Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1886-02-24
SAM SMALL, THE CO-WORKER WITH
IS SAN JONES.

SAM SMALL, THE Co-yIoRKER WITH
SAN JONES.
Every body is interested these days in
the revival interest prevailing through.
out the country. Sam Small, the new
EVANGELIST, is just now creating quite q
sensation. He arrived in Chicago last
week, to work with Sam Jones. He was
converted under Jones' preaching about
months ago. Before that time he was
considered ''hard case"-a drunkard.
A reporter Of the Chicago Inter Ocean
has interviewed him, and below we give
the substance of it:
Tall and slim, 1.-the of limb and long
armed; well-shaped head upon rather
| slender shoulders; big brown mustache
| as soft and silky as the cigarette looming
out OF its depths; clear, bright black
eyes, looking straight at you through
| steel-bowed spectacles; skin as fair as q
girls and hair rich nut brown, the
whole face expressing gentleness and
force, intelligence and manliness; long,
black, ministerial coat, with vest and
pantaloons of the same dignlfied color,
and tie by no means dudish-in all ap-
| was the picture presented to the eye of
representative of The Inter Ocean Tues
day morning, Feb. 16, as he sat in con-
versation with Sam Small in his room at
the Sherman House, who arrived in
Chicago that morning and who, with his
CO. aborer, Sam Jones, is about to lay
siege to Chicago. In the conversation
there was no ostentatious show Of self
righteousness; no indication of posing
as reformer to be gazed at by the
| world; no cant aud no gush in his con-
| versation- just plain, matter. of-fact
earnestness relieved, if relief was neces-
| sary. by touches of humor and flashes of
wit that in days gone bv have played
heavily into the hands of "Old Sis"
| reputation.
Tell me how you were converted"
"Well, it was this way: The 18th day of
last September Sunday I took my wife
and children and went from Atlanta, my
home, up to Gainesville, fifty miles
| away, to hear Sam Jones preach in a
big camp-meeting. 1t was kind of a
Sunday excursion. Any change of life
up to that time? No; there had been no
change of life up to that time-but for
the worse. I heard Sam Jones preach
and was convicted of my sins. l was
awakened. This was on Sunday. I
went home and got drunk again and
staid drunk until Tuesday afternoon
Then went into my library at about 4
O. clock and prayed until felt that I
saw my way clear. I had been thinking
about my condition and felt that my
time had come to stop. / was getting
over my depth. I looked the whole thing
j IN, <h1 orI 70 ha
Lord. Then went out and had 5000 cir
culars printed announcing that would
preach that evening at the corner of
Marietta and Peachtree streets. The
first job printer that l went to thought
was crazy. You see. had been on a
drunk, and my friends had often thought
that would go crazy from drink, and so
this man though hit the same, and wouln't
print my bills. So went to another
place, and got them printed at last.
had them distributed, and at the place
mentioned great crowd assembled
when it came time for me to speak. /
told them what had happened, what was
going to do, and told them meant bust.
ness. They could stand off and see me
do it,"
"And then1"
"Then, as soon as Jones heard about
I
to come up to Gainesville, and speak for
him. Well, preached the next two
nights in local churches, and Saturday
went up and preached for Jones. From
that day to this have lost about a dozen
days, speaking some days from one tc
four times. Yesterday" and here was
another complete overturning of the
erroneous theory of his being converted
some time ago, studying with Bishop
Beckwith, etc., yesterday I was five
months old in the gospel"
"How are you satisfied with your
work."
Thoroughly, thoroughly. My best
friends said ought to have been in thii
work long ago. My mother prayed anG
prayed for it to the day of her death.
fought it as long as could. N.Y. work
has been uniformity pleasant and feel
that it has been blessed with success
i "Now, how many have you con-
vertedr'
! "Well, you mean the two Of US, since
Ihave been working with Jones? It's
hard to tell; it can't be told, but I car
give you the estimates Of our work to-
gether. In St. Joseph, No., 1890; ii
Birmingham, Ala, 1900; in St. Louis
we'll, we can't tell, but by the best cal
culation by those in the churches, about
900; IN Observation-Disclosures absolutely
> no telling. The names of probably 2,00(
in Cincinnati were handed in, but there
were many, many people who had beer
formerly connected with churches wht
did not care to have their names given
1t is thought that the lives of from 80,
900 to 80, 600 people were affected by the
, meetings.
Nov, as to your dealings with the con
/ uorto-oo tn thoir claimants ~ oh n h..
: after conversion"
'"Thel work is strictly undenomina
ti0nal It is purely evangelistic. Mr.
Jones is 4 regularly ordained minister
in the Methodist church; but all ou
work is done with an end in view O.
converting men, and making them liv'
'righteouslY, sober]y, and godly in thi
present world When the man is con
verted we want him to turn from
wrong course. We believe that the bes
, place for man after conversion is il
some church. The soldier should joil
the Lords army, find a company, and &
into it. We don't want any bush
. whackers playing guerrilla in fighting
, the devil. We tell them that it they ar
!. all right any church is good enough TO
them to join; if they are not all RICH
3 any church is too good for them. We
, take the names and then they are handle,
over to the proper persons in the churc]
the convert wishes to join. We try t.
influence them to join no particula
: church, but to join some church"
In order to give an intelligent idea o
+ Mr.. Smsll's history, and in concise form
let the following from him be taken a
authentic, though, of course, man
J. points must be omitted in 80 short
q sketch:
Il am IS years old, and was born i
. Knoxville, Tenn, on the Sd of July, gel
ting in enc day before the celebration 9
p the Declaration of Independence. er
t tered Emory and Henry College, in WI
GINA, q Methodist college, in 1869, leavin
college in 1871. I then went into new
spaper work, first in Nashville, being er
gagged in various places, in New Orlean: