The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1897-10-28
STEALING LITTLE ONES.
An Industry Which Is Showing Signs
s< of Revival sE=s

i
of Revival
Away back in the dark ages when
civilization was slow in coming and
the barbarities of the vicious members.
of the human family made innocent
people shudder, there were organized
bands Of ruffans who made it a part
of their business to kidnap children
and sometimes grown persons, and.
hold them until various sums of mon-
ey were extorted from the agonized
parents or friends. Of course children
were their favorite prey, as they were
more easily kept and could not escape
without assistance Terrified into 81
lence, shut up in some interior apart
ment of building, or concealed in a
cave, many a child has dragged out
wretched existence, frightened, ne
elected and at last murdered or thrown
into dens of vice if the demands of the
kidnappers were not complied with.
Since the time when Charley Ross so
suddenly and mysteriously passed out
| of knowledge, but few attempts have
been made to disturb the quiet of
American households in this way. But
of late the disposition to extort money
| in this manner has seemed to be grow
ing, and, in spite of themselves, Am
| erican parents are feeling more or less
! concerned because of the dangers that.
menace their little ones. There is no
punishment severe enough for the VII
| lain who snatches child from the
heart of quiet and unsuspecting FAM
| lily. There is moral and emotional
phase to such an act that is by no
means met if the miserable wretch ends
his life at the hands of a Justly en-
ragged mob. There is that, however,
in the alertness of the American mind
that makes it somewhat difficult for
acts of this sort to go UNPUBLISHED. 1t
is not the easiest thing in the world
for men of the sort who do deeds of
this kind to escape detection. Such
things might have been possible when
the country was new and sparsely set
tied, and when there we're unbroken
forests an unexplored caverns all
about the great hills that environ
some of our eastern cities. But the
habit of observation is very strong in
the average Yankee, and any unusual
action or appearance is quite likely
to be observed or commented on. There
are towns in the vicinity of New York
City into which a stranger cannot 60
and lounge for six hours without the
, detective force is warned of it and
) knows his movements thoroughly. If
? | there is the least suspicious action or
: expression he is not free from espion-
e age as long as he remains. It is great
e ly to the credit of the men to whom
t the safety of these places is entrusted
i that they are rarely mistaken in their
l. estimation of the men they shadow.
In one town within six years not a mis-
take has been made, and dozens OF
stragglers have been apprehended and
either put behind the bars or given tt
= understand that in moving on was
- their only safety. In the case of the
- inquiry that if this scheme worked
!, satisfactorily other children were tc
be similarly captured and held unit
*1 money could be extorted from the par
~ ents. But the sudden coming to grie
Il of this effort has, it is hoped, shown thu
r. persons who contemplate such villain!
ID that the undertaking is altogether too
oe risky to pay. It is fact that ninety
in nine out of a hundred crimes are de
re tected and the criminals are punished
ed The hundredth escapes sometime
ir merely by fortunate circumstances, an
er sometimes because thorough siftin
Id reveals the fact that the criminal wa
I'd too close to the household to be prose
I'D cuted. The cold-blooded fendishnes
as of the kidnapper of children IS scarcel
40 paralleled by any act in the history c
+ crime. That all efforts should be mad
to prevent a recurrence of such act
q every we'll disposed member of ever
Z. community will devoutly wish.-Ne'
~ Work Tedpor ...