The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-01


 years Of age He had accompanied his l father to Dothan on Saturday. The coun- I try folk from all about were .n the town l and political talk was running rife. Young Bob, an unlettered country lad, became 1 imbued with the idea that was grasping | the people at that time-populism. Along about 12 o'clock in the day, he mounted | a dry goods box at the corner of Nix's drug store, and there made his first public I speech.
 I Such rare ability as a speaker did he | exhibit that he held the crowd spellbound l for 20 or 90 minutes. When he ceased he l received an ovation which outrivaled any | thing therefore In Dothan.
 From that time on Bob Jones was more l or less before the public, but more in re- | lgious matters than in political. For sev- | eral months he made speeches at the Sun day school of the Methodist church aS Brannan's Stand, and such knowledge of the Bible did he display that, at the ass of 12 he was made superintendent of the Sunday school over men who were cid enough to be his grandfather.
 When he was 14 years old he graduated from Kincey High school at Kincey of which c. J. IIammitt, later an Alabama editor, was principal Kincey is seven
 miles north of Dothan. Jones paid his
 own expenses through this school with
 the exception of his scholarship, which was given him.
 By the time he was 15 he was licensed to preach the gospel. The first meeting he | held was in his own home community, at | the old Mt. Olive church at Brannan's | Stand for one week. At this meeting there were 60 accessons to membership fin tho | church.
 | For year, at the age of 16, he supplied | the Headland circuit of the Marianna d.s- lt~ f,t,; @Pf A I.ll., conference of the Methodist church, with his residence at Kincey. During this year 1 young Jones received over 400 into the
 churches he supplied as members upon l professions of faith.
 | At the age of F he went to the Southern | university at Greensboro, where he re- | mained three years. This schooling, with | that received at Kincey, constitutes the academic education of the powerful young | evangelist.
 One peculiar instance about Bob Jones | is that he has smashed one iron clad rule of life all to splinters, "A prophet Is never without glory. save in his own country" | In Houston, Dale, Henry and Geneva | counties of this state Bob Jones is held above all others in the estimation of the people. Bob Jones is loved by his own people and he is not depreciated because l he is of them. He is one of them and | they stand by him, heart, soul and body | Down there he is Bob. our Bob," and | they are glad to call him so. When he visits Dothan now one can see the cele- brated young preacher walking about the | streets being hailed as rBob' and shaken by the hand by men who heard him make his first speech in public.
 Bob Jones has held meetings in all the gulf states, at which he has received into the church about 5000 members on pro- | fessions of faith. This does not apply to the Methodist church alone, for he re- ceives members for all churches in his meetings. To further show how powerful he is in his own country, about four years ago
 Jones held ten day meeting in Dothan.
 It was at the beginning of the prohibition wave which has since swept Alabama. On the ninth day of the meeting he so held Dothan under his sway that the city officials ordered the dispensary closed and it has been closed ever since. The dis pensary at that time was netting the city of Dothan quite a large sum of money
 and was practically supporting the schools of that city. During that time the schools were virtually free. since the tuitons have been raised and taxes in the city have advanced. But Bob Jones closed that d:s- pensary and it has remained closed ever
 since. That is how this prophet is held in his own country.
 At Headland. where he preached during the year he supplied that circuit when boy, he held meeting about two years ago in tent erected for the purpose in
 the public square there. People from 20 miles around came in wagons and busgios and camped on the grounds in order to
 hear the thrilling young minister who had been reared among them
 He was established solidly among tho people of six other southern states before he was established in Alabama. This is
 attributed to the prejudice to evangelists which existed in Alabama at that time. Another great revival he held. which he mentions with pardonable pride, was in Grecevllle. Fla. several years ago. at