The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-09-10
TELLS, POLICE
 OF KIDNAPPING
 TO METROPOLIS
Laundry Proprietor Hclates Remarkable Tale of Bold,
 Bad Men.

@ OnSfrleS U. JonnSon, proprietor Of the Reliable Laundry. 3O5 Stratford avenue. possesses cf1aracteristics ac- eording to the police which are quite the qantithesis-the nomenclature of his laundry would imply.
 With his wife and child witnesses to his narrative, he told. Capt. Cronan yesterday a wild and woolly story of assault. abduction, robbery and incar- ceration in a New York den of thieves that made the few remaining hairs on the top of Cronan's head fairly stand.
 When Johnson had finished and the detective head had an opportunity of dissecting the tale Cronan stated John son was foolish to waste his time in the washing business. He could make 9 fortune writing moving picture scenarioN
 The inception of Johnsons adven- ture, or at least his story, dates back several weeks ago. He describes a hold, vicious looking man who met him in the alley which runs into the rear of his laundry. The stranger asked him if he conducted, the busi- ness.
 Yes" replied the laundryman, | 'swhat of it?''
 The stranger just said ..nothing'' and walked away.
 Johnson went to the post office and the bad man with two friends were 1 there. He went back to his laundry and the bad man and two friends were ahead of him, standing outside the es- tablishment Last Tuesday the bad man was again in his alley and John- son determined to Ind out what he wanted.
 The bad man was approached and the laundryman wanted to know what he was doing about the place Hot, burning hot words followed between them. Johnson says the next he knew he had been bound. gagged, blind- folded and was on his way to New York. He vouches for this last fact depite the blindfold. All this happen ed at 10:3o last Tuesday morning. . T wa struck on the heat from be- hind." asserted Johnson with em- phasis
 f Yes. Goodness, it must have been l an awful blow" interrupted the solici- tous spouse of the Iaundryman. al- though there were no visible marks of the blow.
 I There were four of them; four
 men," continued Johnson without the | culver of an eyelash Ignoring his I wife's interruption.
 | Now comes the dirty work of whict
 the clean linen merchant was a vic- tfrF. When he arrived "somewhere
 in New York; he was thrust into ar
 evil smelling dirty room,. the den ,oi l the thieves, and kept a prisoner untf
 last Saturday after being relieved o1 1 $45 which he had in his pocket. Saturday morning the bold. bad
 men entered his den and again blind
 folded him. It is assumed that John. | son had visions of being thrown dow1 ! a dark pit leading to the waters O. l the East river or drew mental pic ture of himself tied to a post ant l waiting for the rising tide to snuff out his existence.
 | But the bad men did no such thing
 according to Johnson. They drov, him in the auto to bridge, the Brook l lyn, or some other one leading t,
 Brooklyn and gently placed him o1 I the bridge. They didn't throw hin
 over the railing to drown in the cit,
 waters below.
 He took off the bli~sdfold and told a l policeman The latter advised John | son to go to headquarters but for som.
 reason or other he didn't. He tele ] graphed his wife for money to gel home, saving the details of his har. rowing experience for Capt, Cronan It might be well to add here thai the police are not Investigating the case.