The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-04-21

PRACTICED AS
HE PREACHED
His Home and Cash We're
Preached Away.
lChIeago Inter oceanl


4 me police magistrate undertook to COM
pine the law with the gospel and the Cos
! pei prevailed As he practiced what he
/ preached and was generous giver 10
I every cause that appealed 10 his Chris
tan charity, the money that he had
( saved duFing many professional years be-
I kdH 10 melt away IA aims and pensions
bestowed on the deserving poor What
| was ieTt went 10 help what Mr. Few
/ called the deserving criminals. The lat
ter were persons who listened patiently
/ 10 the sermons which be invariably
/ preached before he pronounced sentence
! ana Who M the opinion of Mr.. Few, were
| prepared 70 bring forth fruits meet for
The results of Mr.. Few's missionary
/ ldbors nave been, from a worldly point Of
/ view, little short OF disastrous. He has
/ ruined his own industry as a police mag
/ istrate and his sermons are seldom heard
/ nowadays. because there is seldom any
] one 70 sentence. Fines are seldom coli
! lected, because there is no one to fine
( MOI only Is Otheilo's occupation gone. but
/ with II have disappeared the occupation
] OF all those connected with the little
I army Of justice which earns its bread
/ criminals
A year ago Magistrate benjamin c.
Few was one Of the wealthiest men in
/ Alton. He expended money freely He
I was a leading politician lis earnings
I from the police magistrates office alone
| averaged about 3 90 "a year. He was IN
/ the habit of imposing heavy fines and
I was terror to evildOers IL is curious
| TACT That SO long as he was a terror to
/ eNlldoerS, the evlldoers themselves con-
tnued 10 be terrOrs 10 the community.
! When he ceased to be the terror and be-
/ came the friend Of the evildoers, the lat
Ter began 10 reform at such a rate that
| the briskest gospel meeting would be a
| slow affair in its record of conversions
alongside Of the record achieved by Mag
istTate Few. For Mr.. Few. got into the
habit OF imposing conversion, in severe
cases and reformation in minor offenses,
| IN place of fine and Imprisonment, and
/ the results have been astonishing.
Magistrate Few declares that he did
not know. the pleasure Of life until ne be
came "a church worker. He says that his
existence even in Chicago was a dull af-
lair compared with d life of preaching
TO prisoners and then giving them as a
/ present the amount that he would have
tined them If he were built magisterially.
like any other police justice. In 1883 he
was "A brakeman on the Chicago & Alton
railroad in this city. He was about as
sanity as most brskemen area saying
Whlch IS meant to be nOncommittal-but
he was as faithful and devoted 10 his
1 worldly duty and lost his right arm in
an accident. He was then detailed 70
act as special detective, and while work
| ing in this capacity got religion His
view Of Christianity was literal and it
| has brought him to the logical end. He
/ believed that literally he should divide
all ne had with the poor. and that he
was bound. according to SCripturai in
junction. to sell whatever he had i'm or
der that the money TO assist the needy
would not be lacking. II was In the Meth
Odist Episcopal church that Magistrate
Few got religion. and he got il swiftly
and suddenly. by Oid-fashiOned shouting
and praying methods at revival meet
ing.
The city hoodlums, the old regular gang
of PAYDAY drunks.' brawlers, rOwdies.
oil HafF ase Of al
the minor classes heard with awe that
the Filming Magistrate" had got re-
lgien. Now he'll warm us up" they
said. And, curiously enough and IN d.
rect Illustration Of that contrariness in
human nature. which is perhaps after all
the true oTfgi-'5 sin, they started in as
with one accord On make the filming mag
lstrate carr his sa iry- People who were
I'm court til Gs=- Monday after Fews
conversion a never forget The scene.
There was "a fUll bench Of mourners.
rather of those who ought TO have been
mourners-and 1T was a full bench" for
most of It's occupants were drunk. Jim
Wallace whose previous convictions foot
ed up total so formidable that ne Meth
er craved nor expected mercy when he
addressed the dreaded magistrate; Tom
Wade, the sneakthief, who had been ban
ished times without number, but who
like the cat. always came back; Willie
Rice, who had beaten the constable until
the constable took a club 10 him. and
AMNA twas HlAAeAElAAs ciitalilE LIZ nag
gerty, who would persist In wandering
into Alton. although she had been warned
to keep away, all the town lOafers, all
the town tTamps, several offenders with
heavier misdeeds, 10 answer for, were
gathered before the filming magistrate
ne leaned his chin on his hand. and re-
garded the .thrOng with sad, sympathetic
eyes.
He's thinking up how hard he'll soak
it to us mUttered the sinners.
WADE. oh, here YOU are once more,
friend Wade" began Few. why don't
You stay in Chicago? When you get to
that town again, don't drift about Ike
bit of wood in horse pond. Go straight
up TO Salvation Army headquarters, and
there the army people viii see that you
get lodgings cheaply and work at far
wages. You want 10 do work, don't yOu2
All, lad, ere not so young as We used
to be Brace I'D. What's the use of
/ being a mere idle floater on the sea OF
life2 Don't you want to be good Tom
Wade2 Here, what's the charge
There amt no charge in particular"
said the officer. who made the arrest II
Just gathered him in because / knew that
II ] sid not somebody han rack would
be stripped of the buds tonight. around
about tea time. He's no good, Judge
1 Hes been warned out of town about a
dozen times. but ne must find II dead
easy graft (Iom Wade grinnedi, for he
always shows up again Put him where
I he won't have a chance Of shown how
I -fAN lAt Nt--- sc Ff-A---NtN- an
Chance repeated the magistrate.
That's what we all need in this world.
l isn't il. boys? Chance That's what he'll
/ have. Go away Tom Wade and be as
I good as you can for as long a time as
/ you can I wish you would keep away
l from the Gown. Thomas They won't give
I you show here, and how can you expect
/ tia man that has stolen as many over
coats and ladies hats as you? When you
( get the women against you in com
munity you are lost as Tar IS that COM
munity is concerned. Now, VIII you
/ promise ME 70 stay away If let you of
I this time2 I'll give YOU a kind Of ticket
I of-leave- You'll have 10 let me know.
( in a month from now, how you are get
[ ting along. and where YOU are living
[ Warned out Of town. Discharged Next
We'll. well we'll said the oldest in
/ habitant, who found all his amusement
I in life in attending court the magistrate
/ has had a sunstroke.
/ 1t was. indeed, a kind Of a sunstrO4le,
! genial, Kindly sunStrOke, and Few has
/ never recovered from the effects OF It. y
/ few months ago Alton people were
/ shocked to learn that one Of their richest
men had become one Of their poorest men,
/ so Door. indeed. that even his home had
/ to be sold a public auction. Usually.
when misf0TtUnes Overtake q man and
he suffers financial reverses, gossip has
/ no need to seek Tar for a cause II Is
( rash speculation. OF the races, or any
/ ore Of the numerous short cuts 10 the
I poOrh0use-
Police Magistrate Benjamin g. Few has
/ been ruined by being too good, and is
/ paradox in poverty. Every time he opens
/ court the room Is crowded with men,
women and children. There are never
anv cases for trial excepting when some
wandering tramp or some offender from
/ beyond the Alton bounds WdndeTs into
E the town. and absent mindedly begins to
conduct himself as he would III an uneX-
purgated and unregenerate community.
and then instead Of holding court, the
MAGISTRATE breaches a sermon
A High Liver.
fLifeg