The Men Who Guard The Mails
Ifncle Sam has ? corps of detectives who ore among the Lost in the business. Tliey ore the U.S. postal
" inspectors. They work ft the country's oldest detective bureau. The postal inspection service has
existed continuously in some form or another since Benjamin Franklin's time. It has operated substan
tially in its present form since 1(75. It also has one of the highest batting averages. In some yeors,
postal inspectors convict 98 per cent of the culprits they toke to trial. Last year alone, their work
resulted in 49,000 convictions.
One of the postal inspection service's most effective weapons against criminals is its laboratory in
Washington. Here are cameras which can literally see through envelopes, the world's best files on inks
and typewriters and various other devices. All its equipment is designed to stop criminals who use the
moils to defraud or kill ? forgers, swindlers who fry to sell worthless stock, ptople who try to raisj
checks, murderers who send bombs and poisoned candy through the moil.
Here, we put the camera spotlight on the work in this highly effective laboratory.
Somple of (oil from ?hoe of suspoctod post offic*
burglar is romovod by Albort Somorford, director of
lab. Soil i> tested along with that^ found at scon*.
Toolt tuip*ct?d of hoving bean und in postoffic*
burglaries or* checked by making marks in soft wood
to compare with mwks on P.O. doers and windows,
Cordon Sfongohr compares typewriting in on onooymooi lottor com. Boob on toblo eon
to in* typo ?0?pi0? from ovary modol of ovoty mU of Aaorlcon ty powritor.
, ? \
Box recovered offer parcels pott theft it examined by Richard Caronneau, left, and Inspector M. W. Brown.
While Brown uttl magnifying glass, Caronneau treats surface with chemical vapor which brings out prints.
Laboratory director Albert Somerford shows how
blown-up samples of handwriting are used in court.
Suspected writing is compared with specimens of
handwriting of major known postal forgors. File has
pictures and writing of more than 1,000 forgers.
Laboratory ox port ? Richard Caronnoau, loft, and Gordon Stangohr study o ?toroo photograph of eountorfoit poi togo stamp.
This Wook*. PICTURE SHOW hy AP Staff Photogrophorf William Wh an* John Rout