The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-03-24
Thousands Assemble at
Sharon Depot to Greet
Kidnapped Child and
Parade TO Home
WHiTLA LITTLE ONE SAFELY
BACK AFTER PAYMENT OF
SO, 900 RANSOM-ABDUCTORS
ARE IOST-CHILD'S STORY.

SHARON. Pa, March 23.-Carry-
ing in his arms his little boy Billy,
who was restored to him at the Hol-
lenden hotel in Cleveland last night,
following the payment of the SlO,-
600 ransom which was demanded by
the kidnapers, James II. Whitla
stepped from train this afternoon
and met a crowd of five thousand
people who had assembled TO give
the boy demonstration OF greet
ing. Cheering and singing, the crowd
followed the boy and his father to
the Whitla residence.
Mr. Whitla declined TO discuss the
matter of the ransom or the plans of
the family in dealing with the kid
napers. The $4,000 ransom was
paid in a little grocery store in
Cleveland an hour after noon on
Monday. The money was received
by an ordinarily dressed workman,
who gave his name as Hayes. He
picked up the package filled with
yellow back bills, smiled nonchalent-
" aud left. The door of the little
grocery is the last trace the police
have of him.
Willie Whitla's story as told in
the way OF a child To reporters at
the request of his father is as fol-
lows:
Papa said the boy, IN tone of
childish prattle, Il have been buggy
riding. been on ears and in nice big
white house that looked like hos
pital. | have been treated nice and
had lots of good things to eat.
One man. tall and with a black
mustache. came 10 the school house
Thursday, and told my teacher. Mrs.
Annie Lewis, that you wanted he at
your Office. went out to a buggy
with him. | got in and he got in.
Then we rode away. On the way
down town he asked me to address
a letter to you. | did so, and drop
ped il into mail box. He was aw-
fully kind
We went from Sharon TO War
rem We had the incest trip. The
man. who was the same one who
brought me To the car line last night,
was nice TO me.
when we got TO place the man
said was Warren, the man left the
buggy in the road. Then We got on
what | think was an electric car. /
don't just remember what il was,
but II was something like street
ear. don't know what became of
the buggy. | became sleepy when
we got on the car and / slept much
of the way To the place where we
were going.
When we got to a town that the
man called Newcastle, they took me
to big building and turned me over
to woman. She was good to me.
The hospital. or whatever the build
ing was, was a clean place. There
was a man there who looked like
doctor, because he had whiskers-
short gray whiskers.
THE people i'm the hospital told
me that | must do just what they
told me to do. II | did not obey
them they said. they would take me
to place called the pest house,
where folks that have smallpox have
to go. 1t was not "A clean or pretty
place, they told me. | walked the
chalkline just like good boy, papa,
like you have told me to do.
"On Saturday night, | was taken
away from the hospital. and | think
we went to a town called Ashtabula.
We travelled in "A buggy and on foot.
Early in the morning we went back
to the hospital. | heard one of the
men say: There will be nothing do
ing tonight, | guess. / must have
been right here in Cleveland, though.
papa, for some of the town l saw
tonight on the car looked like the
place we went on Saturday.
"They told me all along that | was
just taking a little trip. 1t was not
going TO hurt me, they told me. SO
just acted nice and had a good time
playing around the hospital. | knew
| would get back home all right and
just supposed Mr.. Jones was one of
my friends who was treating me nice
That you wanted him to treat me
that way, papa dear"
Willie is In perfect health. He
says he has been well treated and
ever since his capture has been con-
stantly indoors. lie believes he was
taken from Sharon to Warren and
thence to Newcastle, Pa. IL Is his
opinion, expressed In happy school
boy way, that he was in Ashtabula