The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-07-16
Fighting for a Reward.

Having in a moment of excitement
been 1njudicious enough to offer a re-
ward of $4,000 for the arrest and COLI
viction of Willie Whitla's kidnappers,
the state of Pennsylvania finds itself
confronted with a small army of claim
ants for the money and in an embar-
disposition.
First there is the Cleveland saloon
keeper, O'Reilly, who thinks he should
have it because he first called the at
tention of the local nn1io~ to the man
and woman who stole the child. The
Cleveland chief of police, ignoring the
source of information oil which he act
ed, sets up the plea that he had the
criminals under surveillance and would
have arrested them had not Mr.. Whitla
and his private detectives asked delay
until the boy had been recovered. The
manager of the hotel to which Willie
was returned insists that he should be
rewarded because he found the boy
took him to his father, while the con-
ductor Of the street car on which the
bow rode to the hotel has also entered
a demand, apparently because every
body else is doing it and he might just
as well be in style.
Last of all is the county of Mercer,
with the claim that, whatever may be
the facts as to the arrests. it did the
convicting, at an expense of $4,000, and
it wants to be repaid that amount on
the ground that the reward was offered
for arrest and conviction" OF all the
claims made this seems to be about the
most impudent, for the county only did
it's natural and inevitable duty and of
course, no reward was ever offered. or
understood to be offered, with a view
to paying for the actual formalities of
arrest and conviction. Taking the
county's own view, the money it asks
belongs to the jurors who found the
prisoners guilty or to the judge who
turned the verdict into a sentence.
AS matter of fact, the whole sys-
tenn of money rewards for the appre-
hension of criminals is dangerous and
wrong, sometimes justified by the end
attained. perhaps, but always as hard
to excuse, logically, as was the toIera-
ton OF Mr.. Whitla's own open COM
pounding of felony and his subordina-
ton of public to private interests
New York Times.
Press Agent For Church.
Press agent methods of church ad-
y y45ng are not to be generally
though the Rev. Columbus Polk Good
son, former pastor of the Kings High
way Presbyterian church, says he
started his church on the road to pros
agent act'' on the St. Louis papers.
Clergymen interviewed today do not
approve of the method
The Rev. Mr.. Goodson. now pastor
Presbyterian church in Chicago, was
one of the guests of honor at the
Kings Highway church Homecoming"
last night He gave a humorous ac-
count of how he worked his ingenuity
overtime to build up his st. Louis
charge.
When Mr. Goodson came to st. Louis
his congregation at the little Kings
Highway church did not number more
than seventy-five persons on an aver
age, and he was young and unknown
to fame. His talk last night was of
how he climbed himself and made his
church grow by diligent use of the
He told of how 9-year-old Donald
Stewart, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. T.
Stewart. 1elI off the pier at Creve
Occur Lake on Saturday, November 4,
1904; of how he rushed into the water.
which was hardly up to his waist, and
dragged the boy out, and then of how
he permitted the newspapers to write
it up as a thrilling rescue, thus at
tracing attention to himself and to
his church.-St. Louis dispatch to the
New York Times.