His name is William Blevins. A stenographic report of his testimony is as follows:
"I was in the liquor business for 40 years. I organized the Malt and Retail Liquor Dealers' Association of Texas and was its only head until it went out of business. When J. Frank Norris came to Fort Worth it wasn't long until I recognized that he was going to put us out of business unless we put him out of business. I called our gang together and we got in touch with the churchmen together of the various denominations, and it wasn't long until we had all the preachers silenced except this young fellow Norris. I went out to hear him and I was convinced that we had a dangerous foe. He would never let up. We thought we had him down and out when we got him indicted and tried, but he was vindicated so overwhelmingly and then his church grew as never before and we were in worse fix than ever. Then he did begin his war on us in dead earnest.
"He went and brought that fellow Mordecai Ham here and he was as bad or worse than Norris. So something had to be done. We thought we had Ham put out of business when a fellow jumped on him and knocked him in the head one night and we were soon through with Ham and Ramsey, but Norris was still fighting away and we called a representative group of 150 or more of the leading business men of the city together at the Metropolitan Hotel dining room and Paul Waples presided. We lifted our glasses at the close of the fireworks when we decided to finish Norris, and gave a toast to his exit or finish.
"A few nights afterwards we called a huge mass meeting in the auditorium of the Chamber of Commerce, one block from the First Baptist Church, and Mr. George Armstrong presided and called for fifteen men to go and take Norris out. I was heartily in favor of taking him out and so was everybody else, but we could not get the 15 men.
"And ladies and gentlemen, I believe the hand of God interfered that night and I am go glad that we didn't deprive his wife and children of their husband and father, and this church of its pastor, and since I would not put him out of business, I decided to join him. I came to the church, walked down to the front and got down on my keeds and he got down with me on his knees and put his arms around my shoulders while I prayed, and I prayed the prayer 'God be merciful to me, a sinner' and He heard me and this man that I so hated and tried with others at every foot of ground at my command to put out of business, baptized me and I am now past my 80th milestone and in the course of nature will precede him to the other shore, and when I get there I am going to hunt up the Superintendent of the fair land and make two requests of Him.
"First, I want Him to let me know the day that Frank comes, and second, I want Him to let me off the day that I may be standing down at the beautiful gate and be the first to put my arms around him as the man who led me to Christ, by whose grace I am saved."
WILLIAMS (BILL) BLEVINS SAT ON THE FRONT SEAT EVERY SUNDAY AT THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF FORT WORTH.
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