JULY 1, 1913 



473 



friends know something about Cambridge. 

 Well, Mayor White, better known as the 

 Barnesville maj'or, gave a talk here under 

 the auspices of the Anti-saloon League two 

 or three weeks ago. Toward the close of 

 his lecture he said something like this: 



" My good friends, I have lately received 

 a love-letter that I wish to read to j'ou. I 

 know it is not considered as a general thing 

 good taste to read love-letters in public. 

 But as I feel sure the writer will have no 

 objection I take the liberty." 



He then briefly narrated what I have 

 mentioned above, and here is the " love- 

 letter:" 



Cambridge, Ohio, March 12, 1912. 

 Mr. Jas. a. White, Columbus, Ohio. 



Dear Sir and Brother: — Yours of the 8th receiv- 

 ed, and I must say that I was somewhat surprised 

 to hear from you. Yes, I did join the church, and 

 I think it the grandest thing I have ever done. See 

 here, old pal, I want to say to you that I went into 

 this proposition with my eyes open. I don't intend 

 to try to cheat God's law as I have the State and 

 United States law, as you so well know. 



I went into this with the intention of giving up 

 my former business, also gambling, and, in fact, 

 every thing I should not do, and I guess I have 

 done a little of every thing most; but it is not what 

 I have done : it is what I do from now on. 



Well, Jim, I can say this much: I don't know of 

 a person in this world toward whom I feel the 

 least bit of spite. That is saying something for me, 

 being the kind of a rounder I was, as I have seen 

 as much of the wicked part as any one of my age. 

 The reward is too great to take a chance. Well, 

 Jim, if I only tight as hard for God as I did for 

 Satan I surely can do some good in this world yet. 

 Well, I hope and pray as I go down the straight 

 and narrow path that I may not vary out of it 

 much. God knows what my outcome will be. I am 

 willing to trust him. He knows I came to him on 

 the square. With best wishes "for your success I am 

 Yours very respectfully, 



John E. DePew. 



Who, do 30U suppose, wrote that letter? 

 The very man who threatened to shoot the 

 mayor in years gone by, when the mayor's 

 best friends really feared he icoiild be shot 

 if he kept on with his determined law en- 

 forcement. After the lecture I begged for 

 a copy of the love-letter; and I also asked 

 Bro. White what brought about the con- 

 version of his old friend. He said it was 

 through a series of meetings by evangelist 

 Lyon. Just about that time I noticed in the 

 1 apeis that Mr. Lyon was having a revival 

 at Fairmont, W. Va., where it was report- 

 ed there were over 2000 convei-sions. A 

 few days ago I saw another account where 

 the number of conversions in that one town 

 or city had reached quite a little over 3000* 



* Over 3000 converts in one fair-sized town or 

 city ! What are we coming to ? When we read of 

 grafting, dynamiting, and horrible murders, we 

 sometimes lift our hands in horror and say, " What 

 are we (the world) coming to?" Well, may the 

 Lord be praised for the fact that the world is al- 

 ready coming to something else as well as to wick- 

 edness and sin. The world is " coming to " the 

 Lord Jesus Christ, and to repentance and the new 

 birth, like the poor penitent saloon-keeper and gam- 



Now, it is not at all likely that Mr. Lyon 

 in his earnest work has many such conver- 

 sions as that of the Cambridge saloon-keep- 

 er; but only God knows the number of bad 

 and wicked men who have been changed 

 ovei- — born again. May God be praised 

 for evangelist Lyon, Billy Sunday, Beder- 

 wood, and perhaps several others who are 

 now attracting the attention of the whole 

 wide world by their crusade for Jesus 

 Chrisl. No wonder the brewers and saloon- 

 keepers try to prejudice people against him. 



I wish to call attention to the last sen- 

 tence in that touching letter: "He knows 

 I came to him on the square." 



Here is a brief footnote from James A. 

 White in regard to the letter furnished me: 



John E. DePew was formerly engaged in the sa- 

 loon business at Barnesville, O. James A. White 

 was formerly mayor of that city ; and, after the 

 saloons were voted out, tined DePew for violating 

 the dry law. The said DePew finally concluded to go 

 to Cambridge, O., and did so, and was arrested 

 there for violating the law ; but during the revival 

 services conducted by Rev. Mr. Lyon in the city of 

 Cambridge last winter Mr. DePew was converted 

 and joined the church. Mr. White, hearing of it, 

 wrote him a congratulatory letter and received the 

 above in reply. 



May God be praised for such men as the 

 "mayor of Barnesville" as well as for evan- 

 gelist Lyon. Bro. White told me that for 

 some little time after he heard of DePew's 

 conversion he hesitated about writing to 

 lum, fearing that DePew might not feel 

 very friendlj- toward him, even after he 

 had come out among the converts; and this 

 brought out the letter given above. 



ANOTHER TESTIMONIAL FOR " PEACH JUICE." 



Our good friend W. J. Bryan's hobby 

 seems to be grape juice, or at least the 

 papers accord him the credit of being the 

 great " grape- juice man." Well, we have 

 good reason to thank God that there is at 

 least one man who stands away up in the 

 affairs of this government who not only 

 drinks grape juice but is not ashamed to 

 offer it to the great dignitaries from for- 

 eign lands. Well, now for my little story. 



Years ago, when Mrs. Root's only sister 

 was a frail little chick lying in her cradle, 

 the doctor feared she would not live long. 

 In fact, I do not know but they had given 

 her up. While the anxious father stood 

 watching her feeble breath, he remembered 

 a peach-tree out in the yard that was load- 

 ed with luscious fruit dead ripe, and he 

 wondered if some of that fresh peach juice 

 would not coax back the fluttering breath. 

 He squeezed some of the juice into a tea- 

 spoon. She took it with relish, and wanted 



bier who wrote that plaintive letter. May God sus- 

 tain him in his efforts to bless instead of curse 

 humanity. 



