Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-01-22
TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1889.
APecu,tar Evange,ist,c Method.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1889.
Peculiar Evangeifsttc Method.
The special methods OF Rev. Sam Jones,
in presenting what are supposed to be
Gospel truths and moral betterments,
have attracted great deal of invidious
comment in this community, the harsh
est notes of which have resounded in tlle
columns of our esteemed contemporary,
the Times. Jones is an evangelist OF
what might perhaps be called, without
undue harshness, a very rugged type.
He is a nervy and sinewy little gentle
man, built on the principle of the small
equine who was "all hoss," every inch,
silver and integument of him, and he
possesses an intense vitality which
reaches to his liver and lights. What
Buffalo Bill is to showmeD, Sam is to the
preaching guild. He is creature OF grit
and dash; and, above all things, he is
SUI generis. Sam is small unlike
his running mate, Sam Small, but
he has a theological and exegetic
dynamo in his small body equal to sew
eral hundred horse power. While,
strange to say, Jones is small, Small is
large. Such are the anthitheses Of the
new Apocalyptic disp ensation in these
United States.
Sam Jones is really good looking
small man, while Sam Small is good
looking large man. They are arranged
on the eternal principles of the attraction
of opposites. Such as they are, these gen.
tlemen are now playing to very large
business in Les Angeles and as they ore
artists in their way, the HERALD heartily
hopes that the receipts are up to reason
able expectations.
So much by way of prolegomena, and
now to business. On Sunday afternoon
the "show" at the Pavilion opened to 6
large house. The leading feature was
the appearance on the stage of E. O.
Excel, the "Sweet Singer" of the COM
bination. We simply aim in this article
to give typical reproduction OF Jones
seance, without malice, and also-tc
employ the consecrated language Of
without money and without
price," According to euphonic stand,
ards, Mr.. Excell's name, having double
to the hind part thereof. ought to be
accented on the last syllable. But we
are convinced that his modesty is toe
great for such blazonment of his personal
claims. Shortly after the advent on the
stage of the "Sweet Singer of Israel, y
he takes occasion to say that he wants g
hundred young men to appear on the
stage to help him sing. The hundred
young men aforesaid make their way tc
the stage, and the Sweet Singer puts il
some time in grouping them. This &C
compliahed, he steps to what would be
the footlights in theatrical performance
and declares that he requires another
hundred young men to help him to sing
OF course the most obvious comment a
this stage of the advertisement amongs
the flippant ungodly is that Excell's
glottis must be clogged by phlegm OIL
some other impediment, or his wood
notes wild would Immediately and spon
taneously burst forth for the delectatior
and edification of the multitude. But
having grasped the second hundred, he
again steps to the footlights and tells the
audience and the galleries where they
are to come in, rebuking both for remiss
performance at intervals. In fact, Excel
is double. .milled, gilt-edged performer
and he finally concentrates on the gal
lery. He tells that reprobate portion ol
mankind that they sing very weakly and
buy very few books. His tone in admin
istering this last rebuke is drastic and
sarcastic, and the spectator only gets on
to it's vehemence and pathos when he
looks at the bottom Of his programme
and finds that the Sam Jones song books
are published by the sweet singer Excel,
and are sold at the exceedingly moderate
figure of 35 cents a piece, or $500 per
dozen, or $50 90 hundred. The figure
per gross is omitted. At no stage of the
Jones performance is there any reference
to Christ's scourging the money changers
from the Temple of Jerusalem.
By this time matters have been pre-.
pared for the advent of the grand
theological thaumaturgist, and Jones
appears. OF course, in the brief COM
pass of an editorial review of this evan
gelistic portent, we can't go into minute
details. The Rev. Sans methods are
conversational even to the point of flip.
pancy, and there are few "end men" in
a minstrel com animation in our recollec-
ton who could beat him in breezy
and chipper ways. In fact, We
are inclined to think that, if the
grave, and meek, and lowly Jesus were to
reappear in this work-a-day world OF the
nineteenth century, ths Reverend Sam
would bowl him down off-hand. The
Nazerene, with his slow and methodical
speech would be nowhere; and, before
he could get through with the rhythmic
and majestic cadences of the Lords
PRAYER, as set forth in Matthew, the
Saviour would be trying to find out what
lind of heings-if we were inclined TO be