AMERICAN KIDNAPPERS

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVI, Issue 3441, 10 March 1932, Page 6

AMERICAN KIDNAPPERS

DEATH PENALTY PLAN.

New York, January 28

The kidnapping of Mr. Howard Woolverton, a rich manufacturer, of Southbend, Indiana, and his wife, has given fresh impetus to a discussion in the Senate at Washington of a supposed law empowering Federal judges to impose the death penalty for this class of crime.

It is disclosed that within the past year, no fewer than 270 prominent United States citizens, in 28 different States, have been kidnapped and held for ransom.

A few days ago the capital was startled by a story of a plot to kidnap General Dawes, the retiring Ambassador to the Court of St. James and president of the new £400,000,000 Reconstruction Finance Corporat on. General Dawes merely chuckled at the reports.

In the case of Mr. Woolverton, a man with a gun sprang on the running board of his motor-car, took his seat behind Mr. Woolverton and his wife, telling them that if they looked around they would be shot dead. On a lonely road Mr. Woolverton was forced to change into the kidnapper’s car and his wife given a hote and told to drive the other car home. The note demanded a £IO,OOO ransom on pain of death for the kidnapped manufacturer.

Mr. Woolverton is still missing.