Page 7 Advertisements Column 1

NZ Truth, Issue 1196, 1 November 1928, Page 7

ipiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiMiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiii NO story of crime* between two covers, even by the master hand of Edgar Wallace, ■ has excelled m mystery that of the two-hundred-mile journey of Elsie Walker and her cruel death within fourteen hours of the departure of the Whippet car from the smiling: farm of her uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bayly, at Papamoa, Bay of Plenty. At the, same time', there is a touch of the bizarre m the peculiar fact that her body was found within a mile or bo of where that same uncle and aunt had lived some few short years ago. But the spirit of the young and innocent girl, whose brief life came to euch a -ghastly and brutal end, has every right to call for vengeance — just and speedy — on the diabolical friend ■who inveigled her away from safety, and affectionate friends, to such a grisly fate. : Whether that vengeance will overtake her murderer, or murderers — for possibly one or more are involved — remains to be seen. "Truth" would have less doubt about the crime being sheeted home had those police chiefs m charge of the detection of such dastardly acts been more prompt to act so soon as , the discovery of the body was niade. But for reasons which are difficult to comprehend, the case was treated as one of minor importance, and the public were misled "into believing that Elsie had died from natural "causes due to exposure, when it should have been obvious to the veriest tyro that such was not the case. • It is not too much to assert that had not "Truth", given the peculiar circumstances surrounding the dead girl some publicity m its issue of October .11, the officers m charge of the detective force might still be as apathetic as they were during the hrst week after the discovery of /the body. On October 2 the police knew that Elsie Walker, and her uncle's Whippet car, had disappeared from Papa- 1 moa, yet up to the discovery of her body, half -hidden, m a clump of scrub at Panmure, on October 5, they had yet given the matter one iota of publicity. And it has to be remembered, th:U she had not been traced.' Such deplorable inactivity opens up 'the- question: Had private influence been brought to bear to keep the girl's dis-'pnearance secret? : If that were so, then they were not v ?ctin^ for the. public weal, but rather adopting, a policy of "Hush, hush." ■which is far too evident iri this branch of the public service. Despite any ; moth-eaten bureaucratic arguments which may tie advanced to the contrary, this was one of those occasions when the general public had a solid right to be taken into the police confidence. But ' they, were ignored, and, when the murdered girl was foundi the police attitude was still. one of superior indifference for several days. ' Meanwhile the trail grew cold,