Metropolis weekly gazette. (Metropolis, Ill.) 1???-19??, 1918-06-28
SHOWED HER life"
How City Police Captain Dealt
With Runaway Girl.
Brief Tour Sufficed to Make Her
Acquainted With New York, and
She Realized Il Was Not All
That She Had Pictured.

In her little home town. ran away to
| New York and how the New York POI
| lice found her and returned her to her
| parents-is one of the incidents de-
scribed by Zoe Beckley in an. article In
the Peoples Home Journal on New
| York-the Pert of Missing Girls and
Boys" Mlnnie'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.
a halfpast seven thai same morn
| ing writes Miss Bcckley. Minnie Bar
nell, lying awake and worried III o lit
lie room Ia an obscure New York hotel.
was an astouished girl whom she heard
a sharp "rat-tat-lat!a nj her door and
voice saying ITS al right. Minnie.
I'm friend with message from
home. Minnie sut up and blinked.
short white later size was looking
| into the face Of stranger. mild OF
manner and kind OF eye. IL was the
sort of man Minnie had heaed give
stereopticon lectures ID her home
church many a tn.e-a man easy 10
talk 10. because you inslnciiyely
| trusted him and felt he would under
/ stand. Sull-ihere WIS a certain keen.
| steady look Ia his brown eyes.
Minnie was angry who are you.
/ liz HsE Haaf
right have you Ia come heref'
MY mime is William Grant VII.
liams. I'm from police headquarters"
Mlnnle's face flushed hotly You're
going To try 10 send me home she
cried. We'll. ! won't 20. Yeu can
arrest me Il you ike, but I won't go
| back They've just sent for me our Of
meanness. Wen. | can hr mean tho
/ I've shaved Oh Ina going "a. I've never
/ seen anything or been anywhere or
done anything tn ny life bur work and
/ slave aud SIT home. Vow I've "a chance
/ - 20 with n musical show I'm going
/ to play the Aylophonc. can earn
good money. | won't go homci And
What are you going 70 ia about ~
We'll" answered Williams. rubbing
/ his chin. i don't want 10 send you
home against your VIII, Bui your
mothers pretty sief. Suppose we have
some breakfast FIRST, and talk II oyert
/ III wait for yon downstairs
After coffee aud ham aud eggs IT
nearby restaurant. Minnie.s sullen an
ger relaxed q little. She found herself
telling this man from headquarters
about her home and her work as str.
nographer az ten dollars a week. and
how tied down she was by reason II
her mothers invalidism and her Ia
Tiers steruness. And how she longed
Ito see something"
"Good," said Williams. I'll show
you New York"
The girls eyes widened The cap.
tain Slipped away a moment and wired
Jonas Harnell:
Minnie found. Safe. Meet as at
GRIND Central At ! y. M
Then he started out with Minnie.
They rode on street car to Hauerg
park visited the aquarium; walked upI
the wondrous canyon ~ Brnudeay :.
saw Wall street and the stock ex-
change, and Trinity church dWarfed|
among the sk5scapers. They pas-e'l
tie Singer toHer and the NoolN0rlh
building the ancient post Office and
the beautiful eits halt. Newspaper
row and the Bowery, dim and grim,
We're pointed out-and Minnie forgot
her appointment with the musical show
manager
With her unusual guide she took
another street ear thar turned east on
Delaney street, revealing a seething
tenement district the ike Of which she
had not pictured ia her Widest dreams
She saw a single block where more PEG
pie lived than in her whole town. She
saw more poverty. more evidences Of
priyatiOn and sorrow than she believed
existed in the world. let alone New
York, the city of mllionares.
They went uptown and took a 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 thai
she preferred to have 1t 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 10 work
Monday morning as usual Her EN-
ployer never even knew she had beer
away.
AT an expense of exactly one dol
lar-breakfast and carfares,v 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 nj
homel It's amazing how easily the
human mind unkinks itself as soor
as II has the least normal outlet. Min
ME wanted 10 see life New Yorb
represented life to her"
Ash Trees for AirpI.nes.