SERVICES IN COUNTY JAIL, BRANCH NO. 3.
Come with me this beautiful Sunday morning. Join with me and this
faithful band of young workers from various denominations, in the nine
o'clock services, and satisfy yourself as to the good they, by the
grace of God, are able to accomplish.
Good morning, gate-keeper. Have the rest of the band arrived yet?
Yes?
Then we'll pass in.
We enter the beautifully laid-out grounds surrounding the women's
quarters. What lovely lawns! What a variety of fragrant flowers! But we
must hurry, for we can not afford to miss the services. We ascend the
long flight of steps and are now greeted by the superintendent and his
wife, the matron. Next we traverse a long, wide hallway. Turning to the
left, we mount a few steps, and then come up against a solid iron
double door. Through an aperture in one side of it we get a glimpse of
the throng within. The door is unlocked for our admission, and, passing
through, we find ourselves facing anywhere from forty to sixty girls
and women, for the most part neatly attired in dark blue-print gowns.
"What a heterogeneous gathering we are confronting! Some look so
refined; doubtless they are from the better walks of life. Why are they
here?"
For offenses of various kinds too numerous to mention. "That dignified,
white-haired woman, third row on our left?"
Ask me about her later on. I will tell you on our way home.
"That pretty fair-haired girl about sixteen?"
Vagrancy. Her sentence expires in two weeks. We're trying to persuade
her to come to our home, because her own is undesirable. Both of her
parents drink; her older sister has taken the downward course and
refuses all our overtures; and her two brothers are constantly in
drunken bouts and then imprisoned.
"That old, old woman; what of her?"
She's awaiting her trial for malpractice. She'll probably have to serve
time in San Quentin penitentiary. But I'll tell you more by and by.
Brother Edstrom of the Y. M. C. A. speaks--"Let us all heartily join
in singing, 'Pass me not, O gentle Savior,' Gospel Hymns No. 27." How
they sing! and what beautiful voices some of the prisoners have!
"Brother St. John, will you lead in prayer?"
[Illustration: SHEET MUSIC
STILL NEARER
Words and music by Mrs. FLORENCE ROBERTS
(Illustration: music)
1. Oh, help me live near thee, my Savior, Oh, keep thou me
2. I love thee, my Fa--ther, and Sav--ior, For what thou hast
(Illustration: music)
close by my side; I need thee, Lord, dai--ly and hour--ly,
done for me; Me, one of the great-est of sin-ners,
(Illustration: music)
My Coun-sel-or and my Guide. I can--not have thee too
I mar--vel, such welcome from thee! Won-der--ful con-quest o'er
(Illustration: music)
near me, Ei-ther by day or by night; For when thou art nigh
the Sa-tan's Al--lur--ing paths of sin; My Sav-ior, to thee the
(Illustration: music)
tempt-er doth fly, Thou dost help me to put him to flight,
glo--ry all be, Now help me some lost ones to win.
REFRAIN.
(Illustration: music)
Near--er, still near--er, Come to me o'er and o'er.
(Illustration: music)
Near-er to thee, Sav-ior, I'd be, Now and for--ev--er--more]
Without exception all kneel as the consecrated young brother makes
fervent, passionate appeal to the throne of mercy and grace.
"Will one of our congregation now call for a song?"
"No. 18."
"Very good, we will sing No. 18."
Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;
Weep o'er the erring one, lift up the fallen,
Tell them of Jesus the mighty to save.
You can't keep back the tears as you listen, and this is not to be
wondered at.
"Sister Burton, we will now listen to your reading of the fifty-fifth
chapter of Isaiah."
"Sister Roberts, I see you have your autoharp with you. Please favor us
with one of your God-sent songs."
"Nearer, Still Nearer."
The prisoners sing refrain twice over with me and then request a
repetition. It is inspiring to hear them, it surely is.
"We will now spend a few minutes in testimony. Who will be the first to
witness for Jesus this morning?"
Three or four are on their feet at once, some thanking God that, even
though they are behind prison bars, he has washed away their sins in
the precious blood of Jesus, and declaring their intention of leading
clean lives, lives that will honor the Lord; adding that they are
asking him to give them honest jobs in respectable quarters, so that
they need never again be obliged to return to their former environments
of vice and degradation. And so on, until time for testimony is up.
"How many desire an interest in our prayers, that you may lead lives
that will fit you for heaven instead of sending you down to an awful
hell? Please raise your hands. One, two, three, six, ten; nearly all
who have not testified. God bless you! Let us pray."
Brother Edstrom so earnestly petitions the loving Father for mercy and
pardon for these poor souls that some of them weep audibly. Again we
all join in singing; the benediction is pronounced; then those
conducting the meeting repair quickly to the men's quarters in an
adjacent but separate enclosure. There a similar service is held, after
which the majority hurry away to the various houses of worship for the
eleven o'clock services.
When not otherwise engaged, I find it pleasurable as well as profitable
to linger, but on this occasion I shall not remain. As we walk along, I
will keep my word concerning some of the inquired-about inmates.
The dignified, white-haired woman spends the greater part of her time
in that prison-house.
She is addicted to the morphine habit, and, in consequence, she resorts
to any means to procure the drug. It has made a petty thief of her,
thus causing her frequent arrest and incarceration for three or six
months.
She was the wife of a prominent professional man, and, so far as this
world's goods are concerned, she enjoyed everything that a loving
husband was able to lavish on her. At the time of, and following, the
birth of her third child, the attending physician, in order to assuage
her excruciating pain, administered morphine. She continued to resort
to it, and _soon she was its slave_. Everything known to human skill
was done to cure her of the habit, but without much effect. She began
to inject the drug into her flesh with a hypodermic needle and also to
mix it with cocaine. Thus she soon became a mortification to her
husband, relatives, and friends, and erelong they felt that she had
forfeited all claims to their consideration. They forsook her,
absolutely refused to recognize her. In process of time the husband
procured a divorce and sole guardianship of the children.
Soon she disappeared from her home neighborhood and for the future was
lost sight of by all except police judges, and officers, prison
companions, and habitue of morphine dens. Every home missionary I know
of in San Francisco had made some attempt or sacrifice for the
redemption of this unfortunate woman, but apparently with little, if
any, effect. One day she told me that _I was wasting my time, for she
loved her drug better than her God_. I wondered if she really meant it.
You ask if this is an exceptional case? Not by any manner of means. I
am able to relate many others, all different in detail, but all alike
in the main, the family physician being primarily responsible.
My heart goes out tenderly for the younger inmates of the prison, most
of whom are there for a first offense, and who are now in great danger
of contracting bad habits, such as cigarette-smoking, from older
offenders. "What!" you exclaim, "do they permit women and girls to
smoke?" I'm sorry to tell you it is only too true. Furthermore, the
weed is procured from those in authority over them. And from that habit
and others acquired during incarceration, deeper demoralization
results, so that many come forth worse than they ever were before their
imprisonment. Nevertheless, realizing the limitless value of even one
soul, the home missionary keeps, ever keeps in view Gal. 6:9--"And let
us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we
faint not."
With but very few exceptions the prisoners of both sexes admit that
liquor or drugs, or both have cursed their lives, made every type of
criminal out of them, forfeited them their liberty, some for life, aye,
even life itself. I have dealt with some of the ones condemned to die.
I learn this from their own lips.
When, oh! when will that awful octopus, that curse of the world be
destroyed? When, oh! when will our lawmakers and our officers eliminate
forever the accursed poisons that ruin men and women both physically
and morally?
What chance do God's consecrated workers have, with this band of demons
confronting them on every hand, dragging souls down to hell every hour
of the day, yea, every minute?
'How long, O Lord, how long?' Psa. 94:3.