The San Francisco call., 1896-07-07
HARKENEO TO A
PREACHERS WORDS
Why Emma Ashley Did
Not Take Her Own
Life.
REV. MR.. BIRCH'S ADVICE
She Was in Despair Over a
Series of Adverse Cir
cumStanceS.
HER IDEA OF woMAN's HONOR.
A Resolution to Destroy Herself and
Family Changed by the Pas.
tors Sermon.


Pastor w. L. Birch on Sunday morning at
Calvary Church, "by an uncomfortable
impulse to speak words of comfort to per-
sons in trouble and to any who, through
burden of poverty or for fear of discovery
Of wrongdoing, contemplated suicide.
Later on there came to me a well-bred
woman of irreproachable reputation, who
said she had been brought to despair by
reason of adverse circumstances, and who.
were she to do wrong, might be lifted from
poverty. She, however. had refused to
swerve from woman's honor, but, feeling
that there was no hope in this world, she
had resolved that night to destroy herself
and her family.
During the sermon she felt that by
second sight l knew her case, and her
brain became balanced with the result,
and, as with sobs and tears she told her
tale, she had not words to express her
gra titude at being saved from the deadly
crime for which she had prepared.
'She was a woman of good education
and musical genius, and since she has
friends in New York who would be able to
assist her, vet not able to send her money,
l should be glad If this wealthy congrega-
ton and other benevolent friends would
raise a fund to send her there. Please
! give the money to Thomas Magee of
| Montgomery street or to S. II. Clement of
302 Montgomery street, who l hope may
obtain reduced rates from the railroad
| company"
A lady of the congregation, in response
| to the pastors appeal, at once started the
relief fund with a subscription of So.
| 81 feel bound" continued the pastor,
"to tell you OF matter which greatly pains
| me. | have been more than once ar the
| City Prison to see Miss Emma Ashley and
| took her my Bible, since the one she used
has been seized by the legal tribunal. She
had not any remembrance OF buying the
pistol, and the awful act she attempted
| seems to her to have been done by some
other one. She believes that in the i'm
pulse of her unbalanced mind her first in
| tention was self-destruction. Regarding
| the act for which she is now IN prison, she
can scarcely believe she did it. But that
she knows it is a fact as related by others.
'She and her sister have suffered much
hardship. Some days they have scarcely
anything to eat, and but for the comfort
derived from the services in this church
Lillian thinks she would have broken
down. should like to raise little fund
| to help them.
But what I wished chiefly to say is
that l was completely upset by the scenes
in the City Prison. In one place, which
was exactly like the den in wild beast
| show, were number of wretched women
lying on the seats and floor like bundles
of dirty clothes. When looked into one
face, with compassion In my eyes, the
woman put her hands up and burst into
sobs. Another, about Is years of age,
looked at me, crying oh, God
"ln the wild beast den, next to the
| women, were dozen or more men, but
could not bear the sight of them, and the
horrid smell l inhaled made me sick.
Further on was another cage, with worse
criminals, one OF whom clearly showed in
sanity in his eyes, and here the suffocating
stencil would, think, be ouly equaled by
the pestilence which so grieved John How
ard when he pleaded with the world for
humanity to be shown to prisoners.
while the bands were playing, the
glorious American flag waving and the
joyous Fourth of July being celebrated by
the crowded thousands of this City, the
fifty prisoners referred to were suffering
from our unkindness in the City Prison,
and in the name of the sacred flag we rev.
erence, which means justice and hum an
lty, l appeal for the removal of the horrid
wrong which is perpetrated there.
"If the City cannot provide better
and more sanitary quarters, let US, as
benevolent men ard women, build a new
temporary prison. Might not this work
be undertaken by the churches? II so, l
shall be glad to set the righteous cause
it may be permitted, l now offer my
services as chaplain to the prisoners"
Emma Ashley. the sister OF Lillian Ash
ley, who recently took a shot at E. ].
Baldwin, seems to have been lady of de-
termination.
Distressed by poverty, her reason had
become so unbalanced that she had de-
liberately resolved to make away, not only
with herself, but also with her sister and
her child, some days before the occurrence
of the court shooting scene.
She was an attendant of Calvary Pres
byterian Church, and it was in conse-
quence of the services conducted bv
Pastor Birch that she was led to
abandon her murderous ideas. Her reso-
lutions, though, seem to have been
founded upon sand, for when she went
into court a few days later and witnessed
the humiliation and disgrace of her sister
Lillian she forgot herself, and, acting upon
strong impulse, fired her pistol at the
millionaire, and fortunately missed.
This sheds new light upon her dra-
matte story.
Dr.-Birch intends seeing Lucky" Bald
win, to ask him to become a joint bonds
man with himself for the release Of Emma
Ashley until the day OF trial.
| Fifty-two per cent of the TInitad States