Morning Prayer Chaplain
Lord's Prayer Response by Choir
Second Scripture Lesson.
Hymn No. 3 Choir
"Within Thy Courts."
Sermon Rev. George L. Herr
Hymn No. 355 Choir
"Calvary."
Doxology. Benediction.
Band. March. Exit.
Chapel Services
In the Bible-school at 8 o'clock through the doorway of life beyond,
which Christ left open that men might both look in and go in, the 300
students saw some of the things that "God hath prepared for them that
love Him." The germinal thoughts of John 14:1-14 are that heaven is a
place--a roomy place, a prepared place, a place where the Lord abides
and where he will have his prepared people to abide with him. And that
in this doctrine is the cure for human sorrow. "Let not your heart be
troubled * * believe."
At the 9 o'clock meeting the quotation of Scripture verses appeared like
apples of gold in pictures of silver. Rev. George L. Herr was introduced
and the hearts of hearers beat warm under their jackets as the speaker
sang and talked to them of Jesus and His love. It was good to be there.
The Great Congregation gathered at 10 o'clock and was welcomed with the
stirring notes of the band men. The many voices lifted in the chant,
"Gloria Patri," showed how grand the effect would be if all would join
in the song. Why not all?
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Give me understanding.--Ps. 119:34.
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"A Rose in Heaven," and "Life's Lullaby," were admirably sung by Miss
Lucile Bethel with her sister Miss Bethel as accompanist at the piano.
The anthem, "Ashamed of Jesus? Never, No Never," was sung by the choir
as the author of the song might have wished to hear it rendered.
* * * * *
That old story of the prodigal son was the subject on which Rev. George
L. Herr of Louisville, Ky., preached to the inmates of the penitentiary
Sunday morning in the chapel, but it was the twentieth century prodigal
who formed his main theme.
Mr. Herr is known all over the country as the prison missionary. He has
all the vivacity and warmth of the Southerner. He illuminated the old
parable with the story of his descent from the position of a son of a
wealthy Kentucky home, possessing a large estate, to the destitution of
a linen duster for a December coat, and from a seat in a Pullman to
riding the bumpers of a cattle train. That was his condition sixteen
years ago. The men enjoyed the object lesson and cheered the moral
heroism evinced in the life-story of the missionary.
* * * * *
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I am understanding.--Prov. 8:14.
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The Courier-Journal republishes herewith from the Evangel an editorial
by the Rev. L. B. Haines at Columbus, O.:
"The editors of the Evangel were pleased to meet Mr. George L. Herr
while in Columbus a few days ago. He addressed the prisoners at the Ohio
penitentiary and was heartily received by all who heard him. He is doing
a noble work in the prisons all over our country. We spent a pleasant
afternoon together, visiting the sick in the prison hospital, and we
believe God blessed the seed sown. The Evangel wishes him and his dear
wife God speed in their self-sacrificing efforts for the lost. We take
great pleasure in calling the attention of the readers of the Evangel to
Herr's new book entitled "The Nation Behind Prison Bars," a notice of
which you will find on another page of this issue.--Eds."
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For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.--Jno. 3:16.
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CHAPTER ELEVEN
INCONTESTABLE PROOF
OUR MOTTO:
"Seeking the Lost."
"Helping the Helpless to Help Themselves."
JAILER PFLANZ PAYS A HIGH COMPLIMENT TO EVANGELIST GEO. L. HERR
Louisville, Ky., March 12, 1901.
Mr. Geo. L. Herr,
Dear Sir: I have recently been asked by several persons on different
occasions if I thought much good could come out of the rescue work done
at the county jail. In every instance I would answer "yes." A great deal
of good is done through the Christian workers, and especially by you,
who not only give your time and attention to this work, preaching the
gospel on the Sabbath, but on every day of your life doing everything in
your power to lighten the burden of the unfortunates confined in the
jail.
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My glad heart says in the language of the Psalmist: "Bless the
Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits."
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[Illustration: REV. C. S. HANLEY
President of International Federation of Christian Workers, by whom we
were ordained in Chicago, Ill., in 1907.]
I have known prisoners of all classes look forward to your arrival each
day with gladness, knowing that if you did not have something to
distribute among them you would give them a cheery good morning.
As a rule you always have something to give them, which gladden their
hearts and make them think better of our harsh world, wherein they are
buffeted around like so many things to be despised.
I have never known you to come to this jail that you were not interested
in some poor fellow's case, and often have I known you to call on either
the Judge of the Police or Criminal Court to intercede for some person
confined in our jail. I have noticed that whenever you come you are
asked by more than one of our prisoners to go on some mission, either to
a father, mother, or some other relative. Distance and barriers have no
terror for you, as was evidenced in your recent trip fifteen hundred
miles for one of our prisoners to see his parents.
In every case you have with promptness attended to requests, always with
a cheerfulness that is surprising to those who cannot understand and
will not learn. These are the things that lift up the hearts of the poor
unfortunate prisoner and make him feel that there is something worth
living for.
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Draw nigh unto my soul and redeem it.--Ps. 69:18.
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My wish and prayer is that you may go on in the good work you are doing.
Sincerely yours,
JOHN R. PFLANZ.
* * * * *
Following are letters of endorsement to Missionary George L. Herr and
his wife in their life-work among outcasts, fallen ones and victims of
sin. Among those who have lent substantial aid and hearty encouragement
to the work will be noted many of our leading citizens, men of
irreproachable character and standing in society, who have not hesitated
to add their quota of praise to the universal word of approbation
accorded the missionary in his efforts to lead the wayward ones back
into the path of self-respect and manhood.
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Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me; Lord be thou my
helper.--Ps. 30:10.
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Frankfort, Ky., Nov. 22, 1904.
Dear Bro. Herr: I regret that you and your good wife and "Sunshine" can
not be with us in our services next week at the Frankfort Penitentiary,
but am glad to have you promise to be with us soon. No one understands
this work for the salvation and elevation of those in our penal
institutions,--the possibilities, the discouragements, the trials, the
triumphs, the rejoicing--as we do who are constantly engaged in it. Your
frequent visits to us are always appreciated both by the chaplain and
the prisoners, and your sermons and talks and songs are blessed by God
to the furtherance of the work of grace in our midst. I can truly say
there are eyes that "mark your coming and look brighter when you come."
I wish also to say for your encouragement and those who work with you
that your faithful labors are plainly manifest in the lives of many whom
you come in contact with--the deep and lasting impressions made upon
their minds and hearts so we are enabled to take up the well begun work
and by God's help carry it on to salvation of the soul. May God bless
you abundantly in your noble work.
Truly yours,
T. T. TALIAFERRO,
Chaplain Ky. State Penitentiary.
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Forsake me not, O Lord.--Ps. 38:21.
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* * * * *
Rev. H. C. Morrison, D.D., Editor Pentecostal Herald, Louisville, Ky.,
and President Wilmore College, Wilmore, Ky., says:
I take pleasure in commending my friend and brother, Geo. L. Herr, as a
devout Christian and earnest worker for the salvation of men. He has
had wide experience on both sides of the line, and has been greatly
blessed in rescuing men who have gone down into the depths of sin. He
has been especially blessed in prison work. Those who help him forward
in the good work in which he is now engaged will do me a personal favor.
Wishing him and his wife great success as they shall go from prison to
prison seeking after the lost,
I am Respectfully yours,
H. C. MORRISON.
* * * * *
Rev. James M. Taylor, world-wide evangelist, says:
I have read with soul-stirring interest the sad, heart-rending
experience of Bro. Herr, and the miraculous deliverance by the grace of
God, how by a life of sin he squandered a fortune, how God found him a
bond slave of appetite and other sins and delivered him, the romantic
way in which his God-given companion entered his life, and how they are
being used perhaps as no other persons today in helping those "behind
the bars." This story will warn the reckless, encourage the "cast out"
and put a desire in the heart to help the fallen.
JAMES M. TAYLOR, Evangelist.
Knoxville, Tenn.
(Frankfort Journal.)
The Rev. Geo. L. Herr, of Louisville, will spend the fourth as the guest
of Rev. Jos. Severance, chaplain of the State prison, today. Rev. Herr
is a widely known, talented and enthusiastic prison evangelist, and has
a national reputation as such. He will shortly publish his famous
sermon, "Man's Worst Enemy," and will place numerous copies of it in
every penal institution of the United States.
* * * * *
Prison Evangelist's Good Work
(Courier-Journal.)
Prison evangelists published in 1906-07 36,000 sermons in booklet form
and sent them North, South, East and West. The Rev. George L. Herr and
wife closed a most remarkable year. The meetings which they have held
for the most part have been in large prison houses, erected for sinful
men and women.
Mr. Herr has delivered sermons to many thousand listeners; many have
professed conversion and thousands have asked for prayer. The good that
this work has done will probably never be fully known until the business
of this old world has been brought to a close. Influences have been set
in motion that are going to roll on until time shall be no more.
Rev. W. O. Vreeland, chaplain Frankfort Reformatory, says:
It gives me great pleasure to testify of the splendid work among the
prisoners done by a man I believe to be deeply consecrated to the work
of rescuing the "fallen brother." George Herr is worthy of the highest
commendation.
W. O. VREELAND.
Oct. 12, 1912.
* * * * *
A Grand Work Highly Commended
Louisville, Ky., July 24, 1902.
Rev. Geo. L. Herr,
Dear Brother Herr: I regret very much to learn of your departure from
the city, and the work you have so nobly, and for so long a time,
engaged in at this institution and elsewhere. To say that you will be
missed by us is but faintly expressing my feelings at your departure.
You will not only be missed by myself and other officials at the jail,
but by the poor unfortunates placed in my custody, for I know I can
truthfully say we will never be able to get any one who will take the
pains and do the great good you have done for all with whom you have
come in contact.
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I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.--Heb. 13:5.
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I can assure you that your farewell sermon to all of the one hundred and
eighty prisoners in this jail on yesterday was the cause of great
depression in the spirits of all who heard you on that occasion, for
every one of them felt that he or she was about to lose their best
friend, who had not only ministered to their spiritual wants but made
their troubles his own, and in every way in his power relieved them of
their every ailment.
You and your good wife were as father and mother to them, their guardian
angels, who made their rugged paths smooth and their futures bright and
happy.
It is with much sorrow that I write you today, and my only consolation
is in the hope that you may some day return and take up the good work
again for the betterment of the unfortunates who may be confined in this
and other institutions in which you have worked in this city.
Sincerely yours,
JOHN R. PFLANZ.
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O Lord, make haste to help me.--Ps. 40:13.
I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One
of Israel.--Is. 41:14.
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"Worked Wonders"
Declares Dr. Garvin, Physician Jefferson County Jail
Louisville, Ky., July 24th, 1902.
Rev. George L. Herr,
My Dear Brother Herr: It is with much regret I have heard of your
determination to leave us. You and your good wife have now been engaged,
for about four years, in the noble work of saving souls in the Jefferson
County jail, and to the success of your efforts I can truly bear
testimony.
I must confess that at first I had little hope of much good being
accomplished, but your constant devotion at all hours, night and day,
has worked wonders, and I am satisfied that many who came steeped in sin
and in their own minds hopelessly lost, have left the prison at peace
with God, and with a determination in the future to lead a better life.
Wherever you go, may God be with you, is the wish of all who know you,
and especially that of your friend,
SAM'L H. GARVIN.
Physician to Jefferson County Jail.
Strong Endorsements
Evangelist Herr's work commended by Minister.
[Louisville Evening Times]
Louisville, Ky., June 21, 1905.
Rev. Horace G. Ogden, D.D., Pastor Trinity M. E. Church, Louisville,
Ky., says:
To Whom It May Concern:
I take pleasure in commending Mr. Geo. Herr to the esteem and confidence
of the public. I have been placed where I have known intimately his work
as Prison Evangelist in Jefferson County Jail--a place incomparable in
my opinion for testing the character and power of a Christian worker. I
can say he has made a superb record and been able by divine assistance
to rescue many from the life of crime. He has taken an enlarged field of
work because he has been convinced it was the call of the Highest, and I
have every confidence in his increased usefulness. I cheerfully commend
him and his work. His book is true and merits large circulation. Mr.
Herr is a fine public speaker.
Sincerely,
HORACE G. OGDEN.
Speaks to Prisoners
The Rev. J. A. Holton, Chaplain Eddyville Penitentiary, commends Rev.
Herr's work:
The Rev. George L. Herr, the well-known Louisville prison evangelist,
conducted the chapel services at the Eddyville State penitentiary,
Eddyville, Ky., on Sunday, February 16. Mr. Herr's address to the
prisoners made a very decided impression upon the men. In a letter to
Louisville, J. A. Holton, Chaplain of the penitentiary, writes of Mr.
Herr's visit to Eddyville as follows:
"Brother Herr is a fluent and earnest talker and speaks from personal
experience and observation with telling effect, timely words that tend
to the betterment of his hearers. No one who is acquainted with his
personal history and present effort in the cause of prison reform could
doubt his sincerity. It is not a surprise, therefore, that from every
sphere of his labor along the line of evangelistic work in the prisons
of the land come unsolicited testimonials commending him and his
work."--The Louisville Times.
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And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God,
which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the
house of bondage.--Ex. 20:1-2.
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Sad and Pitiful Stories
[The Louisville Herald]
For fifteen years Mr. Herr has carried the great truths to the outcasts,
giving warning of the danger, and thousands have repented and have been
rescued from lives of sin and shame and are now blessings to the
community. Hundreds of thousands of tracts, sermons, books, papers,
etc., have been distributed, the results of which can never be known.
"One of the saddest features of this work is that we are constantly
beset by the sad-faced, grief-stricken, broken-hearted mothers and wives
who have been so unfortunate as to lose their loved ones in sin,"
declared Rev. Herr. "They come to us and plead for us to help find the
wanderer.
"The pitiful stories of disgrace, shame and disappointment that come
from the broken hearts who are victims are beyond expression and almost
enough to melt the heart of stone into a river of tears, and to stir us
who hear them and see the helplessness of unfortunate ones.
"There never was a place where the gospel was needed more and where it
would do more good, than in the prison houses of our beautiful land."
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Open them mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of
thy law.--Ps. 119:18.
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Resolution That Was Never Broken
"I am done with a life of thieving."--E. B.
Another of the days in jail that will long be remembered by some of the
poor unfortunates who have been making this place their residence for
some time. The missionary who makes prison work the work of his life
preached to the men today, the service being in the place of the regular
Saturday services, because the convicted men were to go to the
penitentiary Saturday morning, and Brother Herr intended to go to
Cincinnati, Ohio, this evening. So the good brother gave the men some
good, wholesome advice.
And in opening the services, that always appropriate song of "Let a
little sunshine in" was sung, and the good God knows that if any one in
this world needs "sunshine" that person is the one who is behind prison
bars.
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Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
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I have seen some curious things in my wandering life, and some very
curious and saddening sights are to be seen in jail. To see men right in
the prime of their manhood going to a living tomb, to actually bury
themselves for years, is a sight not easily forgotten. Oh, the misery,
the shame, and the degradation of it all. It is no wonder that some of
the unfortunates weep. The sight of so much misery seen at one time is
enough to melt the heart of the most hardened criminal. As I watched the
men put up their hands in reply to the question of "How many of you men
want to lead a better life?" I could not blame any one of the prisoners
for putting up their hands in a resolve to lead a clean life.
My sympathy is with the unfortunate. I have been placed in positions
just like these men are placed in, but never again! Oh, I hope that when
I finish this term of imprisonment that I may find some means of
employment that will bring me in enough money to keep body and soul
together. From this time forward I am done with stealing. I hope that my
right hand may lose its cunning and my eyes grow dimmer, so dim that I
cannot see anything to steal. I am done, done with a life of thieving. I
don't know how I am going to exist, but I am not going to steal any
more. By the help of the good Lord I intend to reform.
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For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will lighten my
darkness.--Ps. 18:28.
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What Is A Friend?
A friend is the first person who comes in when the world has gone out.
A bank of credit on which we can draw supplies of confidence, counsel,
sympathy, help and love.
One who considers my need before my deservings.
The triple alliance of the three great powers--love, sympathy and help.
One who understands our silence.
A jewel whose lustre the strong acids of poverty and misfortune cannot
dim.
One who smiles on our fortunes, frowns on our faults, sympathizes with
our sorrow, weeps at our bereavement, and is a safe fortress at all
times of trouble.
One who, gaining the top of the ladder, won't forget you if you remain
at the bottom.
The holly of life, whose qualities are overshadowed in the summer of
prosperity, but blossom forth in the winter of adversity.
He who does not adhere to the saying that No. 1 should come first.
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God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in
trouble.--Psalm 41:6.
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[Illustration:
When the author left Louisville to 1905 for Chicago to be ordained, he
was greatly helped by his friend Chas. F. Grainger, kindness never to be
forgotten.
HON. CHAS. F. GRAINGER
Former Mayor of Louisville; now President Louisville Water Co.
Mr. Grainger says, "Mr. Herr's work among prisoners has been very
successful, and through his efforts many have reformed."]
A watch which beats true, for all time, and never "runs down."
An earthly minister of heavenly happiness.
A friend is like ivy--the greater the ruin, the closer he clings.
One who to himself is true, and therefore must be so to you.
The same to-day, the same to-morrow, either in prosperity, adversity or
sorrow.
One who guards another's interest as his own and neither flatters nor
deceives.
One truer to me than I am myself.--Exchange.
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Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be
acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my
redeemer.--Ps. 19:14.
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"Another Chance I Crave"
[Courier-Journal]
Austin, Tex., Dec. 2.--(Special.)--Jake McKinney, who was serving a life
term in the State penitentiary at Rusk for the murder of Robert Walker
in Jones county seven years ago, has just received his pardon from Gov.
O. B. Colquitt on the strength of an appeal for liberty in the form of a
poem that he wrote and sent to the Governor. This poetic application was
turned over to Mrs. Colquitt by the Governor and it was upon her
recommendation that McKinney was given his liberty. McKinney was
twenty-four years old at the time of his conviction. During the last
four years of his imprisonment he was editor of the prison newspaper,
the Alcalde Chronicle. He attended night school while in the
penitentiary. His poems and articles in the little newspaper that he
published attracted much favorable attention. His pardon application
reads in part as follows:
Another chance, 'tis all I ask,
In freedom's sun again to bask;
To hear the voice of loved at home,
And amid familiar scenes to roam.
What saith the Scripture? Is it wise
To gain a world and lose the prize
Of future Joys of Him above,
Who came to save because of love
For sinful men imprisoned here
In sin's corrupted atmosphere?
Another chance to know the life
Beyond the cruel prison strife,
Where Beauty, Truth and Culture reign,
And pleasure comes from Labor's gain;
To see the golden sun at dawn
Spring forth to kiss the rural lawn,
Wet with the kiss of midnight dew,
And brightens to a gorgeous hue,
To please the eye of all mankind.
A gift of God to man so blind,
Another chance to show the world
That darkness hid my flag unfurled;
That flame of ingenuity
Burns brightest where the darkest be;
As all is not as some would tell;
"A soul defiled and booked for hell."
Another chance I crave of thee,
Oh, Governor, but feel and set me free!
Make the conditions what you may,
I will live up to them every day;
I have no friends to plead for me,
Dear Governor, can't you set me free?
Most sincerely
JAKE MCKINNEY.
[Illustration: JUDGE AARON KOHN
One of the greatest criminal lawyers of the American bar
There is none in this world who has been a greater friend in my sorest
need.]
Letter from the Late Col. Will S. Hays
Editor, Poet, and Song Writer
My Dear Rev. Geo. L. Herr: It is a pleasure to express the sentiment of
pure friendship I have for you and for the Christian work in which you
are now engaged. Knowing you from boyhood, I am free to say you are one
of God's chosen ones to do his will and work, and heaven never had a
more faithful representative than yourself. May your words and works in
the Master's cause result in adding souls to the kingdom of glory, and
may God and the angels watch over and guard you through life is the
prayer of your friend,
WILL S. HAYS.
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The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.--Ps. 19:7.
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The Late J. P. Scheider
Captain of Police
I have met him at all times and in all places, from the palace to the
prison, striving to better the conditions of his fellowmen. At the same
time serving our Lord in such a noble manner as to attract the attention
of the least appreciative person. He has taken for his duty the task of
working principally among the criminal classes that frequent our city
prisons, and to my personal knowledge has done more to benefit the
inmates than any other man of his vocation. Oh! how far more pleasant
this life would be if the world was full of just such noble,
good-spirited men as my friend George L. Herr, whom I know to be serving
our God in the most appropriate manner known to mankind.
Respectfully,
JOHN P. SCHEIDER
Profanity Shows Mental Deficiency