The Coolidge examiner., 1932-03-18

as the kidnapping of the young son
of Col. and Mrs. Charles A. Lind
bergh. Little Charles Augustus, Jr.,
Is the nations baby. he is a ma
tional character and has been since
the day be was born. His abduc-
ton was a dastardly crime resent
ed by every red-blooded American.
grown-ups and children alike.
Every parent grieved with the
stricken father and mother They
knew the anguish they endured
They could feel the heart throbs
and the immeasurable grief. They
could realize what the finding of
that empty crib meant to the grief
stricken parents. They knew the
darkness that settled over Colonel
and Mrs. Lindbergh as they viewed
the dirty foot-tracks left by the vii
lians, and the ladder on the lawn
outside the window, that told so
vividly the fate that had befallen
their young son. 1t is one great
American heart that grieved with
those grief-stricken parents.
a little delicate child, only twen-
ty months of age. had been dragged
from the affectionate embrace of
his parents, from the tender care
with which he had been surrounded,
and spirited away into the foul
hands of the most detestible type
of criminals. There was no more
touching incident of the whole das-
tardly affair than the pathetic ap-
peal of the mother TO the kidnapers
to feed her sick baby properly. 1t
was addressed by Mrs. Lindbergh to
the kidnapers Of her son and broad
cast through the press of the ma
ton. In it she said:
ITO the kidnaper of the Lind
bergh baby:
Here is heartbroken appeal di-
rect from the mother of the child
you stole.
THE baby has been sick and its
recovery may depend on the treat
ment it gets from you. You must
be especially careful about the diet.
Mrs. Lindbergh issued to the
press today the strict diet she has
been following since the baby fell
ill. She did this in the hope you
might read this story and that there
was some spark of humanity even
in the heart of a baby thief.
Here is the diet, accompanied
by the fervent prayer of a grieving
mother:
"One quart of milk during the
day.
Three tablespoons of cooked ce-
real morning and night.
"One yOlk of egg daily.
"One baked potato or rice once
a day.
Two tablespoons of stewed fruit
daily.
Half a cup of orange juice on
waking.
Half cup of prune juice after
the afternoon nap.
anu lOuiiCCD VI
called viosterol during the day.
That's all. kidnaper of the Lind
bergh baby. That's what the baby's
mother wants you to give the boy
Follow her request and you may in
some small portion redeem yourself
in the eyes of a contemptuous
world"
The fathers of the nation In
spirit tramped with Colonel Lind
bergh the woods about the large
estate, searching with him for clews
that would lead TO the recovery of
the stolen child. In spirit they re-
peated his prayers and his curses.
TO the mothers of the nation the
abduction was a real, a personal
tragedy. Not one of them but felt
with Anne Morrow Lindbergh the
devastating blow that had been
struck American motherhood, not
one of them but suffered the keen
est of all agonies-fear for the
safety and life of the child she had
borne. and not one of them but said
in her heart, what if it had been
MY baby?"
Ii is no exaggeration to say that
100.000000 Americans Immediately
formed themselves into a searching
party. in spirit if not in body. with
the sole purpose of restoring TIE
Lindbergh baby in safety as soon
as possible to his mothers arms.
From the highest to the most lowly
news of the Lindbergh kidnapping
was the all-important topic.
1t is not often that a President
of the United States puts from his
mind even for a little while mo-
mentous affairs of state because of
concern over what has happened to
some individual. But that is what
happened in this case. Herbert
Hoover. in the midst of ponderine
over the solution of pressing ma
tionaI and international problems
forgot for the moment that he was
Chief Executive of a nation and re-
membered only that he was an
American father. So he gave orders