In February 1918, a desperate plea went out through Washington, D.C.: Anton Herl, come home. Your little boy is dying and asking for you.
Herl, a 49-year-old tailor, had left home earlier that week in search of work, possibly heading to Baltimore after losing or leaving his position with an F Street clothing firm. Like many working men of the era, he may have gone where he believed employment could be found, leaving his family behind with the hope of returning with wages.
But soon after he left, his seven-year-old son became gravely ill.
As the child’s condition worsened, he repeatedly called for his father. His mother, Mrs. Herl, already overwhelmed and near collapse, turned to the police for help. She needed her husband found before it was too late.
The following article, published in The Washington Times on February 27, 1918, reads almost like a public notice and a family tragedy combined. It is a brief newspaper item, but behind its few lines is the fear of a mother, the uncertainty of a missing father, and the heartbreaking urgency of a child asking for someone who could not be reached.
Tailor Missing; Son, Near Death, Calling For Him
Washington D.C. — Anton Herl, your seven-year-old son is dying, and is calling for you!
While the police are searching for Herl, his son is critically ill at his home. Herl went to Baltimore, it is believed, on Monday to get work. He is a tailor, and up to recently was employed by an F Street clothing firm.
Shortly after Herl left his home Monday, his son became desperately ill. The family physician states the child has little chance of recovery.
Anxious that Herl knows of the illness of his son, who frequently asks for him, Mrs. Herl, herself on the verge of a nervous collapse, appealed last night to the police to try to find her husband.
On leaving his home Monday, Herl told his wife he was going in search of work — that he probably would go to Baltimore.
Inspector Grant has urged every member of the police force to make every effort to locate the missing man.
Herl is 49 years old, weighs between 135 and 140 pounds, and is 5’ 6” tall. When he left his home he wore a blue serge coat and trousers, white waistcoat, and a gray overcoat. He has black hair and mustache, streaked with gray.
Source: The Washington Times. Washington D.C. February 27, 1918.
