Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-05-23
EXPOSITION BUILDING.
Ths Great ReyivaIisIs. MessFs WbittIe
and Bliss, Hf sue Largest Building in
tsIe City before AN Immense
Crowd.
Attack Upon and Defense of the Evan
EsIIsIs-seFVices To Day for the
negroes and at sight for
the whites.

+ The very large atgeEdances that our
= citizens, irrespective Of denominations,
} have given the aeries Of religious meet
2 logs inaUgursted at the Greenlaw Opera
: house lsst Tuesday night, evidence the
! fact that the efforts Of these evangelists
have at least been found worthy OF re-
. cOgnitiOn by our people. The interest
has iuCreased nightly, and with this
feeling, whether Of curiosity or 8 true
desire 10 aid and encourage the efforts of
these gentlemen, the attendance has
been cOTTespOndingly augmented. The
Greeniaw Oper8hOuEe was found mad
equate for the accommodation Of the
public, and consequently the Exposition
building had to be TesOrted to, the first
meeting being held there last night. The
people crowded in for an hour or more,
aud by eight O'Clock several hundred
were present. Much interest was mani
tested by the audience, who were enter
tsined with a discourse from Mr.. Whit
tie in the earnest and characteristic style
which we have already noticed in con-
uection with the services held at the
Greenlaw Operahouse. Whether or not
the people OF Memphis hearken to his
exhortations upon the subject Ofreligion,
and it is one entirely with
them, we have reason TO hope
that much good may result from the
moral influence Of these meetings, mas
much AS they tend to arouse the inquiry
f the public mind upon those questions |
| that relate to religion and affect their |
! ideas Of religion. MessTs. Whittle and |
Bliss are deserving Of praise, and fully |
merit the large audiences which they |
nightly attract. How long the meeting |
| will continue depends in great meas |
ure upon the recognition our people give |
| TO their labors, and the interest that |
may be evoked the present week, during
which the meetings are to be held in the
! Exposition building. In this cOnrec-
tion we regret to Gall attention to the
following article which appeared in the
Brownsville Democrat, an article that
we are sure our cOtempOTy will hasten
to apologize for so soon as it reads the
article following it, which we copy from
the Nashville Union and american as a
prOper.set-Off The Democrat says:
"Whittle and Bliss, two peripstetic
Yankee preachers, who are seeking to
initiate Saukey and Moody in England,
have gone to Memphis to stir up the
sinners. They come, so we are informed,
from Chicago, and we are constrained to
believe them humbugs for the reason
that il they really wanted to convert
sinners, as they claim, they have a larger
field Of operation 10 the square inch or
acre in Chicago than anywhere else on
the habitable globe. They want notorie-
ty, and possibly money. If the people
Of this country can't be converted satis-
factorily by their home preachers, it
can't be done by all the travelling Yam
KEGS in the universe. We don't agree
with the neWly-cGnveTted editor of the
Humboldt Herald, when he compares a
fair southern city TO that nest-hiding
conglOmerstiOn OF scarlet women and
debauched men, known among men SIS
Chicago. The Herald says: 'AIessrs.
Whittle and Bliss, the great revivalists,
after having accomplished SO much good
in Nashville, will commence their evan
gelical work in Memphis next Tues
day. With due respect to Mem
phis as the commercial metrOp-
oils Of the State, as possessing
live, enterprising and patriotic men and
women, as being the beauty of the Mis-
sissippi valley, we can but say her moral
condition is at low stage, and there is ,
need of something tHat will purify its
morals. We would not be misunder-
stood. We know there are those among
our friends who from their blindness !
would take issue with us upon this SUBJ ;
ject; but let them reflect. The epithet ;
should be refuted by the result OF the
good work Of these evangeIists that ,
Memphis is as corrupt as Chicago"
The article Of the Union and Anleri- !
can is as follows: Gan incident, well :
worth nsrrating, which occurred at the I
close of the war, has been fOrcibly re- '
called since the arrival OF Mr.. Whittle, :
the evangelist, in Nashville. Upon the !
Of the southern troops our +
Major Monroe (Tup) +
went to Montgomery, Ala =
bama, to TejOin his wife and sister.in- .
law, who were boarding at Mrs. Mi :
cOu's, in that city. Captain Whittle, of .
General Smiths (FederaD corps, was at }
the time in the city, and boarding at the f
same place. MajOr Che8tham and fam .
lily found themselves without money =
enough to come home or, as greenbacks
were then very scarce and difficult to I
get in the south. Their situation came
to the notice of Captain Whittle, VINO 4
generously furnished them free trans
pOrtstiOn in ambulances from Mont
gOmery to West Point. The kindly Of
ice was deeply appreciated, and was re- Il
called to the minds OF the ladies upon G
he occasion OF the recent coming Of
Mr.. Whittle, the evangelist, to Nash fl
Vile. Mrs. Cheathan called on him, G.
and found him to be the same Captain A
1t is needless to speak Of the [
pleasure the meeting gave on both 81
sides"
The Yankee, from the above it would "
seem, has a heart full Of the milk Of hui &
nan kindness, and enough magnanim- 2
ty to enable him to prosecute his self a
elected mission as evangelist with fidel- q
ty. For ourselves, we feel that to ad- G
nit the severe aud unjust reflections of
he Democrat would be to insult the in .,
diligence and discernment Of the pas -
Ors and lsymen of Memphis, who were :,
he media Of bringing Whittle and Bliss d d
o our city, and who have maintained +
hem here, always proud, too, Of their y
As to the filings at the y
morality of Memphis, we might, were
We so inclined, retort upon the Dcmo.
rat and the Herald that the best
ustomers that our immoral classes -
ind support from come from the rural
istTicts. But we won't make the re- NJ
OTt. We let the occasion pass.
CENTENNIAL. O.