“I might be asked why it was that I did not find God again, when I was down and out in New York City. Christ was knocking, knocking all the time to enter my heart, but I had become a cynic and would not let Him in. I used to think in those times that if there was a just God I would not be in such a sorrowful plight. The trouble with me was, I did not have enough sense to admit that my condition was simply due to my own faults and to nothing else.
“During my stay in New York I have met many saintly people, men and women who devoted their time, energy and money to the uplift of the homeless and the friendless. Those good people tried their best to have me converted. They did not succeed because I was not willing and because I actually believed most of my friends who were in charge of the several missions that I was in the habit of attending were suffering from hallucinations, although perfectly honest in their self-imposed task.
“The greatest evil in New York City is, as everywhere, the saloon. The majority of you men present here this evening must admit if it were not for the saloon you would not be here as applicants for bodily assistance. There are evil spirits in us and around us to lead us astray; the devil's worst temptation is whisky or any other intoxicating drink. Man was made in the image of God; when a man gets drunk he is worse than a beast. A man will get drunk again and again, a beast will not, having seemingly more sense than a man. The saloon is the greatest foe to the spread of the gospel. In most cases the saloon-keeper knows quite well that he is a highway robber, that his business is ruining untold thousands of men, women and children, but as his so-called business is a legalized one, he may continue indirectly committing murder.
“Really I have more respect for the highwayman and robber than for a saloon-keeper. During my voluntary and involuntary observations in New York and elsewhere, I have come to the conclusion that Christ would conquer the world in much less time if only the awful saloon and dive could be eliminated.
“In my travels in this country and in the foreign countries, I have met many people who by word and deed were spreading the gospel. Some of them naturally inquired of me whether I had been converted. My answer was 'No,' because, as a matter of fact, I did not know the meaning of the word converted. I was told to seek Christ and the meaning would be made plain to me. Evidently I was not sufficiently willing to meet Christ half way, and thus I wasted years of my life before I finally submitted to the pleadings of the Saviour.