The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1922-02-24
MANY kIDNAPINCS
IN ULSTER AREA
Four Officers Seized in Ferma-
nagh; Party of Nine Taken
in Monaghan.
TREES FELLED BY RAIDERS
Many Trenches Also Dug, Apparently
In Preparation for Lawless Opera
tions-UIster Frontier Guarded
by Force of 5000 Men.

Belfast-Additiona kidnapping oc-
Cured in County Fermanagh, one OF
the counties in which other raids were
carried out. Four class "B" special
constables were kidnapped in the
Rosslea district. They were taken in
the direction of Ballybay, where 1t is
believed other prisoners are being
kept.
Five special constables and four
soldiers, fully armed, while Oh their
way to Enniskillen in an ambulance
to bring back the men wounded at
Newton Butler in the early morning,
were captured while passing through
Monaghan. The car was surrounded
and seized by a party of armed Lien.
The wife of Ivan Carson, former
high sheriff of Fermanagh, who was
kidnapped Wednesday, received a let
ter from him. The missive, which
bore no address, said the writer was
we'll and had no cause for anxiety. 1t
develops that he is relative of Lord
Carson, the former Ulster leader, and
commanded a patrol Of specials in the
Fermanagh encounter with the raid
ers.
In some instances, according to
Unionist sources, the leaders Of the
raiding parties wore Irish Republican
army uniforms and asked the persons
they kidnapped to sign petitions for
the release of the Londonderry pris-
oners.
Many trees were felled over wide
area, apparently in preparation for the
raiding operations. Many trenches
were dug along the Fermanagh and
Monaghan borders. The operations
were so extensive it Is believed hun
dreds of men were engaged in them.
Major Miles, oe South Donegal, one
Of the prisoners taken by the raiders
of Northern Irish counties, returned
to his home. Others from the same
area are reported to have been re-
leased. Some of those released said
a number of the kidnapped Unionists
were taken to Ballybay, County Mon
Afghan, and lodged in the police bar
racks there. Robert Jervis, one of the
released, tsaid he saw two orange
sashes taken in raid, placed against
tree, riddted with bullets, and then
pulled down. and trampled underfoot.
Two men Of Aughnacloy, County Ty-
rome, who Mere taken prisoners by
raiders, were released.
listers frontier was virtually line
of steel today, following the raids.
From Portadown, County Armagh, to
Belleek, ON the Fermanagh-Donegal
border, forces of specials are on
guard, as we'll as heavy contingents of
the regular constabulary.
1t was estimated that 5000 me-
were engaged in policing the line.
The roads leading southwark from
Belfast, presented scenes CT activity.
motor trucks and armored cars bear
ing the so-caled "a" and "B" spe-
Gals. Accompanying them were other
trucks with stores and ammunition.
High tension prevails at all points.
Strangers travelling through the six
counties are subject t the closest
scrutiny, and in some cases are halted
and interrogated. No communication
was possible with Enniskillen, In con-
sequence of the wires from this city
being cut.
Colonel Wickham, commanding the
Ulster specials, has received a COM
munication from Dublil. Castle stating
that the Provisional government is
sending special officers to investigate
the kidnapping
The telephone and telegraph wires
were cut in the affected districts, and
communication was still uncertain to-
day, but a county inspector Of police
who returned from a tour Of the lines
said no reprisals had been attempted
overnight by the Unionists.
Sir Dawson Bates, the Ulster tome
secretary, addressed a further strong
remonstrance to the viceroy about de-
lay in releasing the kidnapped Union
lists. and demanding that they be set
free Immediately. Sir James Craig,
the Premier, also made simila" repre-
sentations to the British Cabinet.