As matters stand to-day, the man selling mining stock on a
fraudulent basis fears the Post Office Department much more than
he fears the District Attorney. That is the main protection which
the public has against such schemes. But to depend upon it is
like trying to stop Niagara with a dam of reeds. The man who
induces you to take your money out of the savings bank in
exchange for stock in a mine, through such operations as have
been described, thrives by reason of his use of the United States
mails. It is a mail-order business pure and simple.
Let us see what machinery the Government has to protect you and
prevent the letter-carrier from bringing daily to your door the
flamboyant literature intended to lure your money from the bank.
There are five hundred Post-Office inspectors employed in
watching Uncle Sam's mail wherever it is carried, in keeping the
vast and complicated machinery of the Post Office Department
oiled and working smoothly, in running down Post-Office robbers
and mail thieves and, lastly, in keeping the mail free from
frauds. Ninety per cent. of this force is required to do the
routine work of the inspecting branch; that is to keep the
machinery running smoothly and to prevent delays. That leaves
just ten per cent. for actual detective work such as is necessary
in running down thieves and in tracing frauds. In the New York
district, which comprises the state of New York as well as New
York City, there is a force of twenty-five men working under a
chief inspector. Of the ten men assigned to work in New York
City, by no means all have special detective ability, and the
time of these is taken up almost entirely in catching actual
thieves.