The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1907-02-11
Romance Of Ellis Island
forIginall

brains for themes when romanees arr
happening every day under their nosesi
Here. IKE flower peeping from mn.
der heap OF rubbish. Is 4 romance
extracted from the most nnromant.,-
thing in the world. an emigrant ship
Il only remains for the story teller to
put IT In form. 1t Is not a tale OF
young lovers. In the conventional
story romance ends with marriage
Nature knows no such division. Con.
ceiye an old fruit tree bearing shortly
before 1t is cut down single bit OF
fruit into which the trees vitality has
been concentrated and you have the
kind Of romance you are about to get.
Forty years ago Herman Guriich. a
Prussian, came to America. purchased
q farm. married, raised q family AMI
prospered. his wife died, and one by
one his children left him to marry IN
raise children Of their own. For tel
years be worked his farm alone. an /
then II occurred to him to relieve hi,
solitude BY REVEALING his former home
In Prussia. he did 90. bot failed to
fnd the diversion he had expected
The place he had left a. village had
grown to be q city, and the friends OF
his youth who had not gone elsewhere
were In the churchyard. DlsappoInt
Cd. he turned his face again toward his
desolate home In America.
Martha Leoser. q widow living In
Berlin with her daughters. had a son
In America Her daughters had been
with her since their birth, but her one
son had left her when he was q boy.
and she pinned to spend the few years
that remained to her where she might
occasionally see him. At last she could
resist the temptation to 30 to America
NO longer,
Now II happened. This is a short
sentence. nm incomplete sentence. yet
how much there 10 Until What would
all the story tellers do II the two words
were blotted out from the worlds on
going? It happened that Heinrich CIR.
lich and Martha Leoser were passen.
gers on the same ship. One day they
sat side by side and fell to talking.
Gurlich rejoiced with the mother In
her expectations at meeting her boy.
and Mrs. Leoser grieyed with the old
man when he spoke Of his return to
his lonely farm. They met frequently
On the voyage and on reaching port
parted with mutual regret.
In New York harbor. where they
landed. is Ellis island, a danger point
for emigrants more to be dreaded than
q submerged rock Of the ocean. Here
they must satisfy the officials that they
will not be burden upon the United
States. Gurllch had no trouble In do.
Ing so and took his departure. Mrs.
Leoser sent for her son, who lived Ia
one Of the environs Of New York. BE
came, and for brief period the moth.
ef and her boy enjoyed their meeting
and the prospect Of at least living on
the same continent. But the young
man failed to satisfy the authorities
that he could support his mother. he
had large family Of his own and was
at the time out Of employment. His
mother. too old to support herself. hac
no one else on whom to depend. The
decree went forth that Martha Leoser
must be deported to her native land.
Herman Gurllch. In the turmoil OF
the metropolis. was aione-as much or
more alone than be would be when be
returned to his farm. In years he had
met but one person Of his own genera
ton to give him one spark OF SYM
pathy-the woman he had met on the
steamer. She had shown him q paper
bearing her sons address to ask how
she might find him. This address Cur.
Itch remembered. e
One evening there was rap at the
door OF young Leoser. and upon lts
bang opened there stood Gurllch.
"Is Martha hereY' he asked. He re.
membered only the widows frst name.
mo, and she win not be here. She
u to be deported."
Gurlich went into the house. and his
host told him that there was no hope
OF his mother remaining. since there
was no one to support her.
Eyes, there is one" said the old man
after long pause.
"who.'
AZ. If your mother will marry ME
and go to live with me on my farm she
need not go back to Germany"
In half an hour the two men were oil
boat speeding for Ellis island. They
found the poor woman bemoaning her
fate. Her eyes lighted as she saw her
companion Of the voyage.
And here the effort of the story teller
to put this humble romance In stors.
form breaks down. Never was offer Of
marriage made In form more widely
diverse from the conventional proposal
laid down in printed romances The
son took his mt Their aside and told her
Of Gurlich's proposition. While mother
and son conferred the would be groom
stood making pretense Of looking at a
family Of Russian Jews eating sau-
cages. In few minutes Leoser return
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