El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-01-12
What Travellers Aid of The
Y. M. 6. A. Does For People
M RUTH MONRO AIGIK .

~ YOU are ever deluded into be-
Heving that life is dull or mo-
L uotonous. spend a day with the
travellers aid Of the YOUNG Women's
Christian association at the union sta
ton and you viii promptly change
YOUR mind. The travellers aid. Mrs. l.
q. Eighmey. representing the Young
Womens Christian association, meets
all Of the trains catering the union
station Into her charge come all the
little children and young girls who
are travelling alone. all the people in
trouble, all the aged travellers. and in
short. everyone who needs help. ,ifrec-
ton, advice or assistance.
She has been able TO most valuably
cooperate with both the department of
justice and the local police in saving
girls from white slavers. and in identi-
flying lost runaway girls An interest
ing experience Of this latter kind hap
pened a short time ago. Mrs Eighmey
saw a girl of not more than 10 wears
Of age enter the station from one of
the incoming trains. There were few
other passengers and the depot was
practically deserted at the time The
girl looked around eXpectantlv as
though seeking someone and then took
up her stand at the door to wait Mrs
Eighmey approached her and mes
whom she was expecting TO meet The
girl evsded her question but refused
10 admit she was expecting anyone.
She finally said she had come to visit
relatives, and named a woman in bust
ness here Mrs. Eighmey insisted on
putting the girl into a cab and having
her taken 70 this woman's place OF
business. although the girl protested
vigorously against leaving the station.
The cab driver and the policeman on
the beat both reported the girl received
by this business woman Mrs. Eighmey
mad dismissed the matter from her
mind, when she received phone calls
in quick succession from both the CITY
police chief and the county sheriff in
curing II Mrs Eighmey had taken a
girl from soldier The description
of the girl correspondent with the girl
who had been in the depot earlier in
the day and the police officers had re-
ceived frantic kilograms from the
parents Of the girl, TO locate her. as
she had run away from home to ioin
some militia man here. The next train
from that section brought in the dis
tressvd father and mother of the girl.
When the militia regiments had passed
through the girls home. a little east
Texas town, the girl had met this
man and they had cOrresponded since
The man finally persuaded the girl 10
run away from her home and meet
MIN mere The militiaman failed to
meet the train and Mrs. Eighmey in
sending the girl directly to the rela-
Slrl from waiting in the station until
the soldier arrived The parents found
the girl with their relatives and took
her back home
Another incident Of quite a different
kind was that Of a very old woman
who had arrived to see her son whom
she had heard was dying The woman
was quite childish Why don't Won
know Sammiee" she asked. Il thought
everyone would know him here" She
mad not the slightest idea Of his ad-
dress II took Mrs. EiEhmey quite a
lot OF questioning to finally get the
sons full name. After more ques-
uoning. she found that the son had re-
Gently moved into tent house near q
mountain This presented the idea
mat he must be in some Of the tuber-
cular tent colonies IN Highland Park
or Government Hill. so Mrs Eiehmey
took the old woman and they started
houses in that section OF the city
finally late in the afternoon finding.
by the merest chance, the tent in which
the boy lay His death did not occur
until the next day
When Mrs. Eiehmey tells Of the num-
be- Of children that are sent travelling
alone over the country. il is almost
appalling to think that the persons re-
for their safeguarding- One day the
conductor OF an eastbOund train
brought TO Mrs. Eighmey a little boy
five years Of age The boy had been
by an aunt and was coming here TO
meet his parents. That much the con
ductOr knew, but no more. The child
did not seem - know his fathers name.
to say nothing OF the address He
seemed TO expect his father to meet
him but no father arrived. Finally
Mrs. Eighmey got the fathers name
from the child and then started to hunt
him At the telegraph office she found
that a wire had been sent to a man Of
the fathers name. but Il had no ad-
dress. She found. however. the ad-
dress Of the sender and was about to
father when a Wells Fargo Express
company wagon driver drove by and
the child remarked: Daddy used to
drive a 'spress wagon" Mrs. EiShmey
then went to the express office and
found that a man by that name had
been employed in the baggage depart
ment Of the union station. y trip back
TO the station was made. only to find
that the man had been employed tenn
porarily, but was with the company no
longer and had left no address There
seemed no other clue 70 follow. so Mrs.
Eiehmey kept the child for the day.
ing. when another train from the west
came in, man wandered through the
station whom the boy recognized as
his father The father had been TO the
depot in the morning. some time after
the train had come in. but had not in
Quired of anyone about the child The
mother was very i'll with tuberculosis
and they were living in 4 tent house
in Government Hill
Another time. Mrs. Eighmey. on 60
ing TO the station to meet a late night