There the different
members of the gang get their orders and stations, and perhaps
a few dollars advance wages. It is naturally quite impossible
to guess the number of successful and unsuccessful attempts at
blackmail among Italians, as the amount of undiscovered crime
throughout the country at large is incomputable. No word of
it comes from the lips of the victims, who are in mortal
terror of the vendetta--of meeting some casual stranger on the
street who will significantly draw the forefinger of his right
hand across his throat.
There is rather more chance to find and convict a kidnapper
than a bomb-thrower, so that, as a means of extortion,
child-snatching is less popular than the mere demand for the
victim's money or his life. On the other hand it is probably
much more effective in accomplishing its result. But America
will not stand for kidnapping, and, although the latter occurs
occasionally, the number of cases is insignificant compared
with those in which dynamite is the chief factor.
Pages:
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368