rather, its process, is a science, and one that to succeed must be closely studied.

Science is knowledge, art, power, and skill in the use of such knowledge: if it be directed to one particular object, exercising caution in such connection, the result will inevitably be favorable.

The duties of a special agent are such that these qualifications are essential to success. And we may say that in the selection of men—men who now hold these positions—the postal department has not been governed by petty political influence, but on the principle involved in our popular maxim, “_The right man in the right place_.”

The duties of a special agent are, in a measure, “secrets of the office,” and his movements are generally so quiet that few persons in and out of the office have the least idea what those duties are: hence the mystery in which all his operations seem involved. Perhaps it would not be proper, or, at least, so far as the interest of the department is concerned, for us to explain the exact position these special agents hold. They have a wide range of duties, which, however, it is not necessary to particularize and, as stated, explain, except so far as either of them may have a bearing upon the object of this work. All losses of valuable letters or depredations on the mails are submitted to them for investigation. The particular means to be used in discovering the exact locality of a theft from the mails or in ferreting out and arresting the perpetrators, are left entirely to their intelligence, vigilance, and ingenuity. It is natural that a special agent should become reserved, unobtrusive, quiet in all his actions, no hurry or bustle, ever cautious, so that he may be enabled to make discoveries without leading to suspicion and alarming the guilty. Indeed, such an effect on a man’s natural temperament would be the consequence of his peculiar business. His means, however, depend upon his observation: he first learns the amount of loss, the nature of the theft, the character of the money, and the line of postal communications between the sender and the expectant recipient. These are his ground-works, upon which he erects his superstructure, theoretical and practical, for the detection of the criminal.

Were we to give our readers some account of these discovered thefts, romance would lose half its charms of enchantment, truth being more powerful and impressive than fiction. To do this would be to betray the secrets of the office and to stimulate the rogues to form new plans of avoiding detection, as well as in their system of thieving.

These agents, as we have observed, keep themselves aloof from the general business of the office, and not unfrequently mystify those with whom they occasionally come in contact. They are not the tempters of the clerks by _meaningly_ employing the decoy-letter practice, but the silent workers of justice in pursuit of the guilty: hence the honest employees of the office can boldly say with Macbeth,—

“Thou canst not say I did it; never shake
Thy gory locks at me.”

or with Hamlet,—

“Let the galled jade wince,
Our withers are unwrung.”

_WHAT IS REQUIRED OF A SPECIAL AGENT._

1. He should have a thorough knowledge of the laws and regulations of the department.

2. Apart from his special duties, he is to report and make known to the department any unnecessary expenditure on the part of those who have control of the mails, and at the same time report where there is any deficiency of agents, &c.

3. He is intrusted with keys to the several mail-locks in use, and is, by virtue of his commission, authorized to open and examine the mails whenever and wherever.

4. He is also empowered to enter and examine any post-office which, in his judgment, may lead to the success of his investigations.

5. He should, when travelling, attract as little attention as possible, and conceal his official character from observation as much as possible.

6. He must make himself acquainted with mail-routes, and their connection with the office of a special agent.

It is not possible for the department to instruct an agent in the particular means to be employed in discovering the exact locality of an ascertained robbery of the mail, or in ferreting out and arresting the perpetrators. These must be as various as the circumstances which surround each case, and he must exercise his own ingenuity and acuteness to effect his purpose.

We have, probably, furnished our readers with sufficient information upon this peculiar branch of the postal department. A writer speaking upon this subject says,—

“From the nature of their employment, special agents are constantly brought in contact with the most intelligent and prominent men in the community, who justly expect to find the post-office department represented by men of gentlemanly bearing, fair education, correct deportment, and sound discretion. The absence of any of these qualities, especially of all of them, would lower the standing of the department with those whose good opinion is most valuable, and would naturally cause speculations on the reasons why persons so deficient in the qualities necessary to make them acceptable to people of discernment should have been appointed to such a responsible post.”

_SPECIAL AGENT OF THE LETTER-CARRIERS’ DEPARTMENT._

Since the introduction of the free-delivery letter system the position of a carrier has become one of considerable importance, from the fact of his duties being not only doubled, but the amount of responsibility considerably increased. At first there was considerable opposition in some places to having carriers at all; and even in large cities postmasters opposed it, as a general thing. Mr. C. A. Walborn, postmaster of Philadelphia, was among the first to favor the abolishing the one-cent system, and the making four trips a day, instead of two, as heretofore. It is true, this added materially to the labor of a carrier, but by lessening the routes it was soon found as practicable as it was beneficial to the community. Perhaps no city in the Union can boast of a better-organized system of the carriers’ department than that of Philadelphia. Gradually, as merchants became aware of the facilities it afforded them, and the energetic movements and attention shown by the carriers to their interest, and of letters being delivered free of charge, they hailed the system as an important era in the postal department. In all large cities and populous towns the system became general, and four deliveries of a letter a day added materially to the confidence it had inspired.

In view of the importance attached to this department, Postmaster-General Montgomery Blair appointed Joseph W. Briggs, Esq., of Cleveland, Ohio, “special agent” to superintend the operations of the letter-carriers’ department throughout the United States. Mr. Briggs in every respect was qualified for the position. His acquaintance with postal matters, and the interest he took in the general delivery of letters, well qualified him to undertake the important duty. We met Mr. Briggs in the Philadelphia post-office, September, 1865, while on his postal tour; and it afforded us an opportunity of exchanging opinions upon the subject of the carriers’ system, in which he expressed himself in terms of one who had studied it with an eye to the interest both of the carriers and that of the department.

Apart from his special duties in large cities, he was authorized by the department to establish the system in all places requiring it: hence in a short time the having letters brought to our very doors, even in the rural districts, will become general.

Mr. Briggs goes into the philosophy of the subject: he calculates first the amount of labor a carrier has to perform in the office; secondly, the amount of physical labor required in the performance of his duty as a carrier of letters. Thus the mental and physical are properly inquired into, and their respective duties classified. The result of the latter, as calculated by Mr. Briggs, is as follows:—One hundred and twenty-eight carriers of the Philadelphia office travel daily 2652 miles,—being an average of over twenty-two miles per day each man. _This is no sinecure!_

Apart from this statement, the author of this work called the attention of the agent to an additional item in this calculation; and that was the travelling up several pair of stairs, passing through long corridors and galleries of large public and other buildings, to deliver letters to the several occupants, would make up an additional mile or two to the above statistic of figures. Perhaps one good result will arise from the report which Mr. Briggs has made to the department; and that will be to increase the number of carriers, and add some twenty-five per cent. to their salaries.

_A LEAF FROM A SPECIAL AGENT’S NOTE-BOOK._

In the months of April and May, 1861, a large number of registered letters from points in the State of New York, passing through the New York and Philadelphia offices to Egg Harbor City and other places in that section of New Jersey, failed to reach their destination. Before Mr. C. A. Walborn took charge of the office at Philadelphia, the attention of special agent Mr. S. B. Row had been drawn to these losses by the late lamented Mr. James Holbrook, who was the oldest special agent in the employ of the post-office department. In June, Mr. Row went to New York City, and had a consultation with Mr. Holbrook; and, although they differed in opinion as to the precise locality where the trouble probably existed, it was determined to put through some _decoy-letters_. One of these letters “turned up missing,” but, for reasons not necessary to repeat here, nothing was said about it then, but Mr. Row was perfectly satisfied that the abstraction of letters took place in the Philadelphia post-office; and, after an interview with one of the clerks whom he had taken into his confidence, suspicions were directed to Franklin M. Reed. Reed was an old post-office clerk, who, with an intermission of perhaps twelve months, had been in the office for twenty odd years. Efforts were frequently made to “trap” Reed, but none of them succeeded, until, on the evening of the 8th of August, a “decoy” was jointly prepared by Mr. Row and Mr. William M. Ireland, the present chief clerk (1865) of the Philadelphia post-office.

This decoy had all the appearance of a regular registered letter from New York, and was addressed to an imaginary Mrs. Green, at Atlantic City, from her devoted husband, who enclosed her two dollars to relieve her present wants, and promising to visit her at the end of the week. This letter was, at a favorable moment, slipped into the New York package, which Reed was then about “casing up.” Next morning Mr. Ireland examined the Atlantic City mail, and found that the letter for the _imaginary_ Mrs. Green was missing. At 7 A.M. Mr. Reed quit work. A short time previous, Mr. Row had seen Mr. Ireland, who was acting under the instructions of the former, and, on learning the condition of affairs, it was determined to wait for Mr. Reed at the corner of Third and Carter’s Streets, when he should make his appearance there on leaving the office. Soon Reed came out, when he was accosted by the special agent, who informed him that he required about five minutes of his time in the postmaster’s private room. On his way there, Reed drew out his watch several times; but he was too closely watched to admit of his dropping any thing on his way back. On entering the room, Mr. Row told him that a certain letter was missing, and that, as it had last been in his hands, it became his painful duty to search him. Reed quietly submitted; and in his watch-fob was found the money which had been enclosed in the Green letter.

Reed was taken before United States Commissioner Hazlitt, and, after a hearing, was committed to prison in default of $3000 bail. On the 20th of August the United States District Court convened, and the grand jury found a true bill on the indictment. On the 27th Reed was tried, and the jury rendered a verdict of “guilty.” Reed was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment in the Eastern Penitentiary of Pennsylvania.

_THE YOUTHFUL MAIL-ROBBER._

Some time in the year 1860, a man by the name of Pardon Barrett made his appearance at Jackson Corners, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania. He was a shoemaker by trade, and opened a shop for business. He had no family, kept bachelor’s hall, and associated very little with men, simply confining himself to business relations with them. He, however, seemed to take pleasure in the company of boys, and, by insinuating himself into their good graces, soon succeeded in making his domicile a sort of rendezvous, or place of meeting, for a select few, upon whom he seemed to have some special design. In the winter of 1862-63, Barrett’s shop became a sort of _pleasure-place_ for these youngsters,—pleasure to eat oyster-suppers, play cards and dice, until he obtained an influence over them that their parents could never have obtained either for good or evil.

Were we writing an essay on juvenile depravity, one of the strongest arguments used would be that of parents losing sight of the vacant hours of their children. Associations formed at these times have not unfrequently laid the foundation of their ruin. This will be illustrated as we proceed.

Among the lads who visited Barrett was Henry W. Fletcher, a bright, intelligent boy of thirteen years: he was the son of the village postmaster. Barrett seemed to have a more than ordinary fondness for this boy,—associated and talked with him wherever and whenever he met him. It was for the purpose of cementing this friendship still closer, and strengthening the influence he was gradually obtaining over him, that the oyster-suppers and card-playing were inaugurated. No one would have taken such pains with young Fletcher, mastering his timidity, establishing a friendship, and ministering to his youthful pleasures, if he had not something in view,—some purpose, some object. Those who have read Oliver Twist cannot have forgotten the character of “Old Fagin,” and how he gathered around him a number of boys and taught them the art and mystery of stealing. Barrett, no doubt, had read Oliver Twist, and, as we shall see, imitated his plan and followed his example in preparing boys for the gallows.

On the occasion of one of the oyster-parties, Barrett suggested to young Fletcher that, as our soldiers were sending money home, he might, if he were sharp, get some of it. Fletcher started: he could not at first comprehend how, _honestly_, he could hold the soldiers’ money. “Easy enough,” remarked Barrett; “by taking the letters out of the post-office.” An associate of Barrett’s, and perhaps the only one he had, was present. For reasons not necessary to give here, we conceal his name. This man urged the boy also to commit this serious offence of robbing the post-office, but stated, as if he possessed the power, “that he would see him out of the scrape if he was detected.” The imagination of the boy was excited by the programme laid out by these villains,—how they would take him with them to Buffalo, then across the lake into Canada, “where,” as Barrett remarked, “nobody could find them.” Then they would proceed to the Western States, seek a wild, retired place in the forest, build a hut, and pass their time in hunting, fishing, and other wild-wood sports. To a lad naturally sprightly, romantic, and possessing more than ordinary intelligence, such a prospect was quite fascinating. All arch-villains, whenever they want tools to work with, invariably excite the imagination, which oversteps the bounds of discretion, and carries the victim on to his ruin. When Aaron Burr planned his great scheme of revolutionizing the South, and, no doubt, with an eye to the subjugation of the North, he selected out a wild enthusiast, one Herman Blennerhassett, for a sort of leader. Blennerhassett was an adventurer, romantic and chivalric: he lived on an island of the Ohio River, still retaining his name. Here he built a splendid mansion, and possessing, it is said, great wealth, he expended vast sums of money in decorating both the mansion and the island. The ruins of the former are still to be seen.[51] Like the man Barrett, Aaron Burr and Blennerhassett enticed to their island a number of young men, whose imaginations became excited by the descriptive scenes given them by these arch-traitors of Mexico and the South,—gardens of beauty and Golconda’s of wealth. High commissions were promised them; but the bubble burst, their plans were detected, the parties arrested and tried for high treason.

Barrett pictured to young Fletcher the wild sports of the far West, and how they would enjoy themselves when once settled in some vast wilderness. Three months, however, elapsed before young Fletcher consented, and it was in the early part of May, while his father, the postmaster, was absent at New York, that he commenced operations. The first step he made in his career of crime yielded twenty dollars. When this was shown to Barrett, he remarked, with a friendly smile, “Good! you have made a fine beginning; keep it going, and the wild-wood sports will soon be our pastime.”

Fletcher, now that his hand was in, did keep it going, and in three weeks the fund was increased to two hundred and twenty-five dollars. Barrett had given him certain instructions, which he strictly followed: these were, not to take more than one package of letters at a time, and then only such as were passing through the office; nor was he to take any belonging to the Jackson office; also, he was to take no letters unless they had Washington City post-mark on them. The understanding between them was that Fletcher was to retain all the money until their final departure; then it was to be divided among them, or a treasurer appointed until they reached their wild-wood destination. Fletcher kept the money hid away, as Barrett told him it was dangerous to carry it about him. On several occasions, however, he tried to get money out of Fletcher, but the latter invariably refused to advance a cent, holding the former to the bond, which was not to use any of the money until their general meeting previous to their departure West. It seems, however, that about this time the losses were being looked to by the post-office department, and, for reasons which are foreign to the matter in hand, young Fletcher exhibited a more liberal spirit to a boy named Brownson than he did to Barrett, by furnishing him with forty dollars to enable him to run away from home. It was not a very difficult matter on the part of the department to trace the robbery as soon as the money from letters was missing. Once on the _railroad_ of suspicion, the detective soon reached the _depot_,—the scene of theft.

The boy Fletcher was at first supposed to be the only person concerned in the affair; but the investigation developed the facts above stated, and Barrett, who had suddenly left for New York, was arrested at Genesee on the 9th of June. On the 16th he was taken to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where the United States District Court was held; on the 17th he was put on trial; on the 18th found guilty; and on the 20th he was lodged in the Western Penitentiary at Alleghany City, Pennsylvania, the court having sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment. Barrett’s age was fifty-six, which influenced the court in shortening the term of imprisonment.

The principal witness against Barrett was young Fletcher. A large number of letters was found at a place designated by him. One hundred and sixty dollars and other mailable matter were found where he said they were concealed. The most important item of testimony, however, was that which related to a silver half-dollar, which Fletcher alleged he had taken out of a letter, and which he had sold to Barrett for sixty cents in currency. It was ascertained that a drafted man, on leaving for the army, had taken inadvertently with him a half-dollar belonging to his little son. At the time the tampering was going on with letters at the post-office, he had enclosed a half-dollar in a letter to his wife to replace the one he had taken away with him. This letter had to pass through the Jackson office, but it never reached its destination. Doubtless this was the one out of which Fletcher got the half-dollar sold to Barrett. It is a curious fact in the history of criminals that their detection, in nine cases out of ten, is caused by some very trifling incident connected with the operations. So it was in this case.

The 126th section of the act of Congress of March 3, 1825, makes the opening, embezzling, or destroying of mail-letters or packages containing articles of value an offence punishable with imprisonment not less than two, nor more than ten, years. The 129th section of the same act provides “That every person who, from and after the passage of this act, shall procure and advise, or assist, in the doing or perpetration of any of the acts or crimes by this act forbidden, shall be subject to the same penalties and punishments as the persons are subject to who shall actually do or perpetrate any of the said acts or crimes, according to the provisions of this act.” It was under this clause Barrett was convicted, and it is, perhaps, the only case of the kind on record.

This interesting case—and were all the details given it would prove highly so—came under the official management of S. B. Row, Esq., special agent of the post-office department for the State of Pennsylvania. The moment the first intimation was received of the mails being tampered with, he fixed upon his starting-point, and, with a sure eye to the end, he pursued his course until he arrived at Jackson, and by a little stratagem the whole plot was discovered. He traced it from the first step young Fletcher made into crime, after receiving his lesson from Barrett, up to the loss of the silver half-dollar. The case, if fairly written out, with all the details, would make an invaluable paper for some Sunday-school tract-publishing institution. It is, indeed, a lesson for youth.

_THE DISHONEST MERCHANT._

Crime in high places has of late become fashionable; law itself has become aristocratic, and maintains its character for partiality by shielding aristocratical rascals beneath its wings. Justice is no longer blind,—at least, one of its eyes is open,—and the distinguishing marks on a greenback, denoting its value, are readily discerned by the goddess. The poor wretch who steals a loaf of bread to save his children from starvation invariably gets on the blind side of Justice, and, of course, the sense of hearing, and not of seeing, is exercised in his case. Bacon, in his Essay of Judicature, says, “The place of justice is an hallowed place, and, therefore, not only the bench, but the foot-pace, and precincts, and purprise thereof, ought to be preserved without scandal and corruption.” The fate of the bread-snatcher is an evidence that the precincts of justice and the foot-pace to its throne must be paved with gold, or his chance, or that of any other poor man, from escape is totally impossible. The man who steals a loaf of bread commits a crime: he should be punished: so should the man who swindles the government, robs the widow, commits forgery, nay, even murder, but whose wealth paves the way for his acquittal. (_See records of our courts._)

In the following case it will be observed that the postal department, having some knowledge of the manner business is conducted in our courts, took the matter into its own hand, the chief clerk acting as _detective, judge, and jury_, and who settled the case in a manner, without loss of time or money, highly satisfactory to all, save the guilty party, who, shortly after the scene we are about to describe, was compelled to quit the city and left for parts unknown.

The gentleman(?) who is the hero of the narrative—for he was recognized as a gentleman in society—had been in the frequent receipt, by mail, of remittances in large and small sums. Not long since he made his appearance at the desk of the chief clerk in the post-office, and alleged that he had just taken from his box a letter from which a draft on a city bank for about one hundred dollars had been fraudulently abstracted, and, as the point from which the letter had been mailed was but a short distance from Philadelphia, he was confident that the draft had been abstracted by some one in the post-office here. This imputation on the character of the office nettled the chief clerk, and that functionary determined to sift the matter to the bottom and ferret out the criminal, if such there was. He made the necessary inquiries as to the day the letter was due here, closely cross-examined the clerks, and, after a diligent investigation, proceeded to the bank on which the draft was drawn. He found that _it had been paid_, and bore the indorsement, or seeming indorsement, of the loser. He borrowed the draft and brought it to the office. On comparing the apparently-forged signature of the loser on the back of the document with the handwriting of a certain night-clerk, a remarkable resemblance was discovered. Several experts were called in, and declared that the handwriting of the clerk and the chirography of the “forger” were one and the same. A clerk in the bank was privately shown the suspected clerk, and he identified him as the man _to whom the money had been paid_! The network seemed to be closing around the poor night-clerk, and it was determined that he should be arrested. The chief clerk, jubilant at his discovery, sent for the merchant who said he had lost the draft. While the chief clerk and the merchant were closeted in the postmaster’s private office, and the former was detailing his success to the merchant, he observed, as he proceeded with the recital, that the merchant began to wear a livid hue; his countenance assumed a pallid aspect, in which a guilty conscience seemed to come to the surface to horrify and disgust the beholder. Trembling lips, too, were seen, and, as the truth in all its damning meanness flashed across the mind of the chief clerk, he at once boldly charged the merchant with having written his own signature _in a feigned hand_, so as to secure the spoils of his own guilt and ruin an innocent man. The guilty, miserable creature, overwhelmed with confusion, confessed his guilt and implored mercy. He acknowledged his criminality in the whole transaction,—a transaction which was about to stain forever the reputation of an honest, hard-working man, whose only capital was his skill as a scrivener and his integrity in his clerical position. The chief clerk, determined that the reputation of the night-clerk should be vindicated, threatened to have the guilty merchant exposed and punished unless he proceeded to a magistrate at once and made an affidavit confessing the crime in all its details. The merchant humiliated himself by signing and swearing to the odious confession, and the matter there rested.

_LETTERS ADDRESSED TO CITIES ONLY._

Many persons are in the habit of addressing letters and circulars for firms and individuals, simply, “Philadelphia,” “New York,” &c. This practice not unfrequently occasions delay in such letters reaching their rightful owners. In all cases, however well the firm may be known, it is most essential, to insure their correct delivery, that the street or locality in which they reside, and the number of the house, should form a portion of the address. Many of these circulars are prepared with great care and considerable expense: yet they are so carelessly directed that not more than one-half of them ever reach their place of destination, simply because that place is not designated.

There is another matter to which we would call the attention of merchants and others, and that is, to be very careful in putting postal currency on their letters, and not revenue-stamps.

This carelessness on the part of those forwarding letters has led to much loss and inconvenience, and if persisted in they cannot blame the department, which has from time to time called public attention to the fact. Some put on their letters revenue-stamps, others no stamp at all; and in many instances letters of importance have thus lain in the office until the parties have received through the dead-letter office information of their whereabouts.

_UNMAILABLE LETTERS._

“Letters attempted to be sent with stamps previously used or stamps cut from stamped envelopes.

“Unpaid letters for foreign countries, on which prepayment is required by the regulations.

“Letters not addressed, or so badly addressed that their destination cannot be known.

“Letters misdirected to places where there are no post-offices.”

It will be here seen that the government is not responsible for the ignorance and stupidity of all epistolarians.

In some instances, however, postmasters are to blame in not paying more attention to the mode of stamping letters.

The examination of dead-letters discloses much carelessness on the part of postmasters in post-marking letters, and also in cancelling postage-stamps.

The latter clause of the regulations of 1859, section 397, is repealed, and the use of the office-rating or post-marking stamp as a cancelling instrument is positively prohibited, inasmuch as the post-mark, when impressed on the postage-stamp, is usually indistinct, and the cancellation effected thereby is imperfect. The postage-stamp must, therefore, be effectually cancelled with a separate instrument.

Special attention is directed to the duty imposed upon postmasters by Regulation 396, which is as follows:—

“If the cancelling has been omitted on the mailing of the letter, packet, or parcel, or if the cancellation be incomplete, the postmaster at the office of delivery will cancel the stamp in the manner directed, and forthwith report the delinquent postmaster to the postmaster-general, as the law requires.”

_ADDRESSES SHOULD BE LEGIBLE AND COMPLETE._

We have under other heads alluded to the carelessness of persons in addressing their letters. To make them legible and complete, give the name of the post-town, and if there be more than one town of that name, or if the post-town is not well known, be careful in giving the name of the county, which in all cases is as essential as that of the State. The number of the house, too, if in a street, is a great assistance. It must not be supposed that because a letter will eventually reach its destination without a number, the omission is not a cause of hesitation and delay in the process of sorting for delivery; and when such small delays occur again and again, they tend greatly to retard the general distribution. In the case of letters for places abroad, the name of the _country_, as well as the town or city, should be given in full. Attention to this latter precaution will often assist in deciphering the name of the town or city, and will prevent the letter from being mis-sent when there are towns of the same name in different countries.

The following is an expressive lesson:—

A gentleman posted a letter containing drafts, checks, &c., to a well-known New York house. Its failure to arrive at the proper destination, of course, created great anxiety, and all the ordinary and some extraordinary means were employed to head off any attempt by the “mail-robber” to negotiate the “stolen” remittances. Journeys were made to and fro between the mailing point and the Empire City, the newspapers were liberally patronized with notices of “stolen from the mail,” circulars descriptive of the lost enclosure abounded,—all at an aggregate expense, according to confession, of over one hundred dollars.

During this short season of precaution and excitement, the letter in question had been making the official acquaintance of the worthy postmaster of New Haven, Connecticut, and that of his clerks, then, under the rule, skipping off to shake hands with our friends of the dead-letter office, and from thence finding its way back to the writer, who says he “never before did such a stupid thing as to write New Haven, Ct., instead of New York, N.Y.”

_A LAW TO BE REPEALED._

It is only necessary to give this section of the postal law to show its inconsistency and the necessity of its repeal (Section 131, Printed Regulations, 1859):—

“_Bonâ fide_ subscribers to weekly newspapers can receive the same free of postage, if they reside in the county in which the paper is printed and published, even if the office to which the paper is sent is without the county, provided it is the office at which they regularly receive their mail-matter.”

In justice, however, to many publishers, who look upon the law as too _liberal_, they disdain taking advantage of it.[52]

_POSTAGE ON TRANSIENT PRINTED MATTER._

Books not over 4 ounces in weight, to one address 4 cts.
” over 4 ounces and not over 8 ounces 8 ”
” over 8 ounces and not over 12 ounces 12 ”
” over 12 ounces and not over 16 ounces 16 ”
Circulars not exceeding three in number, to one
address 2 ”
” over three and not over six 4 ”
” over six and not over nine 6 ”
” over nine and not exceeding twelve 8 ”

Persons anxious to possess a general knowledge of the post-office laws, rules, and regulations are referred to “Appleton’s United States Postal Guide,” published quarterly, by the authority of the postmaster-general, New York. It contains the chief regulations of the post-office, and a complete list of post-offices throughout the United States, &c. The following accompanies each number:—

“WASHINGTON, D.C., ———, 1865.

“This volume has been prepared with my sanction, and is an
authorized medium of information between the post-office
department and the public.

“POSTMASTER-GENERAL.”

_NEWSPAPERS, EXCHANGES, ETC._

“Gazettes sent gratis down and franked,
For which thy patron’s weekly thanked.”

The question of the right to send and receive letters and packets through the mail free of postage is not denied, for it is so expressly stated in the “Laws and Regulations of the Post-Office Department,” chap. xviii. sect. 228. It is viewed in the light of “personal privileges,” or as an official trust for the maintenance of official correspondence. In both its forms the right varies in respect to different classes of officers and individuals, in the kind as well as weight of matters which may be so sent or received. An interchange between publishers of pamphlets, periodicals, magazines, and newspapers of their respective publications is allowed for the purpose of promoting the dissemination of this kind of information, of which they are the vehicles. This is the head and front of the franking privilege, nothing more, but should be considerably less.

“There are many other channels of knowledge, and of very important knowledge, too, which are not privileged. Newspapers are daily or weekly letters, written to a number of persons at once. They may be good or bad, sound or vicious, as any other letters; and the intensity of their action is increased by the multiplying process of printing. This action may be good or bad: if, therefore, the community is believed to stand in want of newspapers, as we certainly believe it does in a very great variety of ways, it is already going very far to grant them the privilege of a greatly-reduced rate of postage [1841].”[53]

Since the above was written, these rates have been reduced to almost a nominal value. Indeed, we cannot see any reasonable objection to be made for such exchange, both as regards the franking privilege and the postage on exchange-newspapers. Patriotism on the part of those claiming the right of the first would induce them to forego it, while those who enjoy the latter should remember that, as they derive profit from their labor, the government should not be the sufferer in consequence. Upon this subject we consider the following article from the very able report of Postmaster Joseph Holt in 1859 as containing the best and the most forcible arguments that can be used to correct what we consider more in the light of an error than that of an abuse. The press of our country is too enlightened to persist in claiming a privilege that militates against the financial interest of the government; and we feel assured that, if the subject is properly brought before them, they will readily conform to any law that may be established to correct the error or do away with an abuse.

(From the Report of the Postmaster-General.)

“POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT, 1859.

“The act of 1825 authorized ‘every printer of newspapers to send one paper to each and every other printer of newspapers within the United States free of postage,’ and such is the existing law. However slight the support which this statute may seem to give to publishers, it imposes in the aggregate a heavy and unjust burden on the department. The advantage thus conferred inures to the benefit alike of the publisher who sends and of him who receives the paper in exchange. I have in vain sought for any satisfactory explanation of the policy indicated by this provision. It seems far more exceptionable than the franking privilege, since the latter professes to be exercised on behalf of the public, whereas the exemption secured by the former is enjoyed wholly in advancement of a private and personal interest. The newspapers received in exchange by the journalist are, in the parlance of commerce, his stock in trade. From their columns he gathers materials for his own, and thus makes the same business use of them that the merchant does of his goods, or the mechanic of the raw material which he proposes to manufacture into fabrics. But as the government transports nothing free of charge to the farmer, the merchant, or the mechanic, to enable them to prosecute successfully and economically their respective pursuits, why shall it do so for the journalist? If the latter can rightfully claim that his newspapers shall be thus delivered to him at the public expense, why may he not also claim that his stationery and his type, and indeed every thing which enters into the preparation of the sheets he issues as his means of living, be delivered to him on the same terms? It has been urged, I am aware, that postage on newspaper exchanges would be a tax on the dissemination of knowledge; but so is the postage which the farmer, merchant, and mechanic pay on the newspapers for which they subscribe, a tax on the dissemination of knowledge, and yet it is paid by them uncomplainingly. If it be insisted that the publishers of newspapers, as a class, are in such a condition as to entitle them to demand the aid of the public funds, it may be safely answered that such an assumption is wholly unwarranted. Journalism in the United States rests upon the broadest and deepest foundations, and is running a career far more brilliant and prosperous than in any other nation of the world. The exceedingly reduced rates at which its issues pass through the mails secure to it advantages enjoyed under no other government. Under the fostering care of the free spirit of the age, it has now become an institution in itself in this country, and controls the tides of the restless ocean of public opinion with almost resistless sway. It is the _avant-courier_ of the genius of our institutions, and is everywhere the advocate of progress and of the highest and noblest forms of human freedom. Is it not, therefore, to the last degree unseemly, if not worse, that in its own enterprises, and in furtherance of its own pecuniary interests, it should claim permission to violate habitually a great principle of which it is the constant advocate, and which underlies our whole political system,—the principle of equal rights to all and special privileges to none? If, however, from the grandeur and beneficence of its mission, the press is to be excepted from the operation of this wholesome democratic doctrine, and is to be subsidized to the extent of its postages by the government, then undeniably such subsidy should be contributed from the common treasury, instead of being imposed, as at present, on the oppressed revenues of the post-office department, which, under all circumstances, should be maintained inviolate.

“Into the same category, but for more cogent reasons, must fall that class of weekly newspapers which the statute of 1852 requires shall be delivered free of postage to all subscribers residing within the limits of the county in which they are published. This requisition is less sound on the score of principle than even the discrimination in favor of the press. There may be something in the characteristics of the latter—ennobled as it is as the organ of the intellect and heart of millions of freemen—which might induce many to grant to it special and distinguishing immunities; but why a citizen who chances to reside on one side of a county line shall be exempted from a postage on his newspaper, which his neighbor on the other side of that line is obliged to pay on the same paper, surpasses my comprehension.”

_LETTER ADDRESSES._[54]

To Nathaniel K. Latting this letter I write,
With the hope that the contents his mind may delight.
If it don’t make him good, it can’t do him evil,
For it comes from a friend, and not from the d—l.
In Mount Vernon village, New York State,
He works for his daddy, both early and late.

To Miss J. E. Peck this letter is sent,
To be read by herself it only is meant.
In “Sandy Hook,” Conn., she leads a gay life,
Where Yankees make nutmegs and hams with a knife.

P. M., this letter cannot wait,
To Burlington County send it straight.
To Jos. Wright this message give,
Who in Medford, New Jersey, himself doth live;
At least he did six months ago,
And still does if the _draft_ or the _small-pox_ has not laid him low.
If he is alive he will read this letter,
And if he is dead so much the better.

Over the plain and over the level,
Carry this letter like the Devil;
Let it not stop for flood or fire,
Until it reaches Bill Crawl, Esquire.

To Lexington, Sanilac Co.,
Oh, swiftly, swiftly let me go,
To cheer the heart, or cloud the brow,
Of Mrs. Anna M. Monro.

Mich.

Mr. James Smith, Fort Wayne,
Antwerp, Ohio, in care of William
Herring, Cayuaga Co., N.Y.

To Mrs. Jane Gleason send this away;
Please send it off without delay
To Ripleyville P. O., if it goes aright;
She will surely get it on Thursday night,
In Huron county, Ohio State:
There she lives, or did of late.
Send it in haste, it will give her joy,
For she wants to hear from her soldier boy.

To John Gillespiee
Camp. Cade.
Dell. A Ware. Pa.

Meaning Camp Cadwalader.

To Peter Smith
1209 Cartridge St.
3. Este. Av.
near 3 Esher.

Mr. Isaac Bakerson
Cam. Cal. Walter
Ner. Filladelphy
R. 2 1 N. E.

To Phil. Monitze
n care of mister John dick
filladelfy. Kensession. America.

To My Mother—
America

Connected with this letter is the following incident: it fortunately came to Philadelphia, and, of course, from its superscription was placed apart to find its way to the dead-letter-office. One day a poor Irishwoman came to the window and asked for a letter from her son, giving no name. The simplicity of the question struck the clerk, and the letter addressed “To My Mother” flashed upon his mind. He turned to the case and selected the letter.

“Where does your son reside? what part of Ireland?”

“Belfast, sir.” Belfast was the post-mark.

“What is his name?”

“Patrick McLaughlan.”

“Open that letter,” handing her the one in question. She did so, and, casting her eyes on the signature, exclaimed, “From my son! from my boy!” Sure enough, there was the name,—Patrick McLaughlan.

The clerk gave her some instructions for future correspondence which probably proved of advantage to her.

Somebody sent a newspaper through the mails the other day directed as follows: “To Honest Father Abraham, God bless him, Washington, D. C.”

The following is a literal copy of the superscription of a registered letter received from Ireland, written, strange as it may seem, in a “clerkly hand”:—

To this letter I pray attend
To A lady Late of Ireland
To the maiden’s name ascribe the thing
To Late miss Eliza King
To get success in your routes
Take this to america or thereabouts.

The Army is the tightest place
I ever did get into,
I cannot pay the freight on this,
Although I really want to;
I’ve “nary red,” but five months due—
Don’t think it’s “on the level”—
Postmaster, you may send this through,
Or chuck it to the d—l.

To Patrick Larkin who moved to his brothers at Adamsville in haste to the care of Bernard Larkin State of Penlyva.

To Albert Walker, an awful talker,
Who lives in Salina—you won’t find a meaner
If you travel all day through the State of I-O-A.

My fair is paid in postel rate,
To Kingston Township, New York State,
To Frederick Johnston, from a friend in Troy,
’Tis how are you, my conscript boy?

To a Mr. Service this letter I write,
And I’ll start across the plains to night;
For the over-land mail is now running through
Down the South Platte, and across the Big Blue,
The Sioux, and the Cheyennes, have failed in their plan
To stop the mail of Old Uncle Sam,
And over the plains, I now can go straight,
To the Old Quaker City, and the Keystone State.

Across the river quickly send me,
In doing so do not rend me,
Take me to Gussie Wurderman,
Carry me quick and do it well,
Or Corney Walborn will catch——_rats!_

To Sxl2 Thes. Johnes
Haile Alley towne. Des.
Unetede Stateese.
Pencil.

_Deth, in hast._

We doubt if this letter ever reached its destination.

It is somewhere along the Jersey shore
Thirty miles belong long branch and more,
For if this should fail to set you right
Its about 28 miles above Barnegets light.

To Miss ——————————————x.

To Jno. Tripler
Ridge avenue
Deap Pot.
Sleep Eaves
Phila

To John Jones, a laboring man
This letter must go if e’er so lucky
He shoes can make, and leather tan
In Lexington town, in old Kentucky.

If the Postmaster knows an alley
In the city, called—Vandally
No 10—this letter, may by chance
Reach the sight of Mary Hance.

To Patric Gonegan
Pisin road, South Work
Knavee yarde, or theire somware
filedelphirea

John Shmeet
Shermummerbauner Roth
began Wester
And Jamphen St.

A literal translation, after much study of the dead languages, the following was the result:—

John Smith
Germantown Road
Between Master & Thompson

Ns Duniel
lesunt Yost
nrpfflen pliladelpha
Pa in Ceuse ob
obed
Eas make

All Greek to the clerks.

Gasnot Hill
Hoss Spittall, for
Mrs. C. Gellengham.

For Dan, that was
In Smith’s Store.

No other direction.

In care of mister John Dick
filladelfy
King’s Sessions, mericai

The “New York Tribune” gives the following amusing addresses, in rhyme and otherwise, that have passed through the post-office in that city:—

To be forwarded to
Margaret Flynn
and from you Margaret
to your brother Jack
and Sister Honora
Sister Ellen and Michael
In care of Mr. Wm. H. Baldwin E. S. K, America.

Another:—

To John Barry, if living,
but if not, to his wife, or some of the children if living, and if
not to some respectable neighbor.

Speed on little missive to Marble Head,
And find old Joe Sweet either living or dead,
If he’s living of course he’ll read this letter
But if he’s dead why all the better.

MASS.

Swift as the dawn your course pursue
Let nought your speed restrain
Until you meet Miss Mary Drew
In Newfield State of Maine.

Here is a lucid address, which speaks for itself:—

Thimothe O flanigan
State of Masekeivitts
or elswhare.

The geographical knowledge of the gentleman who penned the following was somewhat extensive:—

To Mr barthol owen
Kelly, O’s tate
Rhode Island
Connecticut.

The following reminds us of the innocent country-girl who said she had an uncle living between the Battery and Central Park:—

Bridget Ware
New York, 29
New York City
22 America.

Who can tell of the whereabouts of Miss Foster?

Miss Louise Foster 36th street _some
wheres_ Penny Post please deliver.

The following is encouraging to the postman:—

To Mike Donovan
or to his cousin Eliza Mac Farrelly.
Postman will find him by findin Betsy Brennen who was engaged to
Mike before they left Ireland and may be married.

Mr. Ford must be a well-known individual in Maine, else he never received the following letter:—

Mr. Henry Ford
who lives in the same place in the
State of Maine.

An amusing postscript to a postmaster:—

P. S.—Please give this letter to the man what’s _got a sow_
in my barn, as he wants to get away.

In Byberry Township, near the mill
And in a house upon the hill,
Lives a young lady in the same
Miss ——x she calls her name
Below the House on Comly’s lot
A son of Vulcan has a shop
Now Ross, I know, you’ll oblige the fair
Just have the kindness to send it there.

To Leughellyn Weintz
Pass. yhunk Rode
Below Tom Pitchers bar Room
who selles most infurnell bad
whiskee—Southwerke,

Philadelphy.

_THE MONEY-ORDER SYSTEM._

The money-order system, which in England is so popular, has partly failed here. It went into operation on the 1st of November, 1864, under circumstances which promised a decided success. The amount to which the law limited the order-system was not less than one dollar, and not more than thirty dollars. This was to accommodate a certain class of people, and at the same time test the utility of the system for the purpose of hereafter creating a more extensive operation of the principle and also increasing the amount of money sent.