Los Angeles herald., 1905-11-05

opllloH, must surely nave failed. 1t
seems an utter impossibility to secure
the person of Mr.. Rockefeller, or any
other man of prominence, and success
fully hold him for ransom.
While any one OF the various steps
necessary to the complete fulfiment Of
the plan might perhaps succeed, though,
personally / do not think they would
1t is completely out of the question to
suppose that chance would so favor the
conspirators as to make each step pos
sible.
Ny conclusion is reached by the most
sir pie process of elimination. If we
consider for a moment what kidnapping
entails we find that necessarily the kid
napers face five problems, which must
be accomplished to consummate the
crime. They are as follows:
The Problems
First-They nsust successfully secure
the person to be kidnapped, and this
must be done without doing him any
bodily harm
Second-They must secretly remove
the prisoner. and against his will, to a
safe place of concealment, where 1t will
be impossible for him either to escape
or to have communication with the out
side world.
Third-They must secure such a
prison as outlined above without draw
ing the slightest suspicion to them
selves.
Fourth-They must have method of
receiving the ransom demanded with
out submitting themselves to capture
or revealing their identity.
Fifth-They must have certain and
safe means of escape, as an attempt to
arrest and prosecute them would be
fr1n fob 1n bot,
released, no matter upon what terms
the release was made.
Now, if any one will carefully con-
slider these five tasks, he will at once
see that they present the greatest diff
ficulty. Let us, however, take them UP
separately, as in an attempt to kidnap
Mr. Rockefeller, and see just how diff
cult they really would prove.
His Surroundings
Before doing this however it is
necessary for n moment to consider
some of the surrounding circumstances
and the habits of Mr.. Rockefeller. He
is an elderly man, who divides his time
between his house at Forest Hill, near
Cleveland, and on his estate in the Po-
cantico hills near Tarrytown, N. Y.
For the sake of example, we will pre-
sumo that the attempt to kidnap him
was to take place during his stay at the
Pocantico hills. These things all the
world knows-that Mr.. Rockefeller does
not go anywhere alone: he is always
accompanied; that he does not appear
outside of his estate except in some sort
of a conveyance, usually an automobile;
that he does not ever leave his home at
night.
The estate at Pocantico Hills is very
large and consists of thousands of
acres, but, as is natural in a property
so valuable, it is very carefully
patroled.
Now, in facing the first step, the kid
napers must decide at what place they
will make him a prisoner. To do so
while he Is away from his home would
be to hold up on the public highway
during broad daylight his conveyance,
in which there are always two or more
persons, and after making him a pris-
oner escape. leaving no trace behind
them. Remember that this is a district
very thickly populated, is only twenty
six miles from New York and the roads
are heavily Travelled.
Accurate information
Furthermore. to effect a capture in
this manner the criminals would have
to be possessed of the most accurate
and exact information as to the vic
TINS plans. They must know the pre-
else hour at which he will drive out
and the exact route which he will
travel. They must be certain that they
will not be interrupted. They must
have some sort of a CONVEYANCE in
which to place their prisoner and re-
move him to the place selected for his
concealment.
How could the information desired
as to his plans be obtained? Only in
one way. From some intimate of the
family or a trusted servant, though
it is doubtful if the servant would
know far enough ahead However.
either hypothesis is absurd
Granting that the information is OBJ
tanned, what precautions could the con-
spirators take to prevent inter rup-
tion in the midst of their capture? AS
has been pointed out before, 1t is a
very thickly settled community and
there is constant traffic upon every
highway. Farmers wagons loaded with
freight people driving about on busi-
ness or for pleasure, automobiles dart
ing to and fro, are all about. Assuredly
none would be so bold as to ATTEMPT 10
hold up every passing vehicle at the
point of pistol while they secured and
made prisoner of their man and made
good their escape. Obviously this is
impossible.
On His Own Grounds
But one course would remain to them.
The capture would have to he made an
Mr.. Rockefeller's own grounds. That
course 1t would seem would be a still
more difficult undertaking. To attempt
to storm his house, with its many ser
wants, telephones and telegraph instr,l-
ments, would of course be out of the
question in either night or day. The
crime, therefore, would have to be COM
mitted in broad daylight (since as 7
have stated, Mr.. Rockefeller does NOT
go out at night, and far enough from
the house to be unobserved. / believe
no one viii dispute these premises.
Again we face the problem of Sc
curing information as to the intended
victims plans, and this. as have said.
is impossible. Mr.. Rockefeller. how