The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-05-30
DEATH IO K|DNAPPERS
This Sentiment Is Spreading
in the Empire State
BECAUSE OF BABY CLARK
Eminent Men Speak Out in
Horror of the Crime.
BECAUSE OF BABY CLARK

New York, May 29.-Child stealing may
yet be made capital crime in the En-. lrc
state. SO deep is the indignation that has
taen hold of the people over the kidnap-
ping of little Marion Clarke and so horror
stricken is the community in general oye1
the enormity of the crime, that talk Of
making the offense punishable by death
is more than mere gossip. Prominent
men, bankers, statesmen, metclan-s and
others, whose opinions are worth .-Unsiier-
ing, are in favor of sending to tie electric
chair the wretches who prey on children,
| bereaving parents and throwing cornmuni-
Ties into sDaSms of terror 81 their cow
ardly crimes against innocent babes. 1t
IS argued that the effect OF a kidnapping
On the victim must be lifelong. No chad,
1t is pointed out, can fully recover from
the agony Of being torn from its home and
parents at so early an age. Therefore the
people Of New York are declaring that
death is none too severe a punishment to
be meted out to the man or woman VINO
steals a child and bights it's life
HE case of Marion Clark is astonishing
There is no clue TO the child or its alb
ductors. The police are doing al iLet IS
IN their power, but to no avail. All prom
Using leads, TO matter how ridi .ulous they
may seem, are run down, but they az end
against the dead wall of defeat and d;s-
enlargement. The parents Of the htt.e
one are distracted. The motaer is on the
of
one is in need of food and 5 being i'll
treated. Particularly at night is size III
agony. When the child's bedtime arrives
and there is no baby for her to undress
and cOddle she breaks into cysteiica!
tears, and her physician has issued 4
statement saying that he mus nos Dc
held responsible for her CONDITION if Ter
child is not restored TO her in a short
time
The father IS bearing his burden with
fortitude, but cannot endure The strain
much longer. He is in hourly consUIta-
ton with the detectives that are at work
on the case, and every new idea aHakers
a hope in him. Al lis of no avail. however
so far, and the outlook is very dark
4 woman was arrested Saturday because
she had felon on her finger The boy
who carried the note to the Clarlzs teilsnr,
them that the child had been stolen SAID
that the oman who gave him the note had
sore finger. On the strength OF 51:s in
formation all the police in he city have
been looking for a woman with a felon on
her right hand. They found ona, bit the
poor creature who had the misfortune to
be a suspect was soon proved 10 se limo
cent of any connection with the k!dnap-
ping. The incident merely SHOWS. how
ever, that nothing that can be done Is
being overlooked in the endeavors TO frd
the baby ~
Masses are being said in the churches
for the return OF the child. There IS TO
limit to the money that can be raised as
a reward if the little one can be traced.
Up to this time 1,500 is offered for the
child. Two newspapers have offered most
Of this. Some of the money IS placed at
the disposal of the police by persons who
do not allow their names to be made pub
lie so deeply interested are they in try
ing to restore the lost little one to her
home and parents. Some OF It probably
will never be paid, even if the babe should
be found. as it Is in line with other sub
stription lists that look big on paper but
do not materialize when the test comes.
Most Of the rewards offered, however, are
genuine; and there Is no limit to the
amount that could be gathered up in case
It became necessary for public sUbscrip-
ton to be started for the recovery of the
child.
And with the willingness to give money
comes the cry for the punishment of the
criminals who stole it. The best men of
the city-men who are conservative on
most things-do not hesitate to demand
that a law he passed making kidnapping
a ca9ital refine.
Senator Depew. for instance. before sail
ing for Europe. said: Nothing has ever
moved me more deeply than the kidnap-
ping of little Marion Clark. Those guilty
Of the crime should be captured at al
hazards and have visited upon them the
severest punishment. I believe the law
concerning kidnapping is not drastic
enough. If the miscreants are allowed to
escape no home which is frightened by
the sunshine of children viii be SAFE
Henry Ciews. the banker and capitalist.
is another who thinks no punishment too
severe for the stealcrs of children He
declared; The enormity Of the crime
os child-stealing is next to murder While.
under the law it cannot he made punish
able by e'ectroCution. If should he made
punishable ny e'ectrocution It should he
by imprisonment for life at hard labor.
which IS not so bad as hanging. but Is
worse than eiectrocud.n. If there is no
safety for children in New York il IS not
a place Of comfort and happiness for
mothers 10 dwell i1. 50. for the ssKe Of
New York's prestige as the Empire city
of the nation. steulers NJ children must te
hunted down and punished 50 severely rs
20 deter others from following their ex-
ample
Baure Cochran IS in favor Or mainc an
example Of the miscreant in the present
case. He thinks no punishment Is severe
enough. and adds: There is hat one
view y man must be h7rror-striclcr n
think such a crime possible in the very