Evening star., 1932-03-11
Swift and Drastic Justice
Demanded for All Kidnapers

returned in safety to its agonized par
entS. The next is that the States and
the Nation will rise up and Smite the
kidnapping racket to the dust, even if
every person who attempts this vile
business is to be forever removed from
| human society"
| AS to the result of the crime, the
Charlotte Observer asserts: 1T serves to
impress upon the courts of the land the
necessity for taking off the gloves and
handling crimes of all kinds, not as sob
sisters would have it. but in the light
! of the law" The Birmingham Age
Herald suggests that there will be .
| "glrding of loinS in every quarter" while
the Salt Lake Deseret News is convinc-
| ed that the powerful elements in the
country will make far more earnest ef-
forts than ever before" to meet the sit
uation. The Norfolk Virginian-P Pilot
predicts 'the most serious effort to
break through the protective programs
of all kidnapers that the country has
known in years"
The Providence Journal believes that
drastic action Of some sort may rea-
sonably be expected as one result of the
Lindbergh case" while the Rock Island
Argus holds that 1.-The lawmakers of the
United States should be framing legis-
lation which will adequately express
public sentiment" The Hamilton
(Ontario) Spectator expresses the
thought that before police and legis-
latorS are through with this case kid
naplng Will have lost lot of its at
tractiveneSS."
In the discussions of the direction in
which such remedial steps should be
taken and what definite action will re-
suit In curbing OF crime there are
many suggestions, with divergence of
opinion as to where the cause and cure
lies. The crime cannot be punished
too severely" Is the judgment Of the
New Castle CPa) News, and the Sche-
nectady Gazette declares: I'VE feel
more and more strongly the necessity
Tor making punishment for this crime
SO swift and severe that few will run
the risk
1T would seem that the machinery
Tor catching the kidnaper should be
made to operate quickly over a wide
area instead of local one" advises the
Columbus Ohio State Journal, but the
Baltimore Evening Sun warns that a
Federal law can do no good and might
90 harm" The Lynchburg News as
serts: There should be a Federal law
10 cover cases where State lines ara
crossed, and in both States ana red
eral laws death should be the penalty"
Inc Asbury Park Press is among the
other papers demanding the death pen
atty, but the suggestion that it NAV
prove dangerous to the kidnapped chill
oren to make the penalty too severe is
advanced by number of dailieS. among
them the youngstown Vindicator and
the Toronto tOntario) Star. The To-
leoo Blade declares: We need not
more laws but faster and more thor
ougngo1ng law enforcement. How MANY
OF the $500 abductions in the United
states In the last two years would have
peen planned and executed If the plot
ters could have been convinced in ad-
vance that each and every one Of them,
or most OF them. would serve even 10
years in PRISON."
While the New Orleans Times-Pica-
yune feels that ANY measure strength
ening local, State and national protec-
ton may deserve enactment and test"
the Ann Arbor Daily News concludes.
The law was much too active in the
Linobergh case. Its far-fiung draRnet
was liability instead of an asset It
was powerleSS to Go anything but
harm"
Viewing the Iindbergh kidnapping in
It's relation to crime as a whole, the
Akron BeacoE-Journal comments: BY
repeating the laws which protect these
crooks and licensing the beverage traffic
the Government would destroy the out
law gangs oYernight. Until this
Is done putting the teeth into laws
against kidnapping and related crimes Is
only t~.sslS -, e S-~~>eE~- = the treN
OF organized crime instead OF destroys
IN - a - ApO4Ne