The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1889-03-24
MOTIVES OF KIBAlPERS.
Why Children are so Often Stolen
From Their Homes.
PeepIe Atsiicted With a Mental De-
arrangement which Prompts Them
20 the Commission Of tn. Crime
Csnrage Tribune

Csarago Tribune
WHY are children stolen Not many
OF them are kidnapped in the hope 81
pecuniary reward Cases OF this sort
such rs the Charley Ross abduction
are rare. Revenge may b. the motive
in exceptional instances, but usually
IL turns out that the parents Of thu
stolen child were utterly unknown q
the ahsiuctors. That the incentive i:
pure love for children and the de
sire 10 have child IS dlsproved BY the
fact that 8 times in 10 the stolen ons
Is wofuIly abused and lnalfreated
Probably the most satisfactory explain
alton IS that certain people are affected
by peculiar mental arrangement
which prompts them TO the commits
sion OF the crime without malice afore.
thought. Ii Is. in fact. child klepto
mania, although tins peculiar phase o.
mania has not been dignltied with 9
scientific name of its OWE in the book
Even this theory falls short when We
think of the numerous cases IN which,
without apparent motive. two or three
persons unite to do the stealing. They
cannot each be afflicted simultaneously
to such an exteut-
That child stolen by partially in
sane person should be inhumanly
treated is no canse for wonder; it ma
turaily follows that anyone with 50
distorted a sense of right and wrong
necessarily without q moiety OF love OF
feeling, would not be capable of tender
ness or even consideration
In 1916 child named Lambert was
stolen from her parents in Baltimore
by young woman, apparently sane,
purely because she wanted 1t to keep.
She was arrested few days later, and
the child was found mangled and
bleeding. and almost dead. The evil
denee showed that the child had been
maltreated "becausei wouldn't walk
fast enough
OF course there are many cases when
the abduction is due to abnormal love
and yearning, pure and simple. A
weli-knewn Judge the other day said !:
Last summer / sent nv family 10
England Ny little girl, years old,
being too young to stand the trip, was
placed in the care of friend of mine.
whose family consists of a wife and
one child. When the folks came back
in the autumn went TO get the child
but do YOU think he was willing TO
give her up? Not much. He said !:
I've had this child six months now.
and don't propose TO part with her.
You have large family and can just
as well spare that little girl as not.
Now. If you go to law about it and re-
cover the child, as ! suppose you can,
shall regard you as unworthy of re-
spect and will never speak to YOU as
long as live This from friend of
years standingl He was in earnest,
too. | ultimately got the child, but
my friend and are strangers yet.
Any mention of child stealing al
ways recalls the Charley Ross case. So
celebrated was the affair that now, six
teen years after, it has not to great
degree faded out of the popular mind,
though perhaps the details have.
Christian X. Ross lived in hand
some dwelling, isolated by large
yard, in Germantown, a Philadelphia
suburb. One July afternoon all OF the
family happened to be absent save two
young brothers, aged and years.
They were playing together in the
front street when two men drove up
in a covered wagon. One of the men
jumped out and addressed the little
boys, offered them candy, and finally
persuaded them to take ride. After
driving short distance the elder
brother was given some money and
sent on an GRAND for more candy. He
returned in few minutes, but the
wagon had DISAPPEARED, and Charley
Ross has not been seen TO this day
The crime was committed to extort a
ransom for the return of the child, but
the abductors' fear of capture was so
great that no agreement between them
and the father was ever successfully
carried ont. The search for the miss
ing child was pursued increasingly and
thoroughly. Prominent Philadel-
phians interested themselves in the
matter, and seemingly no stone was
left unturned. Countless trips were
made TO Europe; every gypsy camp in
the world was searched: the identity
of over 400 children was investigated.
but without avail. Two men were ia
tally shot while committing burglary
the following year, and while dying
confessed that they had stolen the
child, but did not divulge its where
abouts.
A third conspirator was subsequent
~ convicted of completely and SEN
fenced to long term in prison. pro-
testing his innocence. and denying all
knowledge of The affair. 1t is the pop
ular theory that the abduetors, at last
finding themselves close pressed, muir
dered the child. Mr.. Ross is living
down III Germantown. worn out.
heart-broken old man, but still hoping
on that some day, somehow, the little
fellow will come back--iittle no longer
but to his loving memory the same
sunny-faeed, goiden-haired boy OF l6
years ago.
Three years before the disappear
anee of the Ross boy, Freddie Leib, a
pretty little child of years, was
stolen in about the same manner at
Quincy. Ill. He was never recovered,
although the father impoverished him.
self in the search.
One OF she most mysterious eases OF
recent years was the stealing of Lille
Shafiner, n 14-months-old baby, in this
city about five years ago. The family
lived on WeSson street, and two older
children were wheeling the baby TO
and fro in front of the house. A
strange woman stopped, and after
playing with the baby moment gave
the other children some money To 90
buy candy. When they returned the
woman and child had disappeared. IL
was ascertained that she had boarded
a passing street car with the baby In
her arms. but that was the last ever
e