"To such men this haven afforded by Hope Hall is a veritable salvation
for body and soul. Scores have shown me how their repeated convictions
were brought about by the fact that they were homeless and friendless,
except for evil associates, and in dire need after their former
imprisonment and they cursed conditions that made them convicts again
and again.
"I have seen these same men, awakened to the truth that Hope Hall was
theirs and for them and them alone, shed tears of appreciation as they
spoke of their finding shelter when they were again free and thus
avoiding the possibility of a return to evil ways. I have seen some of
these men, who later graduated from this home into useful lives, wholly
redeemed by its final service to them, without which the previous work
in their souls would have been wasted.
"There is no power quite so strong upon the human heart as that which
centres about one's home and it is because these otherwise homeless
men have come to look upon it and to call our Hope Hall their home and
who love it accordingly, that they there find the calm, the comforting
and the safety they require to make them wholly sound in body and soul
and they can afterwards go into other homes they themselves establish
strong to endure and overcome.
"God bless you and our League and make you both the means and the power
unto salvation of thousands more of the men among whom I am now forever
numbered, until the whole world shall recognize the regnant truth that
men in stripes are also the loved children of God, and are both subdued
and energized by the same Divine power which moves upon the souls of
other men and with like results."
The next opinion is from a talented and educated man, who has
thoughtfully and dispassionately written of what he has seen during the
past six years as an inmate of the prison where our League started.
"In making an estimate of the influence and value of the Volunteer
Prison League in prison, based upon favorable opportunities for
observation, I should say that its appeal at first was in its promise
of material aid, and its spiritual influences came after. When Mrs.
Booth came to Sing Sing, the men were unprepared for the ringing
message that she brought them and for her promises of substantial aid.
At first, they didn't believe it. It was too good to be true, and she
might have prayed and preached to them till Doomsday, without securing
anything more than passing attention, had she not coupled her plea for
spiritual reform with an offer of help of the most practical kind.
Their interest was aroused and when these offers took real form and
man after man went to Hope Hall, got help and employment, she gained
admission to their hearts and confidence and the field was ready for
the spiritual effort which has, I believe, been successfully made.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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