Perth Amboy evening news., 1908-11-13
STORY OF LIFE
TOLD BY HALL
Salvation Army Worker Was
Formerly Cock Fighter and
. Wife Beater.
TO SPEAK in THIS CITY

Edward Hall, of Elizabeth, who
will be a feature at the Salvation
Army meeting tonight, tells the fol-
lowing story of his life:
II was born in Derby, England,
being one of a family of twenty-one
children. My father was a nail
worker by trade l went to work in
a cotton factory at the age of six, and
from seven to ten followed the nall
making trade. My father and mother
moved to America when / was eleven
years of age, and left be to look out
for myself. When fourteen l follow
ed them to America and settled in
New Brunswick, going to work max
ing hooks and staples at 50 per week.
Machinery cut off my means of
subsistence and forced me to look out
for something else, which accounts
for my entering the tanning business
at Elizabeth soon after.
At the age of eighteen I was a
noted dog-fighter, cock-fighter, prize
fighter, dancer, and all-round ath-
lete. To demonstrate to the world
my superior wisdom. l proposed
marriage to girl Of my acquaint-
ance, was accepted and had the knot
tied, | being eighteen, she fifteen.
For the next twenty-five years, 1 re-
gret to. say, / went from bad to
worse. 1 earned from $25 to $85 a
week and spent 1t nearly all for rum
and gambling, finally losing my posi-
tion and starting in the saloon bust
ness In Newark, and later in New
Brunswick.
Il do not recollect being sober for
upward of ten whole years. l beat
my poor wife, starved the children
and broke up the home.
II blush to relate 1t, but drink had
got such hold upon me that kick
ed my wife downstairs on one oc-
casion, and on/ another tied rope
around her neck and threatened to
hang her. Worse than tnat, l drew
a knife across her throat; she saved
her life by breaking away, running
up the street with blood pouring from
the wound.
God was wonderfully good and
spared my utterly unworthy life. Just
twenty-five years ago, almost to a
day, was going to the saloon with
my last nickel to get a glass of beer
when l met for the first time little
group of Salvationists at an open
air meeting on the street corner. I
stopped and listened My heart was
reached and touched. put the
nickel In the tambourine.
That night / crawled into an old
woodshed l used to own and lay
down to sleep. The Spirit of God got
hold of me. l arose and prayed as l
had never done before. God heard
my cry, my chains fell off, and was
free.
II was very sick. I sent for my
'fe, who had never forsaken me,
ad as had been. She sent for the
,foctor, as / was threatened with de-
lerium tremens. The doctor ordered
whiskey. l said, No; let me die
sober! / asked my wife to stand by
me when unconscious, and got her
promise not to allow anybody to put
rum down my throat.
II pulled through all right.
II got work at the Singer Manu-
featuring Company's shops. / went
to God again for the blessing of full
salvation, and for twenty-five years
my home hae been heaven on
earth.
Il have a healthy body, steady
position, and, as the sergeant-major
of the Elizabeth corps of the Saliva
tion Army, | conduct from five to
eight open-air meetings every Sun
day, In addition to those on week
nights, besides looking after about
100 men at the factory where /
work"