Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-01-30
MISS STONES nELEAsE


A London dispatch brings word that
Miss Stone and her companion at last
have been released from captivity The
capture was remarkable affair, which
ought 10 be sfted thoroughly when
this can be done without endangerlng
the lives Of the prisoners And what
ever government Is responsible for the
outrage should be made TO pay heavily
for It. Brlgandage OF that kind
should be made a luxury too expensive
for the countries that indulge Ia H.
That would probably have the effect Of
making Il less popular than It now Is
said TO be.
Al present It appears that the moral
perceptions Of great many Of the
common people In the east European
states are 40 out Of order that daring
robbers are regarded as heroes, whose
deeds Of yalor are worthy Of imitation.
outlaws IN those regions will say u
am a thief with as much pride az
loyal oltizens In civilized communities
WIN say Il am patriot" Something
Is radically wrong under governments
where the moral standard Is as low az
that. But II the governments are made
to pay for their thieves they win I'M
doubleday take the necessary steps to
get rid OF as many as possible,
Miss stope was sent to Turkey a num-
Der OF years ago BY missionary Or
eanlzatlon Of the Congregationaists in
this country, She has been laborlng
throughout Macedonia and Bulgaria,
and It is said she was very popular
among the people Last summer che
went to Bansko a city near the Bull
garian border line to conduct a school
At the end of the season she set out
with a party Of eighteen for salonka
on the road, In lonely mountain val
Icy, they were surrounded by brlgands
between thirty and forty In number,
who were dressed az Turks but who
spoke the bulgarian language Miss
Stone and Mime Tsika were separated
from the rest Of the party and hurried
o. TO the hills one OF the men was
murdered and the remainder Of fhe
party were allowed to proceed after
having been detained for two days.
The next heard from Miss Stone was
that her capIors demanded $4,000 Turk
lsh Ira, or $4,000, as a ransom, and
that Il the money was not forthcoming
the captives would be put to death. The
United states government was appealed
to, but It was found Il had no funds
available for such purposes. Then
about 100000 was subscribed by private
persons and placed az tho disposal Of
the United states representatives In
Constantlnope Several times rumor
had it that one or both Of the two wo-
men had died, but It appears that those
rumors were all without foundation.
II is pretty wen understood IN this
country that although subscriptions
came in willingly this time, nearly
everybody interested In foreign mis-
slons believes that this should not be
considered a precedent 10 be followed
on other similar occasions, Foreign
missionaries viii do well to remember
that they so abroad at their own risk,
and they should not rely on the govern
ment machinery Of a mighty country
TO extricate them from critical posi-
tions, We hope the paying Of the ran
som Of this lady win not ieopardlze the
lives Of other missionaries In countries
where bandits flourish.
Since the above was put IN type a
Washington dispatch has been received
stating that unless the brigands have
abandoned the captlves, they are not
yet set at liberty The ransom money
has not been paid This leaves the
public again in uncertainty as 10 tho
fate Of the two captured ladies'.