Evening star., 1933-07-12
A National Emergency.

A few wears ago an American FlSlloi
to Shanghai, riding through the city
sightseeing, noted a large square sur
rounded by high brick wall, topped
with barbed wire, and asked If 1t was
a penal institution. He was INFORMED
that 1t was the estate OF one OF the
wealthiest merchants of the city. Why
the extraordinary provision against in
vasion, he asked. The merchant, he was
told, feared kidnapping and isolated him.
self, transacting his business chiefly by
telephone and, when compelled to go
abroad, using a powerful motor car,
with armed guards. Several such cars
were in evidence in the streets. Kid
naping for ransom was an established
business and numerous cases were re-
ported during the stay OF this visitor,
who reflected that this condition was a
sad commentary upon the state OF
things in China.
Just now in this country kidnapping
has become, as in China, an established
business. 1t Is engaged in by gangs OF
criminals, who are well armed, who en-
ploy all the facilities of transportation
and communication that our modern
advancement affords, who demand ran
SONS in large sums and in many cases.
get them. They take men, women and
children. They seem to have no diff
Guilty in catching their victims or in
concealing their own identities in the
course of the negotiations for the pur-
chase of the liberty of their catches.
They use the mails and the telephone,
they dictate terms, they safeguard their
own persons. They have established a
traffic in human beings with little
hindrance and with much success and
profit.
At present several of these kidnapping
cases have developed, and half dozen
hostages are being held by the alb
ductors, with large sums demanded for
return and with death threatened if
their pay is not forthcoming and if
police intervention is invoked. The
scale and scope of these operations puts
China in the pfker class for daring, for
greed and for murderous menace.
This has become national evil, the
graver because of its spread. Maybe it
is a by-product Of the depression. More
likely it is a development of the rackets
that have been thriving here for a
decade. costing the people literally
billions of dollars annually. 1t is in
short, reign of terror.
Determination by national and State
authorities to stamp out this evil is
reported. Conferences are being held
as to methods of fighting it. The kid
napers apparently are not alarmed.
They have heard the roars OF rage arise
before, and nothing came of them.
When the Lindbergh baby was stolen
and slain the country was aroused to
fever pitch in anger bat nothing de-
veloped to give reinsurance. The
kidnapping continued as before, and is
today the most thriving racket OF all.
In every large city are groups OF men
who are known to be criminals, some
with prison records, all of them Justltl-
ably suspect of lawless occupations. A
roundup of them as potential kidnapers,
with detention pending examination,
with the courts cooperating by inter-
probation of the laws in favor of the
public safety rather than the technical
rights" of the accused-such pro-
cedure would perhaps avail. Let the
law be invoked as a precautionary
measure. Let the records of these
potential, if not actual, criminals be
interpreted as presumptive evidence OF
guilty intention if not of guilty act.
This is virtually national emergency.
1t requires emergency measures for its
correction.