Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-01-16
]. s. CH|vALRY
GIVES COUNT To
K0vN0 CUSTOM
Little Old Wife Arriv-
ing in Steerage Gets
New Idea of Her Place
By JANE COMPTON

Special cefrespondsnt Of Great Falls Tribune
Special Correspondent Of Great Falls Tribune
(There arrived In New York,
this week, "a learned man. from
Lithuania, in northwest Russia.
He Travelled in the cabin. Down
among the sliding baggage and the
strange smells of the steerage
Travelled his 6O-year- -oId wife. They
arrived with peace and ''joy lin
their hearts. But suddenly storm
broke about them. The American
immigration authorities were Indig-
nant. They have held the aged
coupIe-gIving the wife first class
accomm modations at Ellis island, not
because the husband came In the
cabin and the wife third class, hut
because their passports have expir-
ed. Washington Is fixing the mat
ter up. Meantime, Jane Compton
has obtained an exclusive inter-
view with the bewildered little wife.
who already sees what strange
customs they have In America.)
New York. Jan. l5.--Tntil Ellis isl
and began to buzz with Indignation
until the head man in the shiny office
wagged his finger angrily. until the
head mans assistant rushed into the
special inquiry meeting like six-foot
angel of vengeance and said things that
made her two sons blush and hang their
heads-it had not OCCURRED to. Mrs.
Reise Melomed. of northwest Russia,
to seeing anything strange about her
self coming over in the steerage of the
same boat upon which he husband came
over in a first class cabin. The two
Melomed sons had sent the tickets
specifying first cabin on the Esthonia
for their father Moreover. in Kovno.
Lithuana, woman should be seen and
not heard and her place was the home
and all this and that. Besides which,
was not husband Moishke profoundly
learned man? Did he not require the
calm and quiet of first class passen-
ger in order to study his sacred books?
HuIahaioo BewIlders Her
Yet, no sooner had the Esthonia ar
rived this week from Libau, poured
forth her first cabin and her steerage
travellers. than trouble began. Reise
Melomed's little black eyes peered
sharply out from below the tiny black
shawl that covered scrupulously smooth
black hair; her glance narrowed as she
took in the significance of this most
bewildered hullabaloo in all her 81
years of married life, in all the 81
years since she had been born.
Tt was a hulabaloo in which for
some quaint and doubtless American
reason she appeared to be the chief
figure, and nothing SO utterly unex-
pected had ever happened to Reise be
fore. True, the boys had gone to
America. changed their last name and
prospered. But what would you? They
we're bright boys. True, again the
Germans had wrecked the Melomed
home and in good time the Russians
had burned what remnants the Ger
mans left. But, again what you?
Things happen like that in a war.
These events are comprehensive. But,
for grown-up men, men of official rank,
to wave their arms and shout more
vehemently than Moishke was waving
and shouting. merely because Reise had
huddled in the cheapest section of the
boat while Moishke took his ease three
decks above-this was food for wonder.
And for reflection.
Reise. as a result of the reflection.
is beginning to like America. Now
that she comprehends little of what
the uproar was about, there begins to
be fugitive CLINT in the black eyes.
Il
class headquarters at Ellis Island and
looked earnestly down the hallway at
the American flag and meditated The
first-class quarters were those in which
Commissioner Robert e.
Todd had insisted upon placing her,
despite the fact that a steerange pas
sepger is not entitled to such compar-
ative luxury. The room was as good
as the one Moishke, in spite of his
flowing white beard and his high black
hat. To tell the truth, the officials
were more polite to her. They seemed
to make point Of being extremely po-
lite to her at such times as Moishke
stood neglected in the background.
For few days more the Melomeds
will be detained on the island. Their
passports, which had expired. will
doubtless be renewed at Washington
so that the parents can journey to
their son in Philadelphia. And until
then. Reise, staring from her dimin-
ltive husband to the huge and smiling
status in this astounding Unit
I'd States
Tell Her She's a Suffragette
Don't you know you can vote for
president here:' guard asked her
this afternoon, vote-Just like her
nusband?"
''So?' commented Reise in her gen.
lie voice. Another quaintness.
Her black eyes rested on Moishke
,gain and he responded with kindly
augh. Not deliberate cruelty, GER
.ainly, but just the custom of his coun-
.ry had made him accept first class
comfort while his wife. endured the |
steerage
ut was necessary that ] have calm"
1e explained with eager gestures. Il
study where there is noise
But how about Reise? Did she en- |
Continued ON Page Two)