Ransom Money: Body-snatching, or rifling of graves for the purpose of exacting a ransom money from the families of the dead is not infrequent: a notable instance was that of the stealing of the body of A. T. Stewart, well-known New York merchant, in 1878, from the cathedral at Garden City, Long Island. The body-snatchers in this case demanded a ransom money of $200,000, which afterward they reduced to half that sum : finally, they received $20,000 with the assurance that they should not be prosecuted. Since that time extraordinary precautions are taken against body-snatching from the graves, especially of very rich persons
GRESHAM'S LAW, gresh'amz, in economics, is usually stated as "bad money drives out good." The law stems from the fact that money has a value both as money and as a commodity in the open market. The former value is set arbitrarily by law and is relatively fixed; the latter is determined by supply and demand and varies from time to time, "Good money" has a higher value as a commodity than as money and will disappear from circulation.
He became notorious in the f 1900's for the kidnaping of three foreigners, first of whom was Walter Harris, corresp for The Times, London, assigned to Tangier. :, 1904 Raisuli kidnaped Ion Perdicaris, an Amerf| citizen of Greek origin. President Theodore Ro velt ordered warships to Tangier to await insti tions, and Secretary John Milton Hay sent a j mous telegram, "Perdicaris alive or Raisuli i to Sultan Abd-al-Aziz IV who, to avoid war, i the kidnaper a large ransom money for Perdicaris' release., In 1907 Raisuli abducted Sir Harry Maclean, I sultan's British military adviser, and again torted a large ransom money. Later he joined Ab Krim's uprising against Spanish rule in the 19 5ut ultimately turned against the rebel leader and vas captured in 1925 by the latter's brother.
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