The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-07-01
Up From The Death Cell

average prison inmate, and now and then in that per cent guard might be found who stood far below the average convict in general prin- ciple.
 Occasionally some ex-prisoner writes about his experiences and condemns all officials. Practically all such writings, however, are one sided. exaggerated or filled with that | detestable spirit of q, the greatly sinned against one"
 l could see even then clearly just how my course of conduct had in- eVitably led me to a place where terrible crash in one way or another could be the only result. I was sorry because of my past and the conse- quences of 1t, but common sense and ordinary reason told me that. looking backward could profit nothing. In the prison there was no regu- lar chaplain and different denomina- tions from the city were permitted tC take their turns on Sundays. A speaker-usually a clergyman-and five to fifteen other persons would come and hold services in the chapel.
 Occasionally some of the services were such that the prisoners also Joined in the singing.
 The denC minations seemingly in terested in that kind of prison uplift were as follows: Methodists, on the first Sunday in each month; Latter Day Saints (Mormons), who are nu- merous and strong in the intermoun- tain west, on the second Sunday; | Christians (Campbe on the third Sunday; Baptists on the fourth; and Salvation Army people on the fifth, whenever there was fifth. N
 A Sermon To Remember.
 In addition to those Sunday aft ernoon services, there was an or ganization of young people repre- senting some of the churches already named and the Congregationalist and Presbyterian thrown in, that would hold morning service; also the Christian Scientists and Catholics would have an occasional or regular, as the case may have been. Sunday morning for their services there. My resolve to take up a certain work came about as result of sermon.
 The man who preached was a Con- gregationalist.
 Men he began in a converse tional tCne, I'm not going to try to preach you any doctrinal sermon, be- cause that isn't what you need. l may not proceed along any pre- scribed lines here, because I don't do that when preaching to my congre- gation-and you fellows aren't any better than they are"-much laugh ter-"neither are you in most ways one bit verse" Silence and much in terest.
 AS I was sitting here with my tired old eyes closed listening to the singing, there came to me certain words away back in the old Bible. Those words were expressed by an ancient whose name was Joel. This old Joel-if he was old--had a lot of wisdom that had come tC' him through thought and effort out of the infinite; and at one time, after he had been telling the people some harsh truths about themselves and their relation to certain laws of the infinite, he declared to them a com forting promise Cf the Lord In these words: And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten
 I'm going to tell you some harsh truths about yourselves today. l don't care a continental whether you'll like it or not, but l know that every man of intelligence among you will know that what l say is true. have been through more sweat,
 
 you. The locust ate some precious years out of my life, because my ,con- duct invited their coming; they have likewise eaten away years of your lives. Now, however, comes the promise of the Lord-the ever-pres- ent Lord, not far distant Lord that those lost and destroyed years shall be restored to us.
 Their restoration depends solely 1oe et men, the same as all other men, are in truth captains of your own fate and masters 'of your own souls" Like Paul In Athens.
 No Paul speaking to the men of Athens in the midst of Mars Hill ever preached with more power. There was a rule that services in the chapel were not to go beyond an hours time. When the hour was up though, not a guard moved.
 For still another quarter-hour the speaker contineud, then suddenly lowered his voice:
 Listen, boys-I'm going to leave you now In few minutes, but I want to leave with you this one par ticular thought; No man within the sound of my voice will at any time or in any place get anything that is worth having and that will do him real good, unless he begins right here to give to the world his best. Give to the world? you question: how am I to give anything to the world? No mortal any place on this earth ever gives anything to the world unless he gives it through and by the way of those other mortals nearest.
 Cultivate the best within your selves and pass 1t along both directly and indirectly to those with whom you come In contact daily. Do some thing by the way of help and in- fluence for others. With all my soul I pray that, If everything else I've said here is soon forgotten, this closing thought may remain. And may God bless you"
 Back at the little table in my cor ner of the cellhouse office I sat for an hour thinking it over. Suddenly l arose with a feeling Cf impatience. In that very moment there entered my system the germ that makes peo- pie want to communicate their thoughts to the world through type.
 CHAPTER 2s
 The resolve that I would learn how to write was made at the beginning of the year of 1911, when I was en- tering upon my eighth year of prison life. Although not yet thirty four years old, my hair, which had begun to turn gray while I was in the jail, was almost white. But for most part my health had been good and perhaps my facial expression was yet that of a man in his first youth.
 Because of having read and thought much-my reading included history, all kinds of fiction, essays, works Of science, law. moral phil osophy, the Bible, current magazines