The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1879-03-13
LAYTON'S MISSING BABY.
rOryD ON THE SIDEUdLK urn MS
LIP run or CRICkLRS.

Enable to Crawl, vet Abandoned nv It's Mother.
Hennmcd by the City Nurse. ana Identified
bvn WHITE Hood with Bimc silk Lining
It.r children were Almost starving. and
at was Hard to See thcm suffer"
At about noon ON Tuesday. as Officer Craig
the broadway police was patrollng Linden
street. in u suburban part of Brooklyn. he saw
arlump little child scented in the sun. on the
unuavcd sidewalk. close to a fence. The child.
alloy. was neatly dressed. and seemed wholly
content with its situation. 1t had crushed NY a
soln cracker between its fists and the cracker
dust surinklcd lis piuk dress. There were sew
crnl other sodn cruakcrs in its lap and the OIL
crr began 10 wonder whether this infant had
zone out in the world to seek its fortune. like
some very smnll boys he had known. who took
only candy and gingerbread for provisions.
He took the child w IN his arms to get 1t of the
damp ground. and waited nbout the block for
some time. momentarly expecting It's mother
10 come after il. After while. as no one came
10 claim the child. the officer began % mako in
qurics in the neighborhood. lie learned that a
woman about IS years Of age. had boon seen
begging in tho vicinity on that day and ON Mon
day with child in horarms. closely resembling
thr one Officer Craig had found. No zone knew
who the woman was and several said that she
did not seem TO be an habituh bcegar. She
spoke Of having moro children to support than
she knew how To- care for. and seemed To- be So
l,inga home for the one she had with her.
Tho officer after searching in vain for the
mother. took his infant charge to the police sta
ton Tho Sergeant the doorman. aud the on
Ger held "A consultation as TO It's age and finally
pronounced 1t TO be eight months old. 1ts de-
s'tption was then tclceraphcd To Police Central
Ollce. Then the child WIS sent to the City
Nurse. Mrs. Carroll In Middagh street. who a
few hours later sent il 10 the Kings County Muir
srry. in Fiatbush whore all stray children ~.
she Kept It's White hood and lis dress. To help TO
identity IL.
Win, namc "a it to be- entered in ?" said the
charity official 10 Mrs. Carroll whose duty it Is
70 name homeless children when they are taken
10 the Nursery.
She Thought minute and said. I'M name it
Daniel Powcrs-thats good name at least to
So the child entered the carnvansery Of babies
Al iU:2O T. w. on Tuesday. rs Superintendent
OF Police Campbell WIS sitting ia "a bon at the
Park Theatre, Detective L1uney knocked AZ the
door and handed the Superintendent tho fol-
lowing des patch:
Prom Sinh rreenct stephen Layton Of "a G2'c'
was taken from their aparim Mt. snco which ume mo-
tfacc 81 A. Ia. bccn Obtained Had nsh hair iuii acc
unable 10 walk or erawl"
The abduction Of n child. the police knew.
meant serious work for them and at once tire
telegraph was Put To work Ia alarm the whole
! r'e. ana Ia turn out all the Reserves in tho
nth Precinct To- inquire for any trace Of the
child. Mr.. Layton. Who H. % carpenter. told tho
police thut he went To work us usual On Vu,s-
day morn ng. and That when he returned IN the
evening his VIE. Matilda, told him that Just
before noon she went u butchers store 10 Ect
some provisions. and l"'t her children in the
house. and that James Edward. aged H. month :.
was missing when She returned. ana she thought
sgm,r one must have stolen him.:
We have three "hildrcn.' said LAYTON.
Inc pluf- Il II three tho il fifteen
months. ana the Youngest L. six months. The
on. that's gone was our only boy
Mrs. Layton showed much grief az times
when the police saw her. bur again she seemed
10 BE- more aEitated than grieVed. As She could
not give a wholly satisfactory account of the
baor disappearance. amt had not betrayed any
anxiety in the afternoon to search for IT, De-
tect.vr Murphy searched her house from cellar
y ghrr-i. ana ali OF me outhnu-cs about II.
Layton WIS as eager IN the search a- the de-
trctive Mrs. Layton denied that Sue knew any
Thing about the child. but Capt. leieh deter
mined to keep her clos, 40 hand until the mys-
terry WAS cleared up and he detained her in the
l. llc" station.
Between . and O'Clock Capt Dunno Of the
btpn4wav police t"legraphcd 10 Police lIcud-
quarters. calling attention 10 the dis 'overy OF
clnot. and which had been sent t. tine city
purse; Detectives Iundt and L'nury az p A.
VI. yesterday aroused the tty Nurse. tNp.uin.l
thr story OF tne alleged andu'tOn. AMI rcgt {,
her the prescription Of the missing chld. Mrs
Carroll thought her lit'e Daniel Powers wa- ~
other than the James Edward Layton whom th'
police were seeking. md sh" prudurei th'
pink dress and the white woollen hood iinrt
with blue silk. which She had kglt They were
gram WIS sent TO Capt. LEIGH o. ask Mrs Lay
ton what the child W. ON ii- head Mrs Inv
ton betrayed some excitement when tie Cap
tam turned from the Geographic instrumrn
AMI ASKED her the question. She said.
What was it lined with ?" asked the instru
mont,
The words white hood and blue silk illumi
nUird the whole mystery To- Supernt niru
tumpoell. and he arose 20 20 home. Mrs
Laytpn has confessed that she abandoned tn'
GMid.' wis parting message from Capt
When Mrs. LAYTON learned from tho question
nut to her that the police We're getting near 2
tn truth, she said g. Capt Lrirn; Now. !
confess everything 4nd with tcnrs she san
thoy sometimes almost starved; that they ha
three children. and 40 she could not purt Wit
the girls she determined 10 abandon the boy
hoping th9t some person would llck u up an
care for II better than she could. The child W.
weak in its limbs. being unable either to wal
or crawl. and sue ielt that II needed surgici
treatment. That morning. as the day WA
warm. she took the boy to spot in Iindr
street. between Bushwlck avenue ana Broad
way and lett 1t there. with some soda cracker.
30 iha; l. would not suii.r from hunger.
ot Mrs LAYTON was loo k;d up on charge G
OF age. When she WIS taken before Justic
senior yesterday morning she trembled wit
" This is n terrible charge" said the Justice
Yes said Mrs. Layton, but We We're p
very, very pOOr-Wr came near % Starvin
sometimes. | thought il was better L. hay
some one take my little boy 10 care for tina
that he should be starved with US or take til
TODD the hue girls needed. II was SO hard I
Dec them all suffer"
The Justice said that he would have to accer
"a" plea OF gun ~ from her If the case went of
and accordingly he postponed the exnminuti0
80 that he could inquire into the condition q
the family. Little james Edward Layton, an
der bis new name Of Daniel Powers was yet i
the Kings County Nursery yesterday
KIDVIppJD ny 4 mouIN IN RT1CG