"His long experience in prison work had supplemented his natural ability, with the result that he brought to a difficult task a trained mind and an admirable judgment. He was firm without being severe; gentle without being weak; with a heart full of kindness for the unfortunates under his control. "The Board of Prison Commissioners recognized his worth; had the fullest appreciation of his manliness, his integrity and his devotion to duty. They sought his advice on all important matters, and in his demise they realize that the State has sustained an irreparable loss. The sincere sympathy of the board is hereby extended to his bereaved wife and children." Until a successor to Warden Mudd is appointed one of the commissioners will be constantly in Frankfort. -------- Neither do I condemn thee; go and sin no more.--Jno. 8:11. -------- CHAPTER NINE JIM O'BRIEN: MODERN MIRACLE By George L. Herr Several years ago I met in the Jefferson County jail, Louisville, Ky., "Dad O'Brien," one of the worst criminals I have ever known. Fifty odd years of age, forty years a thief and twenty-five years behind the bars. The sentence in the jail was a light one--one year and a half--for having received stolen property, but he had stolen from one to tens of thousands. He was son of a prominent physician of Cincinnati, for twenty years professor of anatomy in the Ohio Medical College. He began by stealing from his mother's purse and then, when punished by his father, would steal his father's instruments and sell them for revenge. His father, being a very stern man, drove "Billy" from home, and the night came on with no place to go. -------- Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.--John 5:24. -------- He led a low, degraded life, and was finally arrested and sentenced to serve ten years in the Columbus penitentiary. When he was about to serve his first sentence--which seemed to him a lifetime--a young lady, an old schoolmate and who had been visiting him in jail, proposed marriage to him, so she could have the right to visit him in Columbus and provide him with the comforts of life, as far as possible. She was a girl of means, and he was stunned by the proposal. For, he said, he had not thought of such a thing as a wife. But he told her to come back the next day and he would let her know. She did, and he accepted and they were married on the eve of his leaving for the penitentiary. He only served part of the sentence, and when released went to the home of the girl and began life in a new way, only to fall in the old rut in a short time. He kept up his criminal life for years.