Show I How Love Aided Thief 1 Chicago Tribute Ever visit a penitentiary asked John Ford one evening when after fter a a I week of failure I found him hii hl in his rooms No Well Wel I was Just j st think thinking thinking ing about them If I you jU go to a a peni penitentiary and talk with the prisoners prisoner about of ot them will wi assure you ou that they are innocent and much wronged men Yes I laughed Ive Ive heard that tory story stor Prisons are crowded full tul of In Innocent Innocent Innocent men muon menI I wonder mused John ohn Ford how many of them tell tel the truth I almost believe beleve that when a crime crim is I com corn committed commUted mUted the chances of an Innocent man I suffering are as great geat as that the guilty gUy gUyman man will vill wI suffer suter Ford was unusually serious It was strange for him to talk blk in that strain and I knew there was a story stOr coming although the point was vas as not plain The United States government send innocent men up he added slowly If the federal federl officials worked as rapidly and with wih the th short snap Judgment of the tue city police or detectives there would be another in Sn innocent Innocent man in ii prison pretty soon The government insists on getting positive evidence before acting and that fact served sered an innocent man What wah wan the case I asked Nothing N has been printed about it ity yet y t said Ford shortly sport I just com corn completed completed I the tho Investigation It I was a case of tampering with wit the malls mails mals I About ten days ago Judson Co Coa Coa a big publishing firm fir with wih a mall mail mal or order order order der department which occupies the seventh floor of the Tyrone bullying sent for me Important letters leters con containing cont tamIng t drafts drafs money maney orders In many cases stamps and In a few money moneys had disappeared All AU the letters leters that had disappeared were in the outgoing mail mal which made the case an unusual one Thefts of Incoming mall mail mal containing money occur frequently Mail Hail Mal boxes are robbed sometimes letter leter carriers and clerks cerk tamper with wih mall but the sure punishment by the federal federl gov governments governments governments makes the postal service serice the most honest in our nation naton You know crooks dread the federal federl government while laughing at state and city of officials and laws Judson Co do rather a peculiar business a sort of cheap graft aimed especially at the small smal town and aini coun try tr The nature of their business makes it I necessary for them to send cash cah and stamps In many instances in instead instead instead stead of checks or drafts The amounts are arc not large the majority ranging below 31 1 The firm which is careless creless to the extreme frequently In closed 1 bills bis or even 5 bills bUs in lr let tern ter It I had a a sort of prize scheme sch me which had the farmers going The grand prize each week was the second prize 50 there were three prizes of 10 ten of 5 and fifty fity of 1 each These Thee prizes were awarded award d each Thursday and the money was sent out outon outon outon on the following Wednesday All Al prizes above 1 were paid in gold at first and the 1 prizes were paid in crisp new bills bUs About ten weeks ago every prize disappeared between the office and the winner Of the 20 only two of the 1 prizes reached the winner The firm fir began to receive complaints immediately immedi and started an investigation Mr lIr Garden the of the company companY and Miss Springer a ste stenographer stenographer stenographer awarded the prizes wrote the letters leters and the money rte in boxes and envelopes Miss Springer herself hersel carried carrl d the little boxes in which the gold was to the mail mal chute on the seventh floor foor ind md dropped them in George Howard an office boy by car carried ned ried red the letters leters out to the chute and he and Miss Springer stood at the chute and talked while he dropped the letters leters In Both were positive they mailed every ever prize It I was plain that the letters leters had disappeared after leaving the office offie so the postal officials were notified and began an Investigation Meantime an another another another other batch of prize winning letters were sent out and the grand prize and nearly nearl half the others It was four or five days da s before this fact I became known them the 1 the winners be gan to complain and the firm was in a quandary To 10 o refuse to pay again meant the destruction of the entire entre scheme and yet jet having once paid Judson was sore He called on the postoffice Inspector and kicked long and loud The inspector meantime had He had traced the Judson let back from the houses of the win ners Not one had been received It was certain they had not been handled I In the Chicago office The Tue mail mal car rier who collected colle ted the mall mail mal from the big box in the Tyrone building was placed under surveillance and the case rested Now for five weeks the greater part of the prize money sent out by Judson Co disappeared Some of them let Jet and boxes were received at the postoffice and handled regularly The rest simply disappeared Every move of the collector was watched He was entirely unconscious of this fact and no trace of any am crooked move could be detected He was watched he took te tie e letters Jeters from the man mall box and from the time he lifted Ut d his bag into his wagon through four our more buildings to the office It I appeared certain he had hadnot hadnot hadnot not tampered with wih or dropped or even cven examined any of the closely Furthermore no letters from any other building disappeared along his route Judson called caled on an a the postoffice In Inspector Inspector inspector after ater five batches of prizes had disappeared wholly or In part He simply raised Cain and told the In Inspector Inspector inspector the whole department was a bunch of thieves In return the tor Informed Judson that he believed the firm fr of Judson Co was crooked and Ind that as the never had been delivered into the hands banda of ot the United States government he lie thought the en tire tre scheme was one of Judson Cos efforts to escape paying the prizes He HE even threatened to investigate the he firm for alleged misuse of the malls mals Then hen Judson sent for me I i like his business because the whole ob i jeet jet was to fleece feece people legally of I course coure but not morally morly straight straight I I examined everybody In jils office Gar I Iden den the was the first man nan to come under suspicion In one day ay I r discovered that he had been gambling and imd that he was wag a sport and a high roller roler Also I r saw him him stop the mall mal collector In lq 11 the lobby and engage him In conversation for a mo moment moment ment mentI ment I suggested to Judson that day lay that he mark all au al the bills bIs sent out Ive Ive tried that said Judson And that week not a letter leter was touched I began to suspect that Garden was tipping things off of to the tho collector and advising him as to the moves s in lh the theoffice theoffice office Also I learned that Garden had Jots of money on Friday when w en he ha was wa broko broke on Wednesday and Thursday v Change Chang the day of sending sanding out ut the t h e prizes I advised Judson He did so soI sor soI I r den remained In the office talking to Gay Gar My lIy God Ford Garden Gard n said to i fe ne Judson suspects me inc of this business I see it i He has you hers here her watching me I r i want you to see me put in every prize and man mall them them I won about play ing poker last week week and flashed fahe the money around the office the day dy after the mall mail mal was robbed That made It look bad Im Im not a saint but Ford FordI I never stole a cent in my life ue and I cant stand this I soothed Garden I told him he e ought not to object to any effort efort at clearing up the mystery If It he was In Innocent Innocent I took the bundle of ot letters Jetters from Garden called Judson and told him to man mall the letters in person Then I went down stairs and watched I saw several bunches of ot letters leters come comedown comedown comedown down the mail mal chute Half an hour later the collector came He took every ver letter from the box put them in his sack rack ack and was starting away when I stopped him and showed him a permit from froth the inspector to look over his mail mal He Hc turned pale trembled and nd then grew angry ang He declared he was not a thief and an that he stand for it It The evidence against Garden and the collector looked pretty fair Both their actions and the circumstances in indicated Indicated Indicated guilt guit I examined the letters leterS and discovered that out of of letters leter were missing They had disappeared be between between I tween the seventh floor foor and the ground If I Judson dropped them all al in inThe inThe The new now development knocked all al my theories a twister I told the mall mallman mal mallman man his innocence innocenc was practically proved ing and ordered him to say noth nothing nothing Then I took the elevator and went back to Judson During the day I Imade Imade Imade made a thorough canvass of all aU the offices in the building The Tyrone building is filled with small smal concerns mainly publishing and literary novelty novely companies From the first floor foor to thC th fourth everything was all al right From the fourth to the ninth which is the top every ever firm fr had complaints of miss missing mis missing ing letters leters That hat confirmed my theory theor that while the thieves were after prizes they were being forced to examine the mall mail mal of ot other firms to make mako sure sur The mail mal was disappearing below the he third floor that much was certain certIn I waited until the closed that offices ofes were night nigh and tackled the te Job The mail mal chute was a regular one built bui of glass glas and metal The heavy hevy glass formed the th four sides and the metal held the cor corners corners corners ners During the te evening I examined the mail mal chute from the first to the fourth floor foor and then the whole thing became beeme plain The following day I called caled Judson out of his office and said Judson weve practically got a cinch on that that mail mal carrier calier Walt Wait Wal until unU tomorrow and ad send out the pris Irl s as usual usual Well Wel trap him at the next alley I said it I loud enough for every ever one I in the tho office to hear About five min minutes mm Ii i utes later Miss Springer put on her hat and went scent out to lunch I ran rn downstairs and saw her come down in inthe Inthe the elevator talking earnestly for a moment with wih the elevator man That day da I spent Investigating Miss Springer I discovered that she was living at the same address as the ele elevator ele elevator vator man and ad that that although passing p as Miss Springer Springe at office she was known as Mrs McCabe at the house and McCabe was the elevator man Yesterday added Ford we sprung the trap The letters leters were given to Miss Springer to mail mal and Judson went to the malt mall chute to see her drop them in She waited pretending to blow her nose for tor half hal a a minute be before before fore for she dropped In the letters leter and then she commenced with wih the big prizes and followed with wih the small smal ones onesIn OI onesin S In tn bunches I 1 was hidden on the third thir floor foor watching the elevator which which was va stopped the third and fourth floors McCabe the th elevator man was ar arrested arrested arrested rested when he ran rn his car up to the ninth ninh floor foor and started across the hall hail hal Miss Springer was arrested the mo moment moment moment ment she started back to the office All Al the prize letters leters were found In Mc Cabes pockets pocket The scheme was so 50 simple It I was ridiculous McCabe had sawed a piece of glass out of the back of the mail m l chute at the fourth floor foor level so 10 he could push il it f and make It fall faU slant slantingly slantIngly slantingly across the chute thus filling mUng it I and diverting all aU the letters leters that came down the tue chute Into his elevator Then he would pull pul the glass back Into place hide the letters leters on the top floor foor home until Nady to B go off of duty and go He and his wife confessed every everything ever everything thing But I cant help thinking that Garden and the mall mail mal collector might have been convicted on the circum circumstantial evidence |