1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1451 



discussed the matter of trying: to secure a member of 

 ■either the Central Protective Association or of the 

 Anti-Horsethief Association, on the State Board of 

 Pardons. It is claimed that, after the orgranizations 

 :go to the trouble and expense of huntintf down and 

 convicting a criminal, he is pardoned after he has 

 served a year or two, and is given an opportunity to 

 resume his crimes. When Governor Hoch was mak- 

 ing over his pardon board. W. H. Smith, of Atchison, 

 ■secretary of the association, was a candidate for a 

 ijosition on the board, but was shelved for W. I. Bid- 

 die, of Leavenworth, who had a stronger political 

 pull. Smith was indorsed by the Anti-Horsethief As- 

 sociation, and the two organizations believe that, 

 since they can boast of a membership of 50.000 mem- 

 bers in territory in and adjacent to Kansas, the ap- 

 plication of Smith should have been given more con- 

 sideration. Finally a resolution was adopted author- 

 izing the two associations to keep posted, and de- 

 imand that a member of one of them be given the po- 

 rsition whenever there is a vacancy on the board. 



You see, friends, that, after the horse- 

 thieves are convicted, probably at great ex- 

 pense and pains, and sent to the penitentia- 

 ry, they have a scheme for pardoning them 

 •out. About a year ago, in a town near 

 Cleveland the Anti-saloon League, after 

 much pains and expense, convicted two sa- 

 loon-keepers. Theif were old offenders, and 

 slippery fellows, and it was a hard matter 

 to secure conviction. But they finally got 

 the culprits sentenced to pay a heavy fine, 

 .and to serve a long time in the woi'khouse. 

 What happened? Why, a member of the 

 "pardoning board," of Cleveland, pardoned 

 these two rascals out almost immediately. 

 The only excuse he gave was that, in his 

 judgment, the fine and the term in the work- 

 hoiise were excessive. I do not believe he 

 •ever incjuired into the matter particularly. 

 They told a pitiful story, and he set both 

 rascals loose to go back to their old trade. 

 I felt so indignant over the matter that I 

 wrote a letter to the superintendent of the 

 Anti-saloon League, and told them this par- 

 doning official should be deprived of his 

 power to grant pardons to such chaps. I 

 said I would myself subscribe fifty dollars to 

 have that man shorn of his power and these 

 two saloon-keepers put back in the work- 

 house where they belonged. Afid the thing 

 was done. Now, I do not like to boast of 

 what I have done, and I do not bring that 

 thing up here for that purpose; but 1 do it 

 to let you know that one single person, when 

 he gets real mad in "righteous indignation," 

 ■can do quite a little to block the s(^hemes of 

 the wicked. If I remember correctly, some 

 very fervent prayers went along with that 

 fifty dollars. 



Now for the last part of our text. While 

 we are doing all we can in the way of law 

 enforcement, thei'e is another thing to be 

 done. After you get the saloons out of the 

 way, build up Sunday-schools. Take these 

 thieves, before the saloon-keepers get hold 

 of them, and expound to them the gospel of 

 Jesus Christ. 1 wish to give you a little il- 

 lustration of what I mean. Those of you 

 who have taken Gleanings a good many 

 years have read this story; but I think it 

 will bear repeating, especially to our newer 

 readers. 



Shortly after I enlisted under the banner 

 of "the Lamb of God that taketh away the 

 sio of the world. " I found a young man in our 



county jail who was there for stealing chick- 

 ens. He came out into the country with a 

 horse and wagon from Cleveland, and loaded 

 up from hen-roosts. He was caught, and 

 was awaiting his trial, with the prospect of 

 going to the penitentiary. He had served 

 one year there already for this very offense 

 of stealing chickens, and he was on his way 

 there again. He was an ugly fellow. He 

 not only swore and drank, but he cursed, 

 and used tobacco; but he declared he would 

 never go to the penitentiary again alive. He 

 said they could carry his dead liody there if 

 they chose, but not while he had a breath to 

 draw. He was kept in jail awaiting his trial 

 a month or two. I thus had a chance to get 

 well acquainted with him. Before his trial 

 came off he was I'eading his Bible, and was 

 a changed man. He knelt with me on the 

 floor of that stone cell, and promised God 

 that he would go to the penitentiary or any- 

 where else if it was the Lord's will. When 

 the time of trial came, his lawyer advised 

 him to plead not guilty. I told him the great 

 Father above was ahead of all lawyers in 

 the universe. Fred told an honest story, not 

 screening himself a particle, with the full 

 expectation of going to the penitentiary. 

 The judge was astounded. It was a new 

 revelation to him in criminal work. I was 

 not present at the trial, but Fred came into 

 my store with a smiling face, and greeted 

 me, saying: 



" Mr. Root, it turned out just as you said. 

 I told the truth just as you advised, owned 

 up the whole of it, and the judge said the 

 penitentiary was made for boys who could 

 not l)e made good in any other way. He 

 said he himself would guarantee that I would 

 behave myself ivithout going to the peniten- 

 tiary. Now I want to go to work. Can you 

 give me a job? " 



Dear friends, it has been my Lappy privi- 

 lege to give jobs to hundreds of people in the 

 years that have passed since then; but I do 

 not know that I ever felt happier in giving 

 any one a job than I did in setting Fred at 

 woi'k. In a little while he was helping me 

 in a mission Sunday-school. The boy who, 

 a few months before, had been stealing 

 chickens from poor hard-working women 

 was now in the Sunday-school work — yes, 

 and teaching as best he could, some of his 

 old cronies, about the Lamb of God that 

 taketh away the sin of the world. A little 

 later Fred became superintendent of a mis- 

 sion school back in the country, away from 

 any town. Ever since the time he came out 

 out of jail he had been in mortal fear that 

 somebody would throw it up to him about 

 his old life, and call him a chicken-thief. He 

 feared his old temper if he did. He said in 

 substance: 



"Mr. Root, if they will let me alone I will 

 do the best I know how. I will spend my 

 life in trying to make up for the wrong I did 

 when I was against God and against human- 

 ity and everything. But if somebody should 

 throw it up to me, and call me a chicken- 

 thief, I am afraid I could not resist the 

 temptation to knock him down." 



