The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1918-06-15
Showed HER life"
How City Police Captain Dealt
With Runaway Girl.
Brief Tour Sufficed to Make Her
Acquainted With New York, and
She Realized II Was Not All
That She Had Pictured.

How Minnie, tired of the proSaic life
In her little home town, ran away to
New York and how the New York po-
lice found her and returned her to her
narentS-iS one Of the incidents de-
scribed by Zoe Beckley in ar article in
the Peoples Home Journal on New
IOrk-the Port of Missing Girls and
Boys" Minnie's parents had wired
the New York police, and Capt. Grant
Williams Of the missing persons bu-
reau, by methods the police keep Sc
cret, had located Minnie. The rest Of
the incident gives a picture Of modern
police methods rarely presented to the
public.
AT half-paSt seven that same morn
ing, writes Miss Beckley, Minnie Bar
nell, lying awake and worried in a lit
tie room in an obscure New York hotel,
was an astOnished girl when she heard
sharp rat -tat-tat!" at her door and
voice saying, ITS all right, Minnie
I'm friend with a message from
home" Minnie sat up and blinked.
A short white later she was looking
into the face of Il stranger, mild of
manner and kind Of eye. He was the
sort of man Minnie had heard give
stereOpticon lectures in her home
church many a time-a man easy to
talk to, because you instinctively
trusted him and felt he would under
stand. Still-there was certain keen,
steady look in his brown eyes.
Minnie was angry. "Who are you.
anyhow" she flung defiantly. What
right have you to come here?"
my name is Williams-Grant VII.
liams. I'm from police headquarters"
Min4le's face flushed hotly, You're
going to try to send me home!T Sac
cried. SWELL, l won't go. You ca,
arrest me If you like, but won't G,
back. They've Just sent for me out cat
meanness. Well, l can be mean. too
I've shaved all I'm going to. I've never
seen anything or been anywhere or
done anything In my life but work and
slave and sit home. Now I've chance
to go with musical show. I'm going
to play the xylophone. can earn
good money. I won't go home! And
what are you going to do about it?"
"Well," answered Williams, rubbing
his chin, Il don't want to send you
home against your will. But your
mothers pretty sick. Suppose we have
some breakfast first, and talk it over?
I'll wait for you downstairs"
After coffee and ham and eggs at
nearby restaurant. Minnie'S sullcn an
ger relaxed Il little. She found herself
telling this man from headquarters
about her home and her work as ste
nOgrapher at ten dollars week, and
how tied down she was by reason of
her mothers invalidism and her ia
Tiers sternness. And how she longed
Ito see something"
Good" said Williams. "Ill show
you New York"
The girls eyes widened. The cap
tain slipped away moment and wired
Jonas Barnell:
Minnie found. Safe. Meet us at
Grand Central at 4 p. m"
They rode on street car to Battery
park; visited the aquarium; walked up
the wOndrous canyon of Broadway;
saw Wall street and the stock ex-
change, and Trinity church dwarfed
among the skyscrapers. They passed
the Singer tower and the WOolworth
building, the ancient post office and
the beautiful city hall. Newspaper
row and the Bowery, dim and grim.
were pointed Out-and Minnie forgot
her appointment with the musical show
manager.
With her unusual guide she took
another street car that turned east on
Delaney street. revealing a seething
tenement district the like of which she
had not pictured in her widest dreams.
She saw single block where more peO-
pie lived than in her whole town. She
saw more poverty, more evidences OF
privation and sorrow than she believed
existed In the world, let alone New
York, the city of milliOnaires.
They went uptown and took q dash
through Fifth avenue, skinned Forty
second street and glimpsed Broadway.
Minnie's defiance had melted away. In
its place was the WEAKNESS of the
satisfied sightseer. She declined posi-
| lively to have luncheon, saying that
she preferred to have it on the train
going home with her father
Minnie was back home before mid
night, her mothers glad tears upon
her cheek. her shoulder warm from
her dads hard hug. She went to work
| Monday morning as usual. Her en-
ployer never even knew she had been
away.
"At an expense Of exactly one dol
lar-breakfast and carfareS, grinned
| Captain Williams, telling me the story
as we sat in his office at headquarters,
Minnie Barnell was cured of the
obsession that made her wretched at
home! It's amazing how easily the
human mind unkinkS itself as soon
as it has the least normal outlet. Min
ME wanted to see life New York
represented life to her"