The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-09-19
SAM SMALL's ANNIVERSARY.
Review of the First Years Work as q Min
lister of the Gospel.

lister OF the Gospel.
Atlanta Constitution.
Yesterday was memorable day in the life of
Rev. Sam w. Small One year ago last night
he startled all Atlanta and set it agog with
gossip and speculation by standing upon an i'm
proyised platform, at the artesian well and
preaching sermon of singular earnestness and
pathos. For years previous his life had been one
of strange lines, filled with varied successes and
failures in several departments of employment
and public service, but principally distinguished
by its recklessness and almost complete surren-
der to sins and designations When Sam Small
stood up that September night and claimed
conversion to God and pledged his life to the
service OF Christ, perhaps not half dozen per
sons in the world who knew him believed him
sincere and honest in his declarations. Hun
dreds laughed at the episode as a drunken va
gary and scores OF serious men declared that
Small had become insane through his dissipa-
ton. 1t was freely predicted that this latest
freak of his would be nine-days wonder. and
he would speedily relapse into his old ways and
resume his reckless, goddess and extravaganza
life
But the record of his life for the year has been
one of marvellous surprises, aud not alone to his
friends and the skeptcal critics, but to himself
Beginning to preach from the third hour of his
conversion, he has steadily gone forward in the
service of his Master with growing zeal and
power to the present day. He preached every
night and day of that first week of his new life
and then was called by Rev. Sam Jones to 60
with MIN IN HIS eVdnRecal DORIS throughout the
country. He was surprised at the call. but,
believing it divlnely directed. obeyed it,
and has since been the active and eff
cient associate of the great Georgia evan
gelist IN his remarkable meetings
throughout America. Not only have the
two Sans" become household words all over the
Union but the people and press have united in
pronouncing Mr.. Small lone of the foremost
and most eloquent preachers in the American
pulpit" The striking figures of his year of la
Dor, so far as accessible, will be read with won.
der. Within the twelve months Mr. Small has
travelled over 49, 900 miles, preached 507 sermons
and addressed audiences estimated as aggre-
eating one million persons. AS to the
number of conversions marking their
labors CT the larger number of
persons whose lives were affected for good by
them, no possible estimate can be made. His
anniversary sermon was preached last night at
Trinity Church to densely packed audience
of the discourse was the recital of his own past
experience, his conversion and the results that
had attended upon his life in Christ. The SER
mon was full of tender, pathetic and thrilling
passages 1t was listened to with profound at
tention. and those who heard it were convinced
that IT would bring forth good fruit among those
who were present.
In speaking of his changed life Mr. Small said
he knew at the outset of it how people would
doubt him, deride his professions and scoff at his
efforts; how cruel and pitiess would be the cri ii
cism he would encounter; how deep and poign-
ant would be the stabs that the heartless and
uncodly would nfiict; but he was conscious that
God bad, for Christ's sake. forgiven his sins.
and that he had fixed his life on lines of loyalty
to Christ With this happy assurance, he faced