violently that he had never been in New Orleans in his life. Then
another thought struck me.
"'You've been in New Orleans more than once,' I said. 'The last time was
about six months ago, when you got Denman Thompson's diamonds in the St.
Charles Hotel.' I remembered the report of that case, but it was a
chance shot on my part, for no one had seen the thief. The old fellow
denied this vigorously.
"He was wearing a new derby hat. I don't know what impulse prompted me,
but I took the hat off his head and looked inside. It bore the mark of a
New Orleans hatter.
"The Chief and I left the station and had just turned into Sixth avenue
when I remembered the old fellow's name. We went back to the station
house and I confronted him again. I told him his name. He denied that
it was his.
"'What's the use of making trouble, Mr. Pinkerton?' he pleaded. His
inadvertent use of my name, which had not been mentioned there, gave him
away.
"'I don't know what kind of a case the police here have on you,' I told
him, 'but we are retained by the Jewelers' Protective Association, and
if you get after any jewelry drummers I'll make it hot for you.' And as
a precaution I got his photograph from the New York police. They didn't
have much of a case on him and he got off.
"Not long after a jewelry drummer was robbed in a Chicago hotel of about
three thousand dollars' worth of diamonds which he had carelessly left
in his grip instead of putting them in the safe. The same day a friend
of mine who was stopping in another hotel lost his new overcoat and told
me about it. I thought of the old man in the first job, and found a
chambermaid and bellboy who had seen him on the floor, but didn't
connect him with the second because he had never stolen anything but
very valuable articles, so far as I knew. My friend had to leave for New
York that night, and some time in the evening I got a telegram from him
which had been filed in Fort Wayne.
"'Positive man who got my coat is in same sleeper, ticketed to New
York,' it read. I wired my friend at a point further along the line to
get off at Pittsburg and hold a white handkerchief in his hand so he
could be identified and be prepared to point out the thief. Then I got
in touch with Pittsburg by wire, and sure enough back came a wire after
a while to the effect that they had got the man, whom my friend
identified, and found on him besides the overcoat about $3,000 worth of
diamonds. I asked for a description and the one they wired fitted that
of the man I had seen in New York. I referred Pittsburg to the man's
photograph, which had been published that week in a police periodical,
and they were sure they had the same man. And so it proved. He was
brought back to Chicago and convicted of the jewelry theft. He served a
short sentence, and when he got out he came to me.
"Mind you, this was an old man, who had been a thief all his life--I had
known him as a thief more than thirty years before. It is criminals of
that kind that are commonly regarded as the most difficult to reform,
but even hardened and lifelong offenders like this man will go straight
if they get the right kind of encouragement. I found this old man
apparently anxious to be honest, but he had never had a chance after
his first slip as a young man. I determined to do what I could for him
and I got him a job in New York. He is more than seventy years old now,
but he is still holding that job, and he hasn't made a false step since
he got out of prison the last time.
"Do criminals ever reform? I think I have told you enough to prove that
they do--and I could tell you of hundreds of other instances if you
needed any further proof."
* * * * *
A LETTER FROM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE "STAR OF HOPE" PAPER PUBLISHED IN
SING SING PRISON.
Ossining, N. Y., April 9, 1906.
Dear Brother Herr:
Your book, "Light in Dark Places," received. I do so much appreciate
your kindness in remembering poor me in durance. I not only voice the
sentiments expressed in this precious book, but add thereto my message
of Christ's power to cleanse the wicked one and bring back into God's
path the weak and unfortunate. May God spare you and yours many years,
and give you manifold blessings in your great work.
Sincerely yours,
54179,
Editor in Chief.
"Lost and Is Found"
Noted Prison Worker issues an Interesting Book
(Louisville Herald)
An interesting booklet containing the sermon "Lost and Is Found," the
newest publication of the Rev. George L. Herr, the noted prison
evangelist whose home is in this city, has just been issued from the
press. The sermon is one of the strongest yet issued by the Rev. Herr,
and is written in the characteristic vein which marks all those issued
by the prison worker.
Rev. Herr holds a unique position in the evangelistic field. He is
considered the greatest evangelist among prisoners in the United States.
Scarcely a big prison in the country has not been visited by him in his
work, and the number of men in stripes who have been reformed by the
indefatigable prison worker reaches into thousands.
Some of the most notable redemptions of so-called "hardened criminals"
known to evangelistic work have been accomplished by the Rev. Herr. All
of the booklets by him have been extensively read and quoted, and it is
probable none will attract more interest than that which has just been
issued by him.
Christmas at Frankfort Prison
The prisoners had what was unanimously voted the best Christmas dinner
in many years. There were 1100 lbs. of turkey, cranberries, mashed
potatoes, oranges, and bananas. There were about 75 fine cakes, 68 of
which were sent from Lexington by Mrs. Frances H. Beauchamp, Pres. W. C.
T. U. The entire dinner was well cooked and heartily enjoyed by all.
At 11:30, Bro. Jos. Severance, Chaplain, Bro. Geo. L. Herr, of
Louisville, Mrs. M. B. R. Day, of Frankfort, and Miss Nellie E.
Williams, Junior C. E. Superintendent, of Maysville, entered, and took
seats on the stage; these are four of our truest and strongest friends
and are most heartily welcomed.
Bro. Severance opened the services by reading the Christmas lesson, i.
e., the 2nd chapter of Matthew, which gives the most beautiful
description of the birth of the lowly Jesus.
Bro. Herr then offered a fervent prayer.
Bro. Severance' remarks were few; he is still grieving over the loss of
his two children, and simply said that this Christmas had lost all of
its charms for him, for instead of feeling joyful, he felt sad all of
to-day and yesterday, and that we understood why, for instead of four
little girls, he had only two. He felt his inability to proceed further,
and gave the meeting over into the hands of Bro. Herr to conduct as he
saw fit, and catching an idea from the foregoing remarks, Bro. Herr
referred to the fact that years ago, Christmas was very sad to him. That
he was lying in a saloon in the city of Louisville without friends and
without hope. Then in a jovial manner showed by comparison what a
difference then and now.
He then said: "I am so glad that Jesus said: 'Him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out; I am so glad that he is the same yesterday,
to-day and forever. He said: 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of
men. There is not a man behind prison bars that Jesus Christ cannot
clean up and make him a man."
The audience sat up and took notice when he mentioned a man who had been
a homeless wretch, and a degraded sinner, who had spent thirty-two years
of his life behind prison bars, but had been converted in the Louisville
jail and was now a man of God, the leader in a Rescue Mission in one of
our largest cities, and had the financial support of eight of the
wealthiest men in that city. He said that whenever a man goes blind, or
deaf, or is afflicted in any other way, he is sent to a hospital for
treatment, and that this prison is a sort of hospital, and that some of
us are so blind that we cannot tell the difference between our own and
other peoples' horses. This simile was put forth in such a humorous
manner as to cause much laughter.
He then launched into an earnest exhortation to the men to do better. To
quit their meanness, as Sam Jones said. "Cease from evil and learn to do
well." That to quit one's evil ways was only half the duty, and that the
remainder consisted in doing the right thing, and you may have this
assurance that the man who is serving the Lord will not get into
trouble. "An idle mind is the devil's work-shop." In this connection he
gave a very pretty illustration of how one's energies are used in either
the right way or wrong way; that if you build a fire under a steam
boiler, place the proper quantity of water in it, and then open the
throttle and allow the steam to get into the engine, the entire
machinery will perform a good work, but if you shut off the steam and
tie down the safety valve, the steam is going to exert itself in a
disastrous manner by an explosion, and the killing of several men.
"The wages of sin is death, and if you can only open your eyes and see
that, you can also see that "The gift of God is eternal life." The only
way under heaven by which a man can be saved, is to come over to the
service of God and begin to do that which is right.
Now what is the purpose of Christmas day? The world has agreed that this
is as near the birth of Christ as we can possibly figure it; it means
that 1907 years ago Jesus was born into the world, and the star of
Bethlehem came and stood over the place where the young child lay; the
angels sang "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will
towards men," and we celebrate the day in memory of that event.
What is the trouble to-day that causes all these penitentiaries over our
land; why all these jails and the strong arm of the law? It is because
men will not allow the gospel of Jesus Christ to reign in their hearts.
As long as the children of Israel served the Lord, they were happy and
prosperous, but as soon as they turned to the flesh pots of Egypt, they
began to despair and shame came upon them.
If you were asked what you would rather have above all things, you would
say, Just a piece of paper with the great seal of the state impressed
upon it, and the signature of the Governor attached. Why? Because prison
life is a hard life and you are tired of it. If I were a prisoner, I
would want to make my confinement as pleasant as possible and I would
become converted immediately, for of all men on earth the man in prison
should be the quickest to accept Jesus Christ. I would not want to be a
prisoner all my physical life, and then a spiritual prisoner throughout
eternity. Did it ever occur to you that hell must be infinitely worse
than it is pictured? We read of a place "Where their worm dieth not, and
the fire is not quenched." If this is a picture of hell, then what must
the reality be? There is a chance for every man to get out of this
prison, but there will be no chance whatever to get out of hell.
--------
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath
anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent
me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are
bound.--Isa. 61:1.
--------
Oh, my friend, there is hope,
Will you come this hour;
For Jesus is yours
With all His Power;
Look upward, not back.
Or in, or around;
But up to Christ,
Where hope is found.
Hundreds of Letters
Below appear but a few of the Hundreds of Letters we have
received from those Helped by Our Work
If you have asked the question, "Does it pay to labor among the fallen
ones in prison--are the results from this work permanent in character?"
let the answer be found in these letters. They come from writers'
spontaneous offerings of gratitude, who have been restored to society as
useful respected citizens:
My Dearest Friend: It is very gratifying to find myself alone long
enough to pen you a few lines.
Arrived at 6:05 p.m. Well, I cannot tell you how very pleased everyone
was to see me. Went in at once to see the president of a concern and
told him everything. He was entirely satisfied and told me to commence
work in the morning, which I did. They all have used me fine, and I
would never know I had been away for no one mentions it. Brother, I
think of you fifty times a day, of the unselfish, never fatiguing
interest you manifested in my behalf, of the hundred and one favors, and
when I think that was only a single factor in your work, I cannot but
wonder how you stand the strain.
Cannot tell you how much I prize liberty, and I owe having it, to a
great extent, to your dear self. I assure you your efforts and prayers
of yourself and wife for me done wonders. I have fully resolved to be a
good man.
Brother Herr, I am going to close, for I am going to write to you every
few days, as I consider you as dear as an own brother. Give my sincere
regards to any inquiring friends. My heartiest to your dear wife, and
may God bless you both. I do.
I am affectionately yours,
W.
A TRIBUTE FROM JOS. M. O'HARA.
The success that has attended the efforts of this truly pious and
angelic woman in her noble and heroic work of rescuing sinful men and
women from the vortex of ruin and perdition is marvelous; and her labor
among the prisoners of the county jail is not less remarkable. Mrs.
Herr, unlike many religious workers, realizes that before attempting to
moralize with a prisoner, his confidence must first be gained, and to
accomplish this she invariably succeeds in dispelling that false and
erroneous opinion so prevalent among criminals, that they are held in
contempt by society and are considered undeserving of sympathy and
assistance; then, by kind and encouraging words and gentle deed,
instills, not by the dry and laborious way of the brain, but into the
heart, the story of the kind and loving Saviour.
Like her contemporary, Mrs. Ballington Booth, Mrs. Herr possesses that
divinely urgent and persistent, yet gentle and sympathetic spirit that
can persuade where others cannot convince; that can subdue where others
cannot conquer.
The writer of this article through her kind and encouraging words, has
been led from the error of his way, and to take up again the thread laid
down in early years; has realized that though the fruitage of the tragic
and pathetic life that ended in the ignominious death of Him who was the
grandest character, the most sublime ideal and the highest type of
humanity the world has ever seen--Jesus of Nazareth--we can, if we come
with faith and hope, be cleansed from our sins and iniquities. May the
Omnipotent God, who holds the destiny of nations, pour out his blessings
upon this saintly woman and her noble hearted husband and guide them
through long and honored days, and when the "shadows of even" gather and
the sun of life is setting, show them in the darkness of the end, "words
of light we never saw by day."
JOS. M. O'HARA.
FISHING FOR MEN.
Dear Brother Herr: We, as prisoners in the Jefferson County Jail,
desire, for your encouragement, and because it is the spontaneous
expression of our hearts, to thank you for your continued, untiring and
unselfish devotion to our interests, spiritual and temporal. We desire
in this manner to show you and the public that we thoroughly appreciate
the efforts of those who try to draw us from the broad road of vice and
crime into the narrow path of virtue where we are satisfied alone peace
and happiness can be found. Many persons, Bro. Herr, who have attempted
the task of rescuing the fallen have become discouraged and given up the
work because they could see no good resulting from their efforts. Those
persons had not the faith to continue their work and leave results with
God. A prisoner who was an inmate of this jail several years ago
recently found himself again an inmate, and expressed surprise at the
changed tone, as it were, of the jail, and he laughingly asked if the
world was getting better, for he said the men now in jail were more
refined in their conversation, more unselfish in their actions toward
each other, and of a higher moral tone generally. What this man said is
undoubtedly true, and it is the result of the efforts of yourself and
other Christian workers who do not become weary in well-doing. But it is
you, Brother Herr, whom we especially desire to thank, because you are
with us daily and no day passes that you do not perform some act of
kindness for some one of our number, who, but for you, would have no
friend. That perfect man, Jesus of Nazareth, has said, "by their fruits
ye shall know them," and it is by this standard we as prisoners have
measured you and have not found you wanting. You have gained our
confidence and we have proved your sincerity and we love you, Brother
Herr, because you daily prove your love for us. Prisoners are naturally
inclined to suspect the sincerity of those who profess an interest in
their welfare, but when once you gain their confidence they are
teachable.
A London lawyer who wrote the tragedy "Ion" makes one of his characters
say, "It is but a little thing to speak a word of kindness which by
daily use has almost lost its sense, but on the ear of him who thought
to die unmourned will fall like sweetest music." Many are the words of
kindness which daily fall from your lips, by which we are soothed and
blessed, and we firmly believe that they do not fall upon stony ground
and that the good God will reward you in his own good time with a
bountiful harvest of redeemed lives.
Your grateful friends,
JAMES L. DORAN
HARRY GRAVEN
JOHN CARTER
JOS. M. O'HARA
JULIUS PHILLIPS
Committee of Prisoners of Jefferson County Jail.
[Illustration: LOUISVILLE FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY--MAIN BUILDING
Branch of this Library in the County Jail.]
Branch Library in the Jail
[Courier-Journal]
Prison libraries are nearly always more or less poor, indefinite sort of
affairs, with a questionable lot of reading matter, mostly paper-backs
and second-hand magazines, forming its contents. But the Jefferson
county jail has marked a departure from the routine of prison life in
the establishment of a library station for its inmates.
This little institution is a remarkable affair. Mrs. Chester Mayer is
responsible for its organization. Mrs. Mayer is a member of the visiting
board at the county jail, and noticing the absence of good reading
matter, the continual idling of prisoners, she took up the matter with
Jailer John R. Pflanz, who approved the idea of a library station. Then
she approached her husband, Dr. Mayer, a member of the Board of Trustees
of the Louisville Free Public Library.
When George T. Settle, the recently elected librarian, was approached,
he gave his hearty consent. One hundred volumes were sent immediately
for the men's department and fifty for the women prisoners. The books
were selected by Miss Annie V. Pollard, former acting librarian, who
gave considerable time to a study of the most desirable literature. The
books sent were non-denominational, nonpolitical, and mostly fiction,
works of the popular authors, but nothing too heavy for the mental
appetite of the inmates. The books were taken from the open-shelf room.
As these books are used they are changed. Since the establishment of the
jail library station the circulation has reached 2,000 books. Of course,
the same book is read by nearly all the regular borrowers.
An interesting sight is presented when the prisoners are at liberty in
the open places at the jail. About 75 per cent. of the prisoners can
read. The other 25 per cent. gather about an appointed reader, who reads
aloud.
How much better is this for those unfortunates than idling their time,
brooding, planning evil deeds, perhaps, or thinking criminal thoughts!
The Rev. George L. Herr, prison evangelist, is in charge of the work and
he and Jailer Pflanz have made it a success.
[Illustration: CURTIS JETT
How he found God, he tells you in his own words. God bless Curt, and
give him the desires of his heart, is the prayer of the Author.]
CHANGE COMES IN CURT JETT.
[Courier-Journal]
Frankfort, Ky., March 14.--(Special.)--Although he is serving two life
sentences for murder, Curt Jett, "the wild dog of the mountains," has
not yet abandoned hope of getting a pardon and being given another
chance to show that his reformation has been sincere and final. He says
that God has pardoned him for his crimes and he thinks the Governor
ought to.
"The best thing ever happened to me was when I was sent to the
penitentiary," said Jett last night in his cell in the prison here as he
was talking to some newspaper men, who were inside the cellhouse for
another purpose than talking to Jett. "I realize that I never would have
been reformed but for being put in here," continued Jett. "I only wish
that they would give me another chance to show that I really have
changed my ways."
License To Teach Sunday-School.
Jett showed the newspaper men who had stopped to talk to him, when they
saw him lying on his cot reading, a certificate from the International
Sunday-school League entitling him to teach in a Sunday-school. He was
prouder of that than he ever was of his ability to shoot and he showed
it with great pride. Jett recently wrote out his religious experiences
for the Rev. Geo. L. Herr, the prison evangelist, and last night Jett
said he would give the story to the newspapers if Col. E. E. Mudd, the
prison warden, had no objections. Col. Mudd was with the newspaper men
and readily consented to Jett giving out the story. He had written it
with a pencil and gave it to the newspaper men, desiring that it be
published.
Jett's cell is covered with pictures, most of them selected with care as
to their beauty, and he has shown taste in arranging them. One of the
newspaper men remarked on the decorations in the cell last night and
Jett said:
"Yes, it cheers this cell up a little and makes it brighter."
Expression On Face Changed.
Even the expression of Jett's face has changed and he has none of that
hard look that he used to wear. He is bright and cheerful and Col. Mudd
says there is not a better prisoner in the penitentiary than Jett. Col.
Mudd said that he could not say that Jett's conversion was genuine from
a religious standpoint, but he says Jett has certainly changed inside
the prison. The Rev. Joseph Severance, the prison chaplain, says that
Jett is one of the best Bible scholars he ever saw and knows more about
the Bible than many earnest church workers.
In his story which he gave out last night Jett freely admits his guilt
of the crimes that are charged against him. He added, when he said that
it was a good thing that he had been put in the penitentiary:
"I do not mean that it was good to kill men."
He said that whisky was largely responsible for his misdeeds and he
wanted to do good now that he had done so much harm. The following is
Jett's story as he wrote it in his cell:
Jett's Story.
"State Prison, Frankfort, Ky., March 13, 1909.--To the Whole World: I
want to let the whole world know what God in his great mercy has done
for me, and prove to you by words which are true that Jesus is willing,
able and does save to the uttermost. After a life of sin and shame, God
sent his Holy Spirit into my soul and made a new man out of me. It was
in this wise: A dear, good woman who is dead now, but who then lived in
Lexington; her name was Mrs. Fanny A. Penn--I shall never forget that
name--she wrote me a good Christian letter, full of good advice, and
begged me to become a Christian. I had never seen her, or she me, as I
know of; she had only read in the press regarding what a desperado and
outlaw I was. I read her letter and it sounded like a fairy tale to me,
with no sense in it; but after reflection, I answered it, and we began
to be good friends, and she kept begging me to turn from my sinful ways
and be a Christian man.
Read New Testament.