The sun., 1910-12-23
FLED FROM MILITARY SERVICE
lOt VI GERMAN, 4. 3. CITIZEN,
LOST PAPERS tND MONEY.
Went Home After ~ Years To see Parents
and was Searched and Order~si Z" Ne
port for Army Duty Escaping. Tie
walked 10 Italy served I'm Our Army.

A member Of the crew Of the koenigin
Luise. which arrived on Wednesday from
Gibraltar and Mediterranean ports. was
John Klein. a young German American.
who when he divested himself Of the
clothing Of a ps',tryman on th. liner told
"a story Of his rt,urn To the fatherland and
his escape from the German military au-
thorities who wanted him for running
away from his military service. The way
Klein figures il out is that no notification
had been sent To the proper authorities
on the other side when he took out citizen
ship papers in Minneapolis and that there
fore hls name still appeared on the list Of
those due for service in the German army
when he returned To his home to visit his
parents after twelve years.
Klein Is a rugged young chap with red
cheeks and broad shoulders. He says
he IL - years old He started for America
on the liner ST Louis in June. 1893. when
he was - years old. He left the other
side a. a stowawsy. but was discovered
when three days out. Colgate Hoyt. he
says. took an interest in him and paid
his passage 10 this port and gave him
$50 pocket money TO land with.
After reaching New York he driited
West and got work ON railroads. finally
working himself into a place in the ac-
counting department OF the Northern
Pacific Last spring his mother urged
him To come and visit her and his father
AT their home at Freimersheim bel Nainz
arm Rhein. and he finally sailed on the
Kron prinzersin Cecilie as a second class
Passenger on July l.? arriving at Bremen
July ~ He reached his parents home
on July - His mother WAS at the train
to meet him and did not know him
Al Mainz Klein had bought ticket for
the Passion Play at Oberammergau and
went there and saw the performance
He returned home on October 1 and on
October while he was waiting for his
father to come home TO dinner a corporal
came 20 the house and told him. ~ he
Understood the matter. that he had been
fined lsO marks back IN 1900 and ~ so
marks additional for costs because he
didn'' register at the German Consulate
in New York when ne arrived there
Klein had money in his clothes and paid
the charges and says that then the cor
poral told him that he would have TO re-
port to the .lTth Regiment of Infantry at
Mainz
While fhs conversation with the corporal
was going on Klein = father returned home
Oh his bicycl-. coming in ny %he back
door The son heard him and. saying
that he wanted a drink Of water. went
IL H.. 80 A.
way and made of on the bicycle Before
that. however. the corporal had searched
him and had taken. he says. all the money
no had in his pockets. $40 marks. a check
book and bank books on an American
bank. two real estate contracts. by which
the young man il buying u small farm
down in Texas: his discharge from the
United States army. his citizenship papers
n nd hi- passport.
Klein rod" INTO Mainz. thIrt v -ona kilo-
meters away. and left his fat hers bicycl.
with "A married sister ,her. Tn. sister
CAV. him his railroad fare 10 Basle and
from there he walked To Luc-rn.. a dis
ianCe 81 i8I kilom.ters, At LuCerne
he stopped over night at a Catholic in
ST nut ion sor tn. pennil.ss and hen walked
on TO Aldorf. fifty kilomsterS
The young man kept a diary in a small
account book during tho-. days. and
IN il wrot" down his daily marches and
he dist anc.S in kilomet.rs He tramped
all the way into Italy He reached Milan
October ~ and told his story 10 he Amer
ican Consul III. Consul wrote "A l.ft.r
TO Ambassador Hill AT Berlin regarding
h. cas-. and promised 10 do what h. could
10 recover what personal property other