New-York tribune., 1920-11-09
Harding Finds
Point Isabel
InCala Dress
President Elect Has Wife
Hold Special Reception
for Little Girl Kept Out
of Welcoming Procession
Mexican Children Sing
Arch Decorated i'll Flags
Constructed by Fishermen
in Honor of Their Visitor
From q staff t'orrespoxae~s

From Stdt CORE SpowAe~s
POINT ISABEL, Nov S.--There is
only one white child in the public
school Of this fishing village on the
desolate shore Of Laguna de Madre,
land-locked arm of the Gulf of Mex
ico Because heS frock was soiled and
her hair was untidy, she was not per-
mitted th's afternoon to be one of the
children who greeted Senator and Mrs.
Warren 6. Harding, who have come
here for 81 vacation.
The little girl is Elizabeth La Roche
She is six years old and the daughter
Of fisherman. Her hair is sonburned
to the color of old straw. But in her
eyes there is the same lapis lazuli
tint seen in the waters Of tho bay near
the landless horizon.
Tonight Elizabeth crept into bed
in the weather. beaten shanty that is
fer home, happier than any other child
n the village A conversation with
9th the President-elect and the fu-
ture first lady of the land had changed
her shame and humiliation into a tre-
mendous pride and happiness.
Arch Of Welcome Erected
Under the direction of two Sisters
of Mercy Mary Loretto and Marv
Philippe. who teach in the public
school, all the children had prepared
red, white and blue tissue paper hats
and baldcics. The men, mostly Mex
lcans, had made an arch 'of olcandor
branches, covered with cerise bios
SONS. across the automobile road that
winds across the flat mesquite COW
cred plain from Brownsville, twenty
Two American flags of different sizes
were suspended from this arch and
there was also n banner advertising
Point lsabel's welcome.
Beyond the arch the road was lined
by a double row of black eyed, dark
skinned children, self conscious in
their paper decorations and holding
their small American flags and their
bouquets stihy in front of them. The
girls were in white frocks and the boys
had their hair slicked down and wore
white shirts
But Elizabeth hovered in the back
ground with Quivering lips and her It's
sue paper ornaments folded carefully
IN her hands, as if she still nursed a
hope that authority (reprosented by
the Sisters of Mercy would relent and
permit her to take her place in the
line.
Here they come," some one sboutnd
And the line of children stitfened IN
anticipation. On the other side of the
arch waited the adult population of
Point Isabel, the swarthy, black haired
men, who on days when a President
elect is not arriving 60 out in the bay
to hsh, and the women in their Sunday
hnery. There were also men in Khaki
present, some of the thirty marines
who guard the wireless station.
Flowers Gtrewn in Path
An automobile came around bend
Of the road and moved cautiously
through the aisle of children, who be-
gan to swing and toss their flowers
into the path Of the machine and into
the car itself. Beyond the narrow
arcfiway half dozen men climbed out
and began to beat the dust from their
clothing.
This explained that this group didn't
include Senator Harding. His machine
would be along presently. The arrivals
were correspondents. The children
with unflattering haste picked their
flowers out of the road and blew the
Dust from the petals Elizabeth La
Roche giggled shamelessly.
The minutes of the wait had dragged
into hours. The pungent odor Of even
ing cooking fires Of MESQUITE wood
mingled with the tang Of salt air that
is also favored with the smell of milch
goats before the arrival of another
automobile was heralded by dust
cloud that rose above the clumps of
fragrant huisatch and thorny mesquite
brush that concealed the road from
Brownsville, where the Harding special
train had arrived in the morning.
- 1t was the Senator, but his automo-
bile stopped as it reached the outer
most end of the ranks of children, and
ICnnfinued