El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-12-07
MOTHER Love;
SOLDIER s
CHARITY
Beautiful Story Of a Little
Runaway Wait and the
Mothers Search.
SOLDIERS CARE
FOR THE LAD


have a human interest story in the
tale Of 10 year old Wylie Phillips;
who disappeared from his South FL
Paso street home Tuesday morning
and was not heard Of by his frantic
mother until late Friday afternoon.
Thursday morning a thinly clad
woman came into the editorial depart
ment Of The FL Paso Herald with a
timid request that a note be printed
asking for information about her boy
who had been missing since Tues
day morning. The story appeared in
that days issue and the mother, Mrs
L. c. Phillips, called over the tele-
phone a number of times Thursday
evening to inquire for her boy. she
could not speak Of the little chap
he is not yet ten-without a chokIng
at the throat. When she attempted
to describe his clothes, she restrained
her feelings bravely until she told OF
his little bootees, when she broke
down with the sorrow and stain Of her
loss.
Offered Meager Reward.
Again Friday she called and offered
a meager reward Of 81, the only one
she had, for any Information that
might locate her boy. In the mean
time The Herald had been delivered
to the border patrol OF the United
States troops at Anapra, n. NJ, and
pprivate William Mercer, in charge Of
the hospital corps detachment there,
read the story Of the mothers search
boy answering the description
given had trudged into the cavalry
camp Tuesday afternoon, half frozen,
with only half enough clothing to
keep out the cold and with an aggra-
waited attack of tonsolitis- He had
told his simple story and had been
taken in without question by the big
hearted troopers of the army hospital.
A fund was made up among the mem
bers of the corps and his board ar
ranged for at the camp commissary
The soldiers who were off duty buSled
themselves cutting down their allow
ances of underwear that the little fell
low might have warm Woolens. He
was dressed in these and with an army
overcOat many sizes too big for him.
he was given his first warm meal OF
the day and bundled to bed between
snug blankets with U. S. on them No
mother ever gave her only. son better
care than those hospital men gave the
served as IL he was the commanding
officer.
The Mothers Home.
The scene changes again and the
picture is less pleasant Down on
South e. Paso street-EI Paso's great
ghetto district-iR the nearest ap-
proach to the city tenement this city
has, lives the mother of the little run
away. Her home is a single room
opening ont,, a court ankle deep in
mud and hung thick with family wash.
A small oil stove serves the dual pur-
pose of furnishing a pretense Of heat
for the room and for warming the
irons with which the boys mother
earns her living There is panel
missing from the door and the cruel
wind Of winter blows the flame low
in the tiny oil stove.
It is there that the mother lives and
from there that the little chap ran
away Mrs. Phillips earns a bare liv-
ing from her washing and from clean
ing rooms in a roOming house over
a saloon on the south side. 1t is the
best sce can do enG her hands are
worn thin with T1ucsl work She tried
selling post cards or che Juarez streets
but this could not support her boy and
his tive sisters. Manual labor was all
that 19s left and this she is doing
with t bravery 4 despair The
told the soldiers thai he was dead.
This is not entirely true, but it is as
well
The Mother Learns.
Friday afternoon trooper Mercer.
hospital corps. Z. S. A, came to FL
PasO frC his camp home. With his
own pay private he bought warm
clothes OF ne BOY. who was temper
arily under his care. A touch Of Ten
neesee had made the trooper and the
TOT KIN Inc DOy naQ tOlQ the SOL
der that he was from Tennessee and
that is where the soldiers mother
lives. He wrote her of the waif who
had come to his tent and had been
taken in. 1t was this same mother
love that made him tramp through
the mud and sIush and smells of lower
Ell Paso street for six blocks to tell
the mother that her boy was safe and
being cared for at the cavalry camp.
For the present, HVylie will remain
with the good Sam-ritans Of Uncle
Sans service. When he 81 well then
will it be time to talk about his flu
ture. Now he is the guest of the
amy and his rrish IL q cnrn r,nar.d