“True, in years gone by, while down South, I have spoken to political gatherings. Since I got religion, I stopped that. If I should ever make a political address again, it will be in the interest of the Prohibition party. I regret that I have no experience in addressing a religious meeting, and I, therefore, ask you to be patient with me, especially as, due to previous engagements, I was unable to prepare myself, except in so far that I have decided to make a few remarks on personal salvation, and by the term personal I have my own in mind. “I want to tell you something about my own experience, how I had lost my God and found Him again. A man born and reared on the Bowery or any of its side streets in New York City, a man who from his childhood on has been influenced by evil-minded and sinful people, has never heard of Christ, and in the course of time becomes a hardened criminal, such a man may be condemned by mankind, but never by God. “A man born and raised in a comfortable, refined home, who has been taught the doctrines of Christ, has confessed his belief that Christ is His Saviour, has a full knowledge of right and wrong and of the duties he owes his fellow-man—if such a man becomes a willing victim to sensual pleasures, he may not be condemned by mankind, but God will condemn him, unless he repents and starts to lead a new, clean life. “Only too often men are so completely wrapped up in their personal matters, as, for instance, in their business affairs, that they absolutely lose sight of the obligations they owe God, and also their fellow-men, and, as a natural result, neglect their souls. “I honestly believe that such a man is more to be pitied than the ones who, either through their own fault or being victims of circumstances, have lost their hold in life and finally found themselves 'down and out.' A man may temporarily be without food and shelter, but this is nothing compared to trying to live without God. However, a man who is a wanderer on the face of the earth and who has lost his God, is indeed a wretched being. I am speaking from experience. “For years I had violated the divine laws. I had been what is generally termed a society man, 'way down South. I enjoyed a large income, but I spent everything for worldly pleasures. Finally, I became disgusted with my surroundings; but, better still, I became disgusted with myself. I drifted to New York City, determined to live a new life. This occurred about fourteen years ago. Up to that time I had not been within or even near a church for seven years. The New York atmosphere apparently did not agree with me. Instead of leading a clean, moral life—by that I understood at that time a life simply conforming to the requirements of the social laws (the divine laws did not exist for me)—I became worse than I had ever been.