The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1901-05-04
YELLOW FAKE
kidnapping Sensation and
Threats Of Lynching
Products Of I'm
agination.
ONLY A TOO FRIENDLY MAN
Kierstedt Sat Down to Talk
to Little Girl and Mother
Became Alarmed
ONLY A TOO FRIENDLY MAN

People in Jersey avenue north of Ham
| ilton Park We're thrown into great state
! Of excitement yesterday afternoon about
| five O'Clock by a false alarm of kidnap-
ping, and a slightly intoxicated man
came very near getting himself into a
bad fix because he allowed his love for
! children to. master his better Judgment.
As it was the women and children were
on the verge of hysteria and the man
who was the cause of it all was the prin-
| cipal in one of the most exciting chases
that have occupied the attention of that
vicinity since the days of the Cork Row
Gang. 1t will be some time before a
large number of nervous mothers will ac-
cept as truth the fact that no attempt
at kidnapping was made and it will be
longer time before James Kierstedt of
No. 245 Palisade avenue will show his love
of children in public.
Kierstedt is an engineer and is twenty
three years old. He drank little too
| much yesterday and shortly before five
o'clock his mind was not very clear and
his legs not very steady. He became
tired at the corner of Eleventh street
and Jersey avenue, when he had his last
drink in the old landmark of a tavern
conducted by the Mayor of Cork Row,
Ned Kenny. He continued ON his way
however, but when he reached the tres
tie OF the Erie Railroad, between Tenth
and Eleventh streets, in Jersey avenue,
he seated himself on the curbstone and
the trains rolled on over his head He
was seated only a few minutes when
pretty seven-year-old Hannah Sheridan
the daughter of Roundsman Andrew
sheridan, of the Fourth precinct police
station, who lives at No. 709 Jersey ave-
nue., between Ninth and Tenth streets
came along, skipping rope. The little
one missed her step just in front of
Kierstedt and stopped to get the rope
In motion again.
Hello, little girl said Kierstedt
won't you come here moment and
speak to me?''
end she approached the man, who looked
at her kindly. He is not unprepossessing
in appearance.
/ Tie two chatted a few minutes, he ask
ing about her studies and imparting ad-
vice to the child. Soon he had her in
his arms and he was tenderly caressing
=
We're good friends.
Hannah forgot about the errand her
mother had sent her on. Mrs. Sheridan
could not think what detained her daugh-
ter and she came from her rooms to look
for her. She saw her darling in the arms
of a strange man and her first thought
was that a kldnapper had the child and
was about to steal her. She screamed.
i1r-o~
child!' cried Mrs. Sheridan. and she
started toward the two. That scream was
heard for two blocks and in a short time
people began to arrive in numbers from
all directions The little girl said
Here comes my mamma
Reading trouble in Mrs. Sheridan's at
ttude and becoming alarmed at the num-
Der of people approaching him threaten
ingly, Kierstedt put the girl on the curb
and started to walk away. This con-
| firmed Mrs. Sheridan's fears and again
she cried: "Kidnapper!'
The cry was taken up on all sides and
the mans fears grew so that he started
on a run. The crowd took up the chase,
which led along Jersey avenue for two
blocks, to Thirteenth street, then to Cole,
and here the man seemed in fair way
of escaping, but officer Blume of the
Second precinct station, got in the chase.
He saw the futility of pursuit afoot and
jumped into a passing grocery wagon.
Cole street is in such a condition north
of Thirteenth street that it is impossible
to drive wagon through it. Blume drove
to Jersey avenue and then to Seventh
street, where he headed Kierstedt off at
Hoboken avenue.
But Kierstedt and his pursuers were
having a hard time of it. The man lost
his head completely and dashed wildly
through the swamps He and the more
enthusiastic of his followers were soaked
to the waist. AS Kierstedt left the swamp
and got into Hoboken avenue, Blume
sprang from behind the wagon and placed
him under arrest. There was some NUT
tering in the crowd, but when the case
was explained they felt rather sheepish
over their waste of energy. Kierstedt
was brought to the Second precinct police
station. Here he was confronted by Mrs.
Sheridan and Hannah, who Couldn't make
out what it was all about. When it be-
came evident that Kierstedt had been
drinking and was innocent of any Grim
inal intention he was arrested for safe
keeping as much as anything else and
was charged with being disorderly per-
son.
The case was called by Police Justice
Hoos in the First Criminal Court this
morning, but no one appeared against
Kierstedt and he was remanded for fur
ther examination. He said
''I am very fond of children and just
took this little girl up to kiss her when
her mother called me a kidnapper. l was
afraid the crowd wouldn't understand and
so ran, but 1 meant nothing wrong. =
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