George L. Herr

“ Ostracized from society, barred from contact with any self-respecting acquaintance of former days, can you imagine a more potent example of the victory of Satan through the agency of his chief field marshal, Drink? God grant that this may come as a warning to some one of the thousands of young men who, with prospects as bright or even more flattering than were those of George Herr at the age of eighteen, are at this moment entering upon the path which will lead them, as it has countless thousands, into the abyss of eternal destruction! ”

“ You are never deceived by a genuine voice. It has been true in all ages of the world that wisdom is recognized by its people. Deep down in the hearts of the people are the instincts of truth. When we find men willing to pay the price of leadership we shall have leaders. It is as true today as it was in the days of prophecy that such leaders as we have have taught us to err. We need men with political consciences—men who recognize that there are such things as truth, purity and righteousness in the world. ”

“ I know that it will cause him to place a rope around his neck and hang himself to a rafter in his own barn; I know that sin will lead him to pause at the railing of a bridge, his mind set upon the awful deed of self-destruction; I know that it will tempt him to take a razor in hand and draw it across his throat. I know that sin will reduce him from a position of influence, a welcome visitor [Pg 47] to the homes of the elite, to a degraded drunkard, homeless upon the streets of his native city, robed in a short linen duster and a straw hat in the dead of a bitter winter's night. ”

“ The founder of the Holcombe Mission of Louisville, Ky.
George Herr says that the old life, with its bondage in sin and its darkness of evil, is a thing of the eliminated past. Finding happiness in his new life, he has consecrated his time, energy, ability and talents to continuous devotion to the task of spreading the gospel among the fallen. Into the gloomiest recesses of penitentiaries, workhouses and jails, beyond portals where visitors are excluded, he has carried the message of Christ's saving grace into the darkness of despairing men's and women's lives. ”

“ The moment we are convinced that the number of murders is on the increase, or does not decrease, in spite of the rope and electric chair, we will have to justify capital punishment on some other ground. What is that other ground, if it is not the old savage impulse of meting revenge—a species of revenge, at the last analysis, confers no good whatever upon society as a whole, and is of no consolation or comfort to the family circle most affected by the original murder? ”

“ A fine moral leadership is the exception rather than the rule. Unless the standard be lifted up the hosts will not rally. Truth will not win its way on its own merits. Let the call come from the lips that speak not lies, but the truth, and there is that in the humblest of men that will give back an amen. And when our leaders come we shall recognize them. We are not likely to mistake the rumble of cart-wheels for thunder. The leader carries his credentials. When a community is visited by a prophet it is known by that community that a prophet has been among them. You do not mistake genuine fire. ”

“ This parable of the prodigal son shows that we can have our own way if we determine to do it; father and mother can't keep us from it, and God by force will not keep us from it; but we will certainly pay for it, and pay the price of tears and sorrow, remorse and ruin. This nobleman's son, by refusing to heed God's warning, was brought to want. No matter whose son it is, if he determines to have his own way and give himself up to self-indulgence and riotous living, he will come to want, shame, bitterness, and many are the men who tried to master themselves but failed. ”

“ Long ago a prophet looked over the sea at a vision of a new heaven and a new earth. Two thousand years have passed away and no new heaven or new earth has come—but as sure as truth is stronger than falsehood it will come—just so sure we shall one day see a new heaven and a new earth, where dwelleth no political corruption, but righteousness. ”

“ Who will ever know the vast number that attribute the first impulse to a better life, formed while in the seclusion of a prison cell—alone with God.
The world will never know how many, when sitting in judgment upon themselves, have learned the great secret that it takes an Omnipotent Power to change the current of their lives, and give them deliverance from the power of sin, and enabling them to go forth not to live a new purpose, but a new life. ”

“ Defeat after defeat occurs until the poor fellow, discouraged, broken-hearted, gives up and goes down to utter ruin. Man is no match for the devil. How hopeless would be the outlook for the great army of men whom we labor with were it not for a Deliverer. "The cross held his body; the sun hid his face for shame, and the bowels of the earth were moved in compassion, when Jesus expired on Calvary's rugged tree, thus purchasing redemption for every man from the curse of sin. It is possible through Christ for every man to be a Christian." ”

“ One must be so poor in spirit that he will be such a mourner, that he will receive such comfort, that he will become so meek, that in him there will be such hungering and thirsting after righteousness, that he will be so filled with righteousness, that he will become so merciful and pure in heart, that he will be such a peacemaker, that he will be so persecuted, that he will so rejoice, that he will be salt and light, so shining that men will see it and glorify our Father in heaven. ”

“ I have been in prison North, South, East and West, I have been in the dismal, solitary cell for one year, have been put in large tanks of ice water, have been punished over and over again, but it has always made me more of a demon. ”

“ The idealist in art is so for the love of art. He enters into the discussion of art subjects with enthusiasm. So with the moral enthusiast. Sin is hateful to him, and he seeks to crush it as he would a viper, and instinctively and spontaneously his denunciations come forth. Truth is his pole-star, and he will tell his best friend, "I will do anything but lie for you." ”

“ 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. ”

“ Men who started on their "career of crime" as mere boys, with years of youth spent in reform schools only to be developed into men of crime, have prison records to follow them through life. Many of these men feel that they have lost all hope of any but the criminal's life. Many of them have been forsaken by family and friends. So to the man or woman who is at all interested in the uplift of his fellow man, can you think of any field where the labor of an evangelist is more needed than it is among the men we have attempted to describe to you? ”

“ I'm prouder of the fact that I have helped a few criminals to become honest men than of all the work I have done in putting criminals behind the bars. I'm proud of the fact that every crook knows that Pinkerton will deal squarely with him if he will deal squarely with Pinkerton—that I believe it is as important to keep faith with a bank thief as with a bank president. ”

“ I was full of revenge and hatred, and I cried aloud to God in my lonely cell to redeem my soul, which He did, and it wasn't long before I was a friend to everyone and praising God for full and free salvation. He has made a new man out of me. The Holy Spirit is like a fever, and it is all and all before a man gets right with God. Condemning and deceitful spirits will rise up in a man, but all we have to do is to ask God and he will remove them all; [Pg 156] to live a true Christian life is the straightest life that anyone ever tried to walk. ”

“ 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 [Pg 99] who will take the pains and do the great good you have done for all with whom you have come in contact. ”

“ Sitting tonight in our lonesome cell, bounded on three sides by blank and barren walls of steel, through our two-by-six door, constructed of massive bars of iron, there comes to us the conversation of our fellow prisoners, as with head pressed close against the bars to catch the other fellow's words, we listen to the talk of the men "committed for crime"—men strong and healthy, who should be engaged in some honest labor, but, instead, are "doing time" for a broken law. ”

“ Beware of the man whose heart has not been pierced by the woes of his country. The sting is the needed spur to effort. The sleeping lion is not dangerous; but let him be wounded and his roar shall ring as the trumpet of doom in the ears of his enemies. We must seek our leaders among those who can feel the woes of humanity—men of profound feeling—as those are the best prophets. ”

“ Herr have a more interested audience than greeted him in the Cincinnati work house yesterday when he preached for an hour in the prison chapel. The men and women wept as his words brought conviction to their hearts. Were it not for this wonderful gospel, said the speaker, he himself might be as the worst prisoner among them. At the close of the sermon he asked all those who desired to lead better lives to bow their heads in prayer, and almost every man and woman in the chapel fell on their knees, while the eloquent evangelist lifted his voice in their behalf. ”

“ We must not forget that God's plan is to save the lost, through the instrumentality of those who were themselves once lost, but are now saved from sin. If we would have a great testimony meeting in the city of the skies, and all of the countless hosts there should one by one stand up to tell how they were brought from sin to Jesus, each one of them would point out some person who had been the chief instrument in his or her salvation. There is this one characteristic of all who are truly saved—they desire the salvation of all souls. ”

“ 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." ”

“ Thousands of crooks—and I don't mean one-time offenders, but men in the class we call hardened criminals—have become honest men to my knowledge. It is not true, as some recent writer said, that as many crooks turn honest as there are honest men turn crooked, but I believe that one of the reasons is that so few men are willing to lend a helping hand. I don't mean that every crook is ready to reform if he is encouraged, but I do mean that society makes it hard for any man who has once been a criminal to lead an honest life. ”

“ I am delighted to learn that you visited all the cells today and left in each one the tract, 'How Dad O'Brien Became Converted.' I have read it, and it is simply an additional evidence of a truth that has long been known to sincere evangelists like yourself to the effect that no matter how hardened and steeped in sin a poor fellow may be, the love of God can win him and Jesus can save him, and he can start life anew, singing praises to his Redeemer, and winning the lives of his old companions for the Master. ”

“ At the afternoon Christian Endeavor service, Bro. Herr made an extemporaneous address in which he revealed the secret of his wonderful success as a soul-winner, which the writer would call unlimited charity, and inexhaustible brotherly love; the love that always instantly forgives, and as quickly extends a hand to help a fallen brother rise. ”

“ Carter H. Jones, pastor of Broadway Baptist Church, to Miss Lillie M. Joyce. George says that if a man ever outmarried himself he's the man. He says God gave him this priceless treasure of a Christian wife in answer to prayer. Those who know Mrs. Herr speak of her as sweet-spirited, noble, devout, gifted in song and speech and one in spirit with her husband in the work of saving those who are out of the way. Their home is filled with the aroma of grace and their united lives are spent in doing good. ”

“ 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." ”

“ I am confident that public sentiment in Arizona is opposed to capital punishment. During the special session of the Legislature, which will be held early in 1913, an effort will be made to repeal the old law. If the Legislature is too busy to give the matter attention, or is disinclined to assume the responsibility, the initiative provision of the State Constitution will be invoked, thus putting the question square up to the people. I have no fears for the outcome. Arizona citizenship has proved itself too intelligent to lag behind the advanced thought and progress of civilization. ”

“ The cry of such a soul is not so much for his blessings as it is for him. The Psalmist says, "As the hart panteth for the water-brooks, so panteth my soul for Thee, O God." Jesus says of such, "They shall be filled"—filled with purity, love and peace ”

“ Besides, when society discovers that a man is a former criminal it is not content to cancel the debt no matter how much imprisonment at hard labor the former crook may have given in expiation of his sin.
"I know men in trusted positions in New York who were convicts. In many cases only the man himself and his employer know the secret and sometimes the employer does not know it. I know men scattered all over the West—business men, professional men, many of them wealthy and prominent citizens—who have seen the inside of Joliet, Moyomensing, Sing Sing or Leavenworth. ”

“ At the age of three months, the death of his precious mother caused him to be given into the keeping of his aunt, a noble Christian woman, and it was due to her teachings that the seeds of reverence for God, belief in his dearly beloved Son and faith in the promise of a life of everlasting happiness were planted deep in the recesses of George Herr's heart, while his father, a Christian gentleman, spared no efforts in his endeavor to bring up his son in the way he should go. ”

“ Why, the little man who has so often walked a square or two further in the rain to buy one banana more for a nickel for some poor prisoner, and who has worn out more shoe-leather in helping unfortunate men in durance vile than any other man in Kentucky: the Rev. Geo. L. Herr, affectionately called "The Little Missionary," made personal calls on the wealthy and [Pg 69] charitable merchants in the city of Louisville, soliciting this food and dinner in the name of humanity, and may God richly bless all those who helped him make it such a grand success. ”