I
n 1880, Jimmy Kemp was well known among
New York City police officers. One night, a cop
found the drunk headfirst and asleep in an ash
barrel, where he had gotten stuck when he tried to fetch
his hat. The policeman whacked the soles of Jimmy's
feet with a nightstick to wake him up.
"Who is this?" the cop asked.
"It's me," Jimmy answered. The officer recognized
Jimmy's voice and pried him out of the ash barrel. Dur-
ing Jimmy's booking down at the precinct, the officers
on duty had such a laugh over the incident that they be-
gan calling him "Ash Barrel Jimmy." The name stuck.
Ash Barrel Jimmy had many brushes with the law;
so many, in fact, that the judge didn't quite know what
to do with him. Jimmy's binge drinking got him into
trouble on a regular basis. He was incorrigible, and the
judge was weary of seeing this obnoxious, disheveled
character in his courtroom.
"I'm tired of sending you to jail," the judge sighed.
The judge considered a different approach to sentencing
Jimmy. His idea would change Jimmy forever and also
help establish The Salvation Army in the United States.
"The Salvation Army is holding a service at
Harry Hill's theater," the judge pronounced.
"I'm ordering you to go there!"
So off Jimmy went to The Salvation Army to join the
group for his two-week sentence. His was the first of
countless cases that were passed on to the Army. But
that's not our only
iRony, there's more.
Jimmy never went to prison again, because what
happened that night at the Salvation Army meeting
effected two profound changes: one was in Jimmy's
life; the other was an early victory launching the
struggling Army in the United States. It was a turning
point for both man and mission.
The crowd at Harry Hill's theater was particularly
rowdy that evening. The Salvationists endured taunts
while they sang, testified and preached their hearts
out. But Jimmy wasn't laughing; he was listening
closely. He understood the Salvationists
were genuine, and moreover, so was
their presentation of
the Good News
of Jesus Christ.
They had what
he needed!
Jimmy approached
the disheartened Sallies
and asked them to help
him find the Lord. They
were thrilled! Ash Barrel
Jimmy became one of The
Salvation Army's first con-
verts in the United States. His
radical conversion was like a shot
in the arm for the group's faltering spirits.
Jimmy never returned to jail. He gave up drinking
and became a Salvationist. He later became an officer,
and eventually rose to the rank of captain. He was
evidence of the transforming power of Christ as pro-
claimed by William Booth's Army.
The newspapers told the story of a judge sending Ash
Barrel Jimmy to The Salvation Army, where he was
saved. Maybe there was something to this Salvation
Army, after all. Positive press proclaimed the Army's
good works, and crowds started flocking to Army meet-
ings, not to jeer or mock, but to be saved--all because a
judge gave an incorrigible drunk an unusual sentence.
iRony
............
30
The War Cry | APRIL 2015
by
MAJOR FRANK DURACHER
A Judge's Decision