Evening journal., 1909-07-12
Romance Of Ellis Island
lorIgInall


der a heap Of rubbish, is a romance
extracted from the most unromantic
thing in the world. an emigrant ship.
1t 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-
ceive an old fruit tree bearing shortly
before II is cut down a 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 Gurlich, a
Prussian, came to America, purchased
farm, married, raised a family and
prospered. His wife died, and one by
one his children left him to marry and
raise children Of their own. For ten
years he worked his farm alone, and
then 1t occurred to him TO relieve his
solitude by revisiting his former home
in Prussia. He did so, but failed to
find the diversion he had expected.
The place he had left as a village had
grown to be a city. and the friends of
his youth who had not gone elsewhere
were in the churchyard. Disappoint-
ed, he turned his face again toward his
desolate home In America.
Martha Leoser. a widow living in
Berlin with her daughters, had son
in America. Her daughters had been
with her since their birth, but her one
son had left her when he was a boy,
and she plned to spend the few years
that remained to her where she might
occasionally see him. At last she could
resist the temptation to so to America
no longer.
Now it happened. This is a short
sentence, an incomplete sentence, yet
how much there is in IT, What would
oil the story tellers 60 II the two words
were blotted out from the worlds on
going? II happened that Heinrich Cur
lich and Martha Leoser were passen-
gers ON the same ship. One day they
sat side by side and fell to stalking.
Gurlich rejoiced with the mother In
her expectations at meeting her boy,
and Mrs. Leoser grieved 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
a submerged rock Of the ocean. Here
they must satisfy the officials that they
will not be a 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 in
one OF the environs of New York. He
came, and for a brief period the moth
er 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 a large family of his own and was
at the time out of employment. His
mother, too old to support herself, had
no one else on whom TO depend. The
decree went forth that Martha Ileoser
must be deported to her native land.
Herman Gurlich. in the turmoil Of
the metropolis, was alone-as much OF
more alone than he would be when he
returned to his farm. In years he had
met but one person of his own genera
tlon to give him one spark of sym
pathy-the woman he had met on the
steamer She had shown him a paper
bearing her sons address to ask how
she might find him. This address Cur
Itch remembered.
One evening there was rap at thu
door of young Leoser, and upon it'
being opened there stood Gurlich.
"Is Martha here?" he asked. He re
membered only the widows first name
mo- and she will not be here. Sh'
is to be deported."
Gurlich went into the house, and hi
| host told him that there was no hop
of his mother remaining, since Their
was no one to support her.
"Yes. there is one" said the old mai
after a long pause.
"Who?"
It. II your mother will marry M
and 60 to live with me on my farm sh
need not go back to Germany"
In half an hour the two men were Of
a boat speeding for Ellis island. The.
found the poor woman bemoaning he
fate. Her eyes lighted as she saw he
companion of the voyage.
And here the effort Of the story telle
to put this humble romance in stor
form breaks down. Never was offer o
marriage made in a form more widel
diverse from the conventional propose
laid down In printed romances. tn
son took his mother aside and told he
Of Gurlich's proposition. While mothe
and son conferred the would be groor
stood making pretense Of looking at
family Of Russian Jews eating sat
sages. In a few minutes Leoser return
ed and said his mother accepted th
offer. In vain the romance constructo
casts about for some stretch Of th
facts to give story form to the receI
tlon by the lover Of the news that h
was to be made happy. Yet why tr
express what no words ever have SUI
ceeded in expressing? Perhaps he sal
"Yah," perhaps "Das is goot;' but, n
matter what he said or how unlike ou
conceptions Of what he should hav
said, his old heart experienced an ech
Of the gladness Of youth.
Upon Gurlich's promising the autho
tiles that he would be responsible fC
J r1artha Leoser's support they at one
gave her permission to go where sh