Evening star., 1933-07-14

for nervous strain. The men who kid
naped her were old bootleggers, ac-
cording to information accepted by the
police. Had bootlegging remained profit
able they would have continued at the
trade and foregone the kidnapping. De-
prived of liquor money, they turned, in
accordance with their intelligence, to
the muscle business Of what they call
the snatch racket"
People know nothing of kidnapings
that never get into the papers. This
writer knows of three cases Of sue
ceSsful "snatches" in New York City.
In each case the victim of the kidnap-
ing was criminal himself. He was
caught by others of his kind, ransomed
for whatever he had, and turned loose
to pile up another amount for future
consideration. Each time these GRIM
inals, well aware Of their exact position
as hostages, paid through the nose. One
said to me: Did I pay? Lay your last
dime paid! I had IS grand in bank
Only a sucker would fight them"
Another case reported to me and
verified from sources credit involves a
manufacturer of forbidden fruits who
ps.d 100000 to kidnapers. These men
actually marched him into his bank
and stood by, pistols concealed in their
pockets, while the victim got the money
and handed it over in the presence OF
the vice president Of the bank. The
bank official, of course. remained un-
aware of the whole procedure in its
true significance.
"Why not fight back?" asked this
victim. "You handed over the money,
but you know who got it. Why not
fght?"
"I've a wife and children" he an
swered simply. What's money, with
their lives at stake?"
Jack Legs" Diamond was ooo.-
logger. He was an interesting one In
that, to the best of my knowledge, he
was the first of the tribe to lay the
urban problem on e suburban door,
step. His trip into the Catsklll Noun
tains wrought not only his own death
but a series of crimes that left that
pastoral section in the throes OF terror.
Men were tortured on the highways;
others were kidnapped. The country
was reused to fever pitch. That sec.
ton preferred applejack to the so-called
LIQUORS of their urban brothers. Jack
tried to control the applejack trafnc.
Deprived of bootleg money, he had to
replace it some way. War broke out.
Jack died broke. Only recently MS
widow was found murdered in her bed.
Dutch" Schultz, beer baron OF New
York's Bronx, found things slipping IN
his business. The old profits OF boot
legp'ng vanished. He was so often
mer oned in connection with crimes
of violence that now he is fugitive, a
cringing craven in fear for his life and
a man for whom the world, upper and
under, has little but scorn. But he was
a millionaire when the booze bouncing
was good.
There is another traffic in the under
world which has spread immeasurably
during prohibition. 1t is the vilest, the
most despicable. the most insidious OF
all illegal rackets. It is in narcotics.
Fundamentally. it differs from booze
in two major features. First, the average
man abhors it and will, as a decent cit
izen, do what he can to stop the traffic.
So narcotic laws are enforced with COM
parative ease. Second, a modest for
tune in the poison may be transported
in fountain pen. Cadets" as mar
cotic peddlers are called, travel fine
trains, use light luggage, and attract no
attention. That is lot easier than
transporting. bottled goods by the case
or beer by the keg.
IS growing greater. The more insidious
of the bootleggers of old are turning
to this to supply revenue. This is the
most violent crime I know. If there
is to be death penalty it should be
for the sale of narcotics. These
cadets operate under an organized ring
More and more they become killers.
Long terms are likely to be the order
for conviction of this crime Long
terms do not deter the criminal, they
make him more desperate. This is not