The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-04-17

[ ecclesiastical cut of his coat; he Is just a plain everyday human being with the sweetest, gentlest face you ever looked into in all your life. witE the biggest, kipdest heart in the world. filled with the love of God and his fel- low men who are yet struggling for the light without cant or unction or bor- ing theological lore-but just the sort of person that men love
 Mel Trotter doesn't talk down to the slums; he is not religious dema- gogue; nor could anybody be deceived; his religion is in his heart and mind and soul, seven days and seven nights in every week, in every year of his life. overflowing, ebullient, radiant, beautiful!
 When I saw pr. Trotter the other day, caught him, as it were, of his guard;'' by that 1 mean he was placid, passive, bit relaxed after the strenu- ous duties of monday service. and there was a quiet and serene calm overspreading his gentle nature that
 
 storm-a calm after the tempest
 There was no slang" there was no turmoil; no tempestuous outcry; just quiet!
 So modest and so unpretentious-ons handshake with the beloved evangelist makes you feel as if you'd found a friend of the long ago-somebody you used to know and love; somebody with (what I always love so to quote), Gods gift of understandings you know instinctively when you meet Mel Trotter that he's been through the nlill he knows suffering and he knows pain down to the very bottom of the ditch.
 One moment of conversation, and you realize fully what Mel Trotter's foundation stone is for decency, re- spectability. sanctity and piety; namely. the home and the right sort of mother.
 There were seven of us," said Mel Trotter, three boys and four girls and my dear old mother now 80 years
 
 ministers of the gospel and her four daughters Christian women.' q grew up among drunkards," Mel Trotter asid. T worked in my fath- er's barroom and I went the way of the drunkard; all l ever had to cling me as little child:
 l Now I lay me down to sleep I I pray the Lord my soul to keep
 And that prayer often came to me in the darkest moments of my life"
 T recall so wildly, once I was thrown out of box car" the evan gelist said his gentle face tear stained and hurt by the remembrance and I landed under a water tank. Drunken and sore yet. with that prayer in my peat it and there under that old water tank drunkard's prayer was the prayer his mother taught him; Now I lay me down to sleep
 I pray the Lord my soul to keep
 My mother never was satisfied, l newer Iclt LHdt nSr WOIk was uOne, until her boys and girls were all saved,'' he said "She lives at my home today-up in Grand Rapids, -and is happy
 NO, the old world isn't any worse today than it ever was before" Dr. Trotter said in answer to my ques- tion. Times have changed. Men and women have many diversions and temptations. Club lfe-the vote for women, women smoking. women in the business world-all these things make life different. Not lorg ago I held B meeting in a large city and one aft ernoon I requested a& the children to sit in the main floor of the audi torium. The ,grown-ups were in the balconies. l asked the children to hold up their hands-all of them whose mothers taught them their prayers at night before they went to bed. Six little hands out of all that vast audi enc3 were raised; I couldn't believe it. repeated the question: again the } six little hands went up. Then