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296 NATIONAL POLITICS I 9 I 8 I 9 2 2
produced credentials! Following the investigation, three lesser officials of the New York Post Office were suspended for dereliction of duty in failing to carry out regulations.
Other robberies in Detroit, Paxton, and Kansas City made it evident that still more stringent measures had to be taken. In Detroit a horsedrawn wagon was robbed. In a Kansas City train-robbery attempt an express messenger was robbed and wounded by two bandits. In Paxton, Illinois, six train robbers equipped with everything from gas bombs to automobiles made good their escape after robbing the mail car on a trestle. The conduct of the mail clerks on that train presented a supreme example of loyalty: at the risk of their lives, they refused to open the locked doors of their mail car until they were literally blasted away. The robbers blew open the safe, removed the entire contents, burned about a ton of mail, and showed remarkably accurate knowledge in sorting out registered-mail sacks. The only trace left was a sack of registered mail containing $100,000 dropped by the bandits as they made their escape.
To discourage further attempts, one other drastic measure, which brought various reactions, was resorted to. On November 8, 1921, at my request, a thousand marines were called into the service of the Post Office Department. This action was taken after Cabinet consultation at a meeting where nothing but the robberies was discussed. The plan was supported by all the Cabinet members, who also agreed with my suggestion that we use the marines until the Post Office Department had trained its own armed guard. I then consulted with Major General John A. Lejeune, marine commander, and Secretary of the Navy Denby made a special address to the marine contingent being assigned to their new duties.
Three days later, sixty-five marines reported to Postmaster Morgan in New York. At the same time, the "leathernecks" were sent out all over the country, and armored cars were assigned to post offices in many cities. These were bulletproof and each was guarded by three marines, two stationed inside each truck to guard the registered mail, and a third with the driver. Each truck was equipped with sirens which could be heard for blocks; the driver could send an alarm by a foot control, while a marine in the truck could use a push button. Shipments of registered mail were segregated to ensure greater safety.
The reaction to enlisting the aid of marines was varied, but most newspapers considered it a necessary evil. A small western newspaper got the right idea when it editorialized:
Robbing the mails is not only an action against the government of this nation, but it is a direct violation of an important sort of security of every law-abiding citizen in the United States. More than any other institution, the post office is the property of all the people.