The Detroit times., 1909-04-21
LAD DIES ALONE IN
{ CITY or 100000
Joe Cohen, Four Years Old, Is Lost
On Roof of Building and Elk.
pires in Storm.

NEW YORK. April At was Sat
irday morning In New York's East
Side. and Ignatz Cohen, peddler, lined
up his little family for inspection. he
frowned as his eye fell on Baby Joe.
4 years old.
Joe must stay az home: you can
not go 10 the synagogue" lie decided
Look at his clothes, Rebecca, how
ragged they are. II Is not ft that one
should worship God IN rags. II would
be disrespect."
Little Joe looked down at his tiny
faded blue overalls. patched III won
derful mosaics: at his blouse. ripped
and stained: at his brown toes peep
ing out OF scraps of leather; at mis-
little ragged stockings. His lower lip
stuck ont piteously.
IL wanta CO." he rnumbled.
But mo" meant no to the Cohen
family. Joe was left behind.
It was not till the door had closed
behind the rest OF them that little Joe
dried his tears and decided on a
wonderful adventure. He would FOL
low them.
But it's pretty hard for little A.
year-old to pick his way through an
East Side street on Saturday morn.
ing. There were so many people.
They were going In so many direc.
lions. Sometimes he thought he could
see his father and his brothers ahead.
Sometimes he wasn't sure. He turned
corners. He walked and walked and
finally he got tired. Then he came to
big four-story tenement Home, ne
thought.
II isn't strange that baby boy
should get mixed UP In tenement
houses. Even grown-ups who know
everything might make that mistake.
There isn't much difference la New
York tenements. Joe Cohen walked
through the door, and started up
stairs.
One fight, two, three. TO familiar
faces. Still another, and things still
looked strange. Then there was an
other stair leading to door. The tired
little boy pushed the door open, and
stepped out on roof. A gust OF
wind slammed the door shut behind
him.
Laughs at Predlcament.
O-oh--it was funny. being upon the
roof The little fellow laughed.
The tin carpet cracked and ratified
under his feet In such a funny way.
He had often wondered what chin
ney felt like. Overhead between him
and the sky birds few back and forth.
He could see other roofs and tops OF
buildings. There was little parapet
around the edge which he could almost
1 see over.
He wasn't scared at all. was Joe.
Up overhead was the sky where God
and the angels were watching him.
His mother, the good Rebecca, had
often told him about 1t. II wasn't for
an hour or so that he did get fright
ened. Then he was very much fright.
ened
The door to the steps wouldn't open
He could just barely reach the knob.
He couldn't turn il. He pounded on
the door and kicked IL till his little
fingers and toes hurt and bled. He
tried to put his little fingers In the
crack OF the door and pull but 1t
only hurt more, and didn't help any.
Joe began to cry, first just little
broken sobs, then In loud terrified
walls that reaches beyond the roof to
the houses around.
But no help came. Those dingy
New York tenements house thousands
Of babies. Some Of them are crying
ell the time. What was one more III
40 many? No one listened. No one
hunted. The Little boy on the roof,
who was too ragged to go to church.
was all alone in this city Of four mil
lions.
Joe Cohen looked up at the sky for
comfort, but II brought none now. The
birds had gone. The skies were get
ting dark Clouds were gathering. In
the west came dim rumble of thun-
der.
And Joe. like many little boys and
some larger ones, was afraid OF thun-
der. He huddled beside the big. rough
chimney for comfort.
Meanwhile at the Cohen house three
blocks away. there was excitement
and anxiety. Father Cohen had
brought his family home TO find his
baby gone. He had searched through
the tenement and neighborhood. No
che had seen little Joe. What Is one
more baby In New York?
At the nearest police station he told
his story with trembling voice. The
desk sergeant made the usual conven-
tional inquiries without much interest.
AS the father started home. rain
drops. small at first, began to patter
down With cold fear, he prayed
silently as he walked 10 God TO be
careful OF his little boy.
Dies in Terrific Storm.
What were the feelings ~ little Joe
Cohen on his prison roof after that,
only Joe knows. And he can't ever
tell. Little Joe is dead
The cold rain beat down In torrents
on it's little prisoner, the worst rain
storm OF New York's storm spring.
Night came on and shed no pity on the
ragged little boy. soaked through.
crushed. terror-stricken. helpless.
A janitor OF neighboring apart.
ment noticed a little white bundle on
the roof the next morning. but he was
busy. and as he told the coroner-it
wasn't his child. He did tell one Of
the women in that tenement, but she
was just going out, and told another
Z h.. 20 ..