The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-07-24

target company or excursion party has its
band, while at the numerous parades of the
police force there is not even a drum to teach
them to keep step or to inspire them with
pride for their organization. Besides, the
baton might be better used in leading musi-
clans through the mazes of an overture or the
dashing measures Of a march than in crack
ing the skulls of inoffensve citizens.
The Philadelphia Kidnapping Case.
The Mayor of Philadelphia has at last
offered a reward for the arrest of the miscreants
who abducted the child Charley Ross, at Ger
mantOwn Fully twenty days had elapsed
before it seemed necessary to the authorities
to take any action. In the meantime, though
the Ednappers were in daily communication
with the parents of the child through the
General Post Office, the police have been with
out clew to the perpetrators of the offence.
man was arrested on general princi-
pies, but 1t in no way appears that he is
one of the criminals. Besides this nothing
whatever has been done, and, judging from
the past, it is not likely that anything will be
done, at least by Philadelphia detectives.
If we put aside all the pathetic aspects of
this case, and look at it simply as an offence
against the law and against humanity, the
perpetrators of which must be discovered
and punished, we are still sorely puzzled
at the circumstances which surround it,
child was stolen in the open day
and without Disguise The criminals
at once opened negotiations with the chld's
father for q ransom to be paid under circum-
stances which savored Of romance They pro-
fessed no fear of the police, and evidently felt
none The agonized parent at once sought to
raise the money, and, though embarrassed in
business he at last succeeded The kidnap-
pers have told him how it might be paid and
he receive his child back again to his arms.
But the ransom, SO far, has not been given
and it would be something akin to q crime
that it should be given. 1t would be a ter
rible thing if child stealing could be made
method Of blac kmal in this country. This
case in itself is terrible case, so terrible that
it is next to impossible. Of all crimes it is
the one most difficult to conceal even for
day. A child is hard thing to hide. To
hide child with the expectation Of receiving
a ransom in country like this looks like
madness Yet all this has happened in Phila-
delphia under the very eyes of the police,
and despite of force of detectives which
treats the matter with the vacancy ofimbecility.
The great fact of the case is its apparent
impossibility. This is the only real clew to
the perpetrators of the offence If there was
an adequate motive anywhere else for the
crime We would look elsewhere tor its per-
petrators than to some supposititious hdnap-
pers 1t is these kidnappers who are the I'M
known quantity in the case. They have
entered upon strange career of crime to say
the least of them, and they must be men with
a sincere and simple faith in the stupidity of
detectives, or they would never have entered
upon it. The mere crime Of kidnapping is
not uncommon. 1t has occurred in other
countries, and it has even occurred in this
country. The motive, which has sometimes
been in mere wantonness and in others in the
spirit of revenge, is generally the same as in
this Philadelphia case-extortion. But under
any circumstances the crime should not have
OOCh q yoVcAy AOA VWOAVy Nhyc' ~ WAOAAOVCA
committed the criminals ought to be known
and in the hands of justice At the outset an
efficient police administration could have
caused their arrest in twenty-four hours.
They appeared and disappeared SO often that
not only the men by whom the child was
stolen, but even the vehicle in which the little
one was carried off are described in Mayor
Stokley's proclamation. Unless it was the
reward the police we're waiting for the kid
nappers could not have successfully hidden the
child so long, according to that doctrine of
impossibllity which is always coming to the
surface in this case. The boy must be kept
within very short distance of the place
where he was stolen. That he should have
been kept SO long only argues the imbecility
of the Philadelphia police, and justiies the
success Of the kidnappers
If the required ransom is extorted from Mr..
Ross by the failure of the Philadelphia detec-
tives to discover the child and the perpetrators
of this fearful crime the stigma will rest upon
the city for many, many years. 1t is a re-
proach to civilized community that such an
offence should go unpublished because its per-
petrators could not be found. We may accept
the possibility of the crime, but we cannot
believe in the possibility of their escape As
we said in the beginning, the highest duty to
humanity requires the discovery and punish
ment of such heartless and fendish monsters.
No penalty, not even the death penalty, would
be too severe for such a crime. If the laws do
not provide for its adequate punishment they
must be made to provide for it. The penalty
must be as terrible as the offence. No
household must be agohizea by sufferings
such as those brought home 10 this Phi1adel-
phla household. And there is no need that it
ever shall be brought home to any other
household in tho land KidpopD /, mt .