The sun., 1919-04-24
SUNFLOWER BOYS
WILDLY WELCOMED
Governor Allen, Senator Cap
per and Delegation Meet
Two TRANSCRIPTS.
SHIPS BEAT SCHEDULE
Notables Have to Hustle, But
Are in Time to Shout Greet
ings to Idols.
SHIPS BEAT SCHEDULE

upper bay yesterday when Kansas sent
all Of its Governors and ex-Governors
and Senators and prominent citizens
and women war workers and soldiers
relatives. who could be packed on two
tugboats-most of them still painting
from the quick run across the continent
out to meet some 1000 lusty fighters
from the Sunhower State and one small
adopted Kansan named. Toughy (birth-
place. Alsace breed, white spitz). all
Of whom arrived aboard the two troop
ships Mobile and Manchuria.
And the only reason the big rayed
flower OF the lmitless West didn't spread
itself all over the lower bay also was
that the Mobile and Manchuria slipped
one over on Gov. Henry J. Allen and
the rest OF the welcoming party by
steaming up through the Narrows two
hours ahead of the time.
Governor Allen-who Is a yard wide
war Governor. without doubt, nominated
and elected while he was in France ser
wing his Uncle Sam, under the Red
Cross and the Y. NJ. c. A. without one
bit of campaign work on his part ex-
cept one cable to his campaign man
sger, II. II. Motter. saving. III you meet
my boom tell 1t hello."-Gov. Allen was
comfortably shaving in his room at the
Waldorf-Astoria yesterday morning, Sc
cure in the belief that the tug Lexing-
ton. which was chartered to take his
party down the bay, wouldn't leave Pier
A before 2 o'clock. when a breathless
messenger burst In with a telegram stat
ing that the tug would steam Off at IL,
because II she didn't the Kansas boys
would be in Hoboken welcomeless and
forlorn.
Governor Rushes to Pier.
The Governor wiped the suds from
his rosy face with one hand, seized his
wife with the other. and pausing only
10 collect Senator Arthur Capper from
his room, TAXED frantically to the pier.
Hurry calls had brought together about
n score of the Kansas delegation in
time to take the Lexington. but the
rest, who arrived along about o'clock
as mad as hornets to find that for once
in its life the West was caught nap
ping had to be content to steam along
in the rear on the police boat Patrol.
Even Mrs. Cora G. Lewis, mother OF
all the Kansas troops by virtue of the
death In action of her own brave son,
Lieut. Gilbert NJ Lewis Of Kinsley.
Kan, and also because she and Miss
Helen X. Ostertsgh were sent to New
York three weeks ago with $4,000 ap-
propriated by the Sunhower Legislature
and charged with the duty Of using the
SAME, for the comfort of their soldiers
landing here-even Mother Lewis had
to tage along on the Patrol.
However, the latter craft caught up
with the Lexington before the Kansan
flotilla locked at Hoboken and its pas
sengers were transferred with their
friends on the Lexington's deck.
rita Al
enough when they have just one trans
port to meet. The Kansans had two.
The Mobile came first, slipping across
the blue water like a floating pyramid
OF gnomes or brownies, for that Is what
the khaki clad lads looked like from a
distance, clinging to every part of the
ship, almost spilling over the sides.
And what a cowboy yell went UP from
that pyramid when the lads spied the
yellow sunfiowers on the dancing little
tug and the white futter of the hand
kerchiefs their homefolks were waving
All Look for Loved Ones.
Meanwhile the homefolks were doing
some yelling themselves. OF course.
there were a few units and ambulance
service sections and so forth on board
the Mobile that didn't hail from Kan
w
was just one big hunk Of Kansas back
In safety from the war And long be-
fore faces could be picked out every
father and mother and brother and
cousin and aunt on those two tugs
was striving 10 distinguish its own.
Old Tom Carey-maybe the "Old"
wasn't in his christened name. but
that's what they called him yesterday
Ola Tom Carey Of Wichita pranced up
and down like a jumping jack. shrieking
through a megaphone manufactured out
OF newspaper, where's my boy?'
Say" he informed the eager rela-
tlves around him, .the Thi,ty-fiith d.
vision of Kansas was the thing. Say,
my boy was with the l3Oth Field Ar
tillery that busted through the lines
at Arsonne, They were the stun
Whoopee - lie Jet out a yell that made
the little tug stagger on the waves
There's my boy with his head sticking
through that manhole. Ho. son, well
come home"
A warm hearted. neighborly lot these
Kansans are. 1t seemed as IL every one
OF the welcomers knew every Sunfower
soldier by name, and exulted personally
In his proves. With unanimous pride
they talked OF the one Kansas ace, DON
aid Hudson. who brought down six Ger
man planes and was cited for bravery.
His father founded the Topeka Capital.
They recounted with pride the exploits
OF Mayor Fred Ellis of the National
Guard. who left Macpherson. Kan, as a
Captain. but who so distinguished him
self while serving with Headquarters
Company d, 18th Regiment. at st,
Mihiel, by leading his cooks and dish
washers out with spades and spoons and
whatever weapons they could find TO re-
pulse raid that he was Immediately
raised in rank and cited.
There they are-there's the rest OF
Dur boys" cried Mrs. Lewis. A brave
woman. that. AS simply as possible,
with never complaint, she spoke OF
her son. the Lieutenant who with the
"All-Kansas' division. the seth Divi-
sion Of the 353rd Infantry. led in the
hercest OF the fighting and was killed
not long before the armlstice was de-
;lared. Then with a smile and a laugh
she turned the conversation to the big
appetites OF the lads who swarm to the
Kansas headquarters she and others
have opened at SO West Fortieth street,
Governor Allen told us to Just find
III the Kansas folks in New York" she
'aid. That was three weeks ago, and
we've found and card indexed six hun
ired. And we're giving a house. armlng
or our boys tonight at the Gull. How
lrd X. Wood Is president OF our Or
Ianization."
Well, the Kansas lads and Kansas
nurses who covered the decks and chung
o tho ratlines OF the Manchurla-welI,
ne nurses weren't on the ratlines, but
ne boys were-they were all as glad 20
zee the home sunhowers as the Mobile
In eli