l‘.".‘i—
. 1‘. . ._
; ....“ it}
a, MAJOR SAMUEL o. WYNNE.
‘ ChiefJCounty Detectives,
.
5 your ass'wialfon at
Philadelphia. ‘ .. '
DROP of mucilage was th'e ulti-
mate means of sending three
men to Jail in what was
probably the longest drawn out in-
vestigation in the history of the
United States Postal Inspel‘tion Ser-
vice. It was backed, of course, with
a. vast accumulation of other cir-
cumstantial evidence. But if the
thief 112111 lawn more careful in re-
scaling the flap ot; a. registered let-
ter Wlic‘a he had opened to cxixBCt .
arty dollarstlt is quite likely that
he could not have been convicted.
The case was started back in 1912.
\At that time I was a postal inspec-
tor at St. ‘Lmiis. 11551;:an to a
large district inclutlin': northeastern
Arkansas. in the low lamls lying
bm it of tin Mississnnni River levees
troulli» hml til‘Vt'il‘HlCrl in several
small <‘(ile’lllliliti('S. There were
shortups in money order amounts
and (Il‘uisiwnally 1'1-instcred letters
came tin-1:113:11 minus thv- funds
orlcinrdly plum 41 within them.
Th1 1m...- tii-st chosen for investi-
gation \\:1> r1111 lay a Woman post-
mlstrrss. t was in nit-Ll in :1 hamlet
(1.11! “as lllTll‘ more than '1 cluster
of Shiill’l4-S. To 5:11 there it was far
easier to trawl my motorboat, since
many of :11~- walls were inwndatcd
all the time. it 11ml; us tlire-c days
to go (v 2‘ fr»? lil‘llll‘y ortler accounts.
The i'll'l‘wllli! ul' business «lone W718
not m-' than $411; or $3051 :1 year.
Account: \wrv lo-pt in Cigar hoses
and t(-~.~»1l 122 1-1- and there about the
store. l1~1i :1f7ni' elm king up as far
as we L’ ‘zlrl tiiri'c proved slrrlages
0.31“; ,‘1 :mo -
he 111111.111 l1-11l (won in the habit
of lssllln; .ma-y vvrtlwrs to 1:1} for
her 511 1‘1- '- Tint hat] lmrn going
on for wunr years. The postal
autlmi'i 1“ 1H“l","1ed ”1!) S' fill!) from
htr tun acrimn and: lit :1 arroslt‘l her“
She; was tziml and in the face of
overwlaimiuc evidence acquitted.
Men of ill'v Giztrisrt were aWrse to
jailinz :1 ’-‘.'lili;ill even though they
rc-Ct-miizv-l livi' ttuilt.
‘Tllt' ruwzilv of the conviudon was
10115111.: :1 1?” vi of t‘r.1uds‘throughout
850, was
money
The postmaster was able to show
that the bag in which the $1, 000
letter was being: transported had.a
hole in it. The contention was that
fix livered without the
stumped. Sly efforts were made by
the postmaster and his clerks, who
were related to him, to insinuate that
' the boy carrying the mall might have
been responsible if there was a theft.
I was convinced that the boy was
. FRIDAY :AUGUST 25
I
service or course. He thought he
had baffled the Government, forget-
ting— —that its patierl'be is, without
limit. Lines of information were es-
tablished through .which we kept:
track or his‘ every movement. We
the le-ttvr ha} stunt-(l through. Mail
honest. I also {Ci t sure that the letter
knew at all times where he was em-
» time of day and he had inade some
’indirect inquiries as to my errand.
'whicn I evaded. .-
“See that tree down the street?"
he asked. I said Idid.
"Fellow shot there the other day "
expected any trouble on the fifty dollar
By the end of that time we had
proof that he had spent more'tban
the
money he said he' had at the time or
his dismissal; Other information also
and on the
his avowed income, ’plus all
had been obtained,
a
A. n
letter.
. -
and his clerk - to
possessions wan. rm” ,5“
with duplicate (1 pics (6 1
paid to show thr- ( x. . A.
Then we sprung 1T. .. ~
The postnlastcr V A A ‘1
any particular (1- ,-
Kdollar letter. Hy our;
with alibis and :A
thousand do’llar .1
' been somewhat r-:.:» '-
matter. We h:.-v.
time thorwhcn
came into his p11»
of its origin 2'1l .
tracted the fi {5' 1:» ‘
scaled it. “'0
the sender, i‘hrv r1111” _ r.
and had oblahu: i .-..: . ‘. »
used. - V I
The postmash :1 ~
but .1 plea of i;:::n
out that he re;<‘-'
shown by the r'
. ~j
rind
21:5 earnings.
her stamp on I?
is always
flaw of
inlil‘t’ni :11? ii
the emu 3:
“cry to 1133' .
a1 noun: of g '2-
::\‘»’O!"3
and
25211 no glue
‘3' on the tiny. l.. " " -
n1 icro :=
11);: 1.»? C.
110 Oil
and that sltowinz
of different Con
All of that r
the red 5.5.: h:13 Ln -: i-
{ht} rv;::rr;. .1121‘: it was up in us to "(‘1 ' M, . .~ ,, n i . _ .
stop 211-111. Elwvrral 0f the small was brought to the town partly on did not slip tlnough the title in the ployed. what he was coming and up- "Xg’tillinffmi-I:Oiw;;‘Jioxkix‘itm:olfdit gratitltlingf 1; begins 311:“th and the en clope had hm n In
tom. ,.,,.,;.ml,5,,...< (“mg m “1,. ,.0,,_ horse '11th and partly on a narrow bag. But for the pros~nt tlnre w. proximately what he was spending. and he. got it. Another man shot in One of t; 39g} t? trial.” . money extracted an ' :-
clnslon tlznl they mum cot away gauge railvxly. A boy carried it. nothing that could be done save to ‘ Umasignauy he went. away on the general store last week." that the hol: 31:12:15 :18 ”Ti: was SURIQd'_ In the ofhngg ' V.'\ $3
with any: 1111:. W" lam-Chm our Opera‘mg ‘1 him“ (”‘1' n” ”‘0 mnway' Chm“ “p on ”19 DOSUW‘MOF- trips. At such times he was always "Was he arrested?“ I asked. his chief detflnss 11:1 beg w mi 3:5 postmaster bungee] anufl '1 1:.»d
cmnlmim_:1:r.1i11:-t tho man in the 1" ““5 Show" that ”19 1103f “'35 “'Om Affidavits \VL‘X‘O rc-Juirvd from the followed. I suppose I made right "N01 50 you could notice it. We A microsc ; “L din en “the ' avsay tile fr'bmm glue. 5,, “I 1.8-
town :1.“,1-i11i1;'_' that where the in 1”“ 1‘”: "Y ”‘0 ror-lnng (if ”1'3 postmaster as to his. total property, trips into the back regions of the. don't 371‘351 'em here. We 51100! 'em Tthe jurors“; 1::tusei Lo :B‘Efe ' placed itV‘U‘th more. TIME: ‘1'.'-?11"3
woman l1 1i lawn in (barge A rccls— Ci" 8V“? all)“ TWO clerks 1“ 1h" the money 111: hail in bank and his levees «luring 1hr- yc—ar that followed and in ’cm Over to the» under- demonctr 1 an} In“ :3 a0 pressed down the Stamp 21": :1 “If;
terr-d '.I-'_Z- 1' had come lhmufrll with ofllce 5W0” ““11 the postmaster that sourci's of income. “'1‘, checked up on the discovery of the missing letter. taker.” K fall thL an; 2131-1311 e ter could not pedal to protect him If \ {'3
$1,000 “’1' " ““me WIND“ It ““3 ”‘9 10m"- hm} "m7” nached ”1“" ”mt ”TYNE-I}! I‘VC‘TS' possible source. Naturally I was recognized. I recall 1:1 spite of that we managed to rolled 23:}; mgnccretli‘altmovufal‘deubg capture the glue “.35 I r.
m-jvrir 1.. ;-\...:...‘1_’ primer a rot-tut ofllce. V Then we settled down to wait. The a conversation with an old fellow in keep pretty closely on the trail of hardly likely to happen in“: bar 0: 33:62:12 “1": 2:11;”: c 1 ' '
2 11-14: 1 .7 .11 ' w ‘v 1. - -~ .i. - -._. . _' 7 , a . A 1 ventsc‘. r..:.~
or _, mi..i..,.:_k__- :1) ice, co 1:1 11111.. Apparent.) tht department “as man had bun dismi..scd fiom the one little town. We had passed the the (ix—postmaster for fully a year. mall. Affidavits or the postmaster jail,
NEW’ YORK, Saturday. 0 . ‘
, , . . , , citemcnt. Czech art is scarcely sed-
mzlii. is little in Hnnzu’s ap- I h 6 ISI 3 t 1 O n z i 1 I a 1 ...,Ve m 51.... ,9, It is exuber.
punrance to indicate the O a a r 1 O l I e e :12: joy‘ons Zagh unsubducd.
‘..\ v, . ...' , _,_ .w .' n
. . 111”“ mu! 0‘? his dim“? than we llill”tl fighting. Almost six tings. actors and costumes. That‘s ‘ith the grand forehead of 3 Shake- and the l ,l l. . . . hm ".15 “mm” .581“. Honza; W?
analnmcnts. 1113 features (Mtrvss vermin.“ 3:50 Bohemia came into its Ales." He polntf‘d to the picture spc'u-c. the a” round style 'o-f’wulsk- : . 80113.1 eyes and radiating tests and socml gatherings The 201.. c1..or. “e loxe red and 5.0: I.
good iumur rather than llitcl- gum,“ nun In 1348 the first uni- over the center of the arch, a face (rs "mo «Pd M. 1-r-“rcd €03 captains ,smduwrmklcs of a Santa Claus. _”He Austria was our Overlord, two Czech and blue and \iolet and vci
ligenctu The lips are of in nwrotis {Trsiw planned along modern lines .3 ~ ‘ ' ‘ v “as a‘great artist, Nikolas Ales. and patriots saw the op mimnitv in the at once: “'6: are not air: -
fullness .1111 w ar habitumv a “iii , was established in our capital city apauuot. ,He loved children and filing. , scattered socitxivs. 1111-9517”,— Tyro in; it exerywhere- On 1
bland 1:111:10: ”‘9 Chet'ks 8“? round 0f 1.1.3.7... ..ml that universitv is irated books for them. Do you see and Zindrich I‘uogner organized 3 homes the doorways ;. _ ,
and rosy. He seems ingenuous as a. ‘ ‘ ' ' ‘ .. the motto 3130‘? 1118 proscenium?" I great national gymnastic association set in plaster, are pain? . :11. 1;: ,‘
child, but there is a glint of native
shrer». ' «s lu-hilul lionzzt's twinkling
blue are that suggests a little of
the ri-r. interesting personality of
this (Extincuishvd Bohemian actor.
In attire Lie taste knows no reserve.
He d~'=:‘ri~4 in scarlet waistcoats.
green 11315 and many shiny buttons.
\thi l approached Honza with
my request for an interview he came
down from the peg on which he had
been banning and bowed with courtly
grace, though perhaps a. trifle wood- .
enly. "I had: thought of ‘Nriting up
my observations and comments in an
autobiography to be entitled 'Men‘mirl
of a )11rionette,’ " he said.
I hastenml to assure Honza that I
did not wish to lessen thgnalue of
his memoirs by any premature-dis-
closures, but that I desircd to pass
on to Hire public any information he
might be able to give me on New
Bohemia. which lies between Second
avenue and éhe East River in‘the
Ens: Sovvntics. Honza wagglcd his
head in consent—he mean; to nod,
but his head was slightly loose that
morning.
*F‘omething of History.
"I am a. Bohemian," said Honza.
'1 suppose. considering my: profes-
sion, you will say, “Naturally! But
hit-.15 is incorrect.
In justice to my native country I
will clear away this confusion of
terms lit-fore i‘xroceeding further.
When communication between the
countries of Europe was less fre-
duent than it is now, a great many
years rich. bands 15f gypsios wandered
into France from Bohemia and were
miscnllcd liohomians. From the
lunch] (liblnr'teristics of the zypsies
then, the popular idea of Bohemian-
ism is dull ed, and the term is ap-
plied to would be artists, opponent-
com ention people who live-bizarre
- irresponsible liven. .
2! these traits with the
ics of the .true Bohe-
zechs, as we are called in
sue. We Were origi-
ultural arid pastoral
to live the peaceful
"u did not love war-
pd needom more
still in opvraiion. A century before
Christendom was shaken by the Ger—
man Reformation John Huss of .80-
hemia stated his principles and paid
with his life.
"For more than a hundred years
we Czechs have been dominated by
the Austrians and Hungarians; we
were conquered, but not subdued.
Our books were suppressed. our lan-
guage was forbidden, our tyrants
used every means to root out the
tradition 0t freedom we had inher-
ited. But in all the country dis-
tricts the. old songs persisted, and
the old poetry, and the old legends
ofihe glory offlcur country.- Al—
ways we looked to the day of our
deliverance. Even I have played a
small part in keeping alivé that ‘
tradition of glory. I am only a per-
forming doll but I have played my
part."
Honza. grew pensive, and fell in-
to silence. Perhaps he was thinking
of the successful performance of the
last hour, when he had entertained
fifty delighted little New York Czechs
with his interpretation of the play
"Honza and the Dragon. "
The Old Woman Knew.
“These children," he said, “scarce-l
ly understand the significance of my
little theatre. But. did you see the
old woman who sat in the back row
with her grandchildren? She un-
derstoad. When she was a. girl in
Bohemia which was then a. subject V
province of Austria— ~Hungary, there
were no theaters for Czech plays.
The little traveling poppet shows
played only the hero tales and the
folk ieggnds which recalled our
Golden Age. Now the .old people
gather here at the Webster Branch
Library, at the Bohemian National
Hall on East Seventy-third street.
at the Lenox Hill Settlement and the
John Huss Neighborhood House to
renew their delight in the children’s
fairy tales We perform-
“This theater was designed- by
\Iikulas Ales " Honza spoke the
name or Ales with that tone or rev-
erence appropriate when naming
ones creator. He waved a. hand
toward dthe theater. "All designed by
» AleB—proscéiium arch. curtain, Mu.
......
wt
acknvwledgcd that I saw‘lt but could
not read it. Honza. translated: “1:7
says, 'TVe were and we will be!’ It
is. the same sentiment that. one
of our historians. .. Palacky, ex-
pressed: ‘We existed before Austria
and we shall exist after there will be .
no Austria: Thé prophecy has been
fulfilled." *~
Honza's enthusiasm was conta-
gious. Nevertheless I felt that we
were a long way from New York. so
I brought the conversation back
home. "After all." I suggested.
"while this is very interesting, it is‘
across the Atlantic. It has nothing
to do with Manhattan." The remark
was unfortunate. .
"It has to do with every individual
pf Czech blood in America!" he re-
plied. «"It was Austrian oppression
that skiinulated Czech emigration
earlyfiin the last century.. America
was our-land of refuge. But though-V
most'Czechs in this country no
American citizens by birth or natu-
ralization. we do not forget. our back-
ground. Those of us who were born
in Bohemia. under Austrian rule re—
Joicein the" freedom of our country
under its new name of Czecho-Slo-
' Tending f the Children.
l‘Ths iestabllshment ’ not Czechoé
Slovak independence in October, 1918.3
was a. stimulus to our people in all
countries. "Those who had forgotten
the glory or our land in'the customs
of... other lands remembered again.
They turned back to the. fresh, orig- '5
inal beauty of our native arts. Even
the sound of our'natlvo language,
and its rich literature seemed more M
beautiful than ever. 1 ’
“We do not want our children,
born in America, total-get their na- ..
ave stock? we think nieyfl'tvm’be
betterAmericans‘if they remember ,
CZecho-Slovakla. ' soon: have a school
idi- them mom.- Bohemian National .'
Hall. where the Czech lM‘gnage is
Soko
. "...!“
know about? our Sokoliy Well
BIB,
, , national tradition.
taughf. We bring them into our
‘paintfganddesignendnretx-ans-
with chapters in every district, and
they called it the Solid.
means ‘liaWk.’ Partly, the signifi-
cance had to do with the ideal of
alert, Well developed physique, but it
implied. too, constant watchfulness.
In the Sokols the young men of our
country and the children and the
women, too, were trained to physical
fitness. The scope of the society was
extended to include other activities.
Czech plays were presented and
Czech Operas and the folk music and
the dances of the peasants. And
when the time came for claiming our
freedom we'had thousands of strong
men physically equipped for the fight
and inspired with our national. ideals.
"Again you will say I am across
the Atlantic. But right here. in New
York we have two Sokol balls. “‘3
have splendid gymnasiums, and our
second generation Czech boys and
girls are as eager to 50in. in the
stren us gymnastic work as their
cousins back in Czecho—Slovakia.
They keep up the social activities or
the Sokol also;
beautiful operas in our own lan.
811.389. Every one sings—that is a
Everything ends
with a song—puppet plays. life size
plays, church services. dances. We
sing on every» occasion;
"The first Bohemian club in this
country Was organized in the group
which met at ‘Colonel’ Burgthal's sa-
loon, in 1850. ‘The old rendezvous
.' was at 14 City Hall, :and was cleared
away; to make room for the Munici-
pal Building. Most of the‘ early'so—
clal lifgjpt the Czechs in America
7' centered around saloons. Voltaire
.and Marx and Nietzsche were dis-
» cussedrover the lager, for we have
alwaysbeen'tree thinkers, and there
is Hussite blood in every Czech. -In
. our Soho! halls we have preserved
the atmosphere of these first social
clubs. The bars are still there, and"
.the little round tables, Where lunch
is served and N620 Yorsku Listy, one
, of our neWSpapers, is read, and inter-
national questions aré discussed."
“How well does the national art,
That name ,
We have presented
with arabesques of flows
and winding stems. San:
expected'little bunches of :
roses appear quite irrei-gx
under the eaves or in 3
around the foundations c; c.
Outside and inside the
adorned with the most
o v
mary colms and the hit us. 1... ..
taste.
"Strangely, the dc sing is are
ental in origin DE 11 {ht 03' Come
the Tartar im axiom? Or from 'l‘
or Benin, in the days of Moll...
dan aggr hssion? The win: «2- ~_-,-1 is
Ci 1sclya1hed 10 iii? (7.. 1 ...3
pattern. The 11: out of '2. in“;
1:.
is a \Crv cu: unit :1 ~ 1
East Indiin art.
of CZCC'l Lib
the Chimr‘" “‘
tif of U7: iota: ’
men one ill i "tl (. ‘3
—€
art. " 5
«m 1‘(}k5 Luck to the d‘i\'-'Il L’
1 1:11;“;
desi5.. .
tory to the great Ar\ an mi ..5
the 1
But though no llorrontd
me make them our man in . - - .
tion. We did not borrow -r...- and
blue and ivory and old {0513 at the
Persian designs. We spin. 1: the
walls of our homes with jg; uus
abandon in red. blue, green and
yellow. The colors would shriek :1
they were not so accurately um-
bined. As it is, their loudness is the
masterly crescendo of Sousa’s 1:111:53
band instead of the meaningless up-
roar of a football victory.
' A Recipe for Art.
"And there is marvellous beauty of
pattern, intricate twisted stems (lild
leaves and never a false curve no
unbalanced spaces and no overcroa 11‘
log. All is as carefully interlocked
“ .d to
mo-
w rv com-
-» I ”(13.171
, and fitted together as a mosaic. A
few - inherited conventional motifs.
an unrestricted imagination. and un-
erring judgment—there you have the
r’ecipe or 'CzachOrSlovak art. or
course a. thousand years’ develop-
ment is behind it;
"The Chechs in America have only
lately begun to realize the richness
01 their artistic inheritance. Go ova!
' to the John Huss church and neigh‘.
. box-hood house and you will seewlgal
I womave' done to perpetuate our our
42%.
CSOLVING A PosT s
OFFICE R0333...
Norwalk Chronicler