The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1890-02-20
SAM JONES In NEW ORLEANS.
BY REV. s. S. KEENER.
From the Southern Christian Advocate

BY REV. s. S. KEENER.
From the Southern Christian Advocate.
After many attempts during the two
past years the Methodist Pastors of this
city obtained from Rev. Sam Jones the
promise of three weeks service during
the month of January. Ever since the
promise was given, during last Summer,
the Churches have been looking forward
to the meeting with great expectations.
The three weeks services ended this
morning, January 9th. The lombard
| ment of sin in high places, in the alleys
and along the streets, in the churches
and the homes was terrific and relentless.
"He came, he saw" but be did not con-
quer. The opposition aroused was out
spoken and Infamous in the lies they
circulated against him. During the frat
services the daily papers reported his
sermons, but as soon as he turned loose
his guns upon the lottery company the
papers became as silent as death. With
this public opposition there we're thou.
sand lies circulated on the streets by this
corporation or its servants. Joined to
this was the passive opposition of all the
Episcopal churches and two of the lar.
gest of the Presbyterian churches. The
Baptists, Methodiats, four of the Presby-
terian congregations and Campbellite
were united in their support during the
whole meeting. "sam" had an uphill
business, just such hard, steady pulling
as Methodist preachers have been doing
here for sixty years. He ridiculed the
slow movements ofthe people aud preach
ers, and began with the assertion that
"this old city needs shaking up" and
"before get through there will be hair
and dirt torn up for mile around here;"
but, alas, the longer he stayed the more
deeply convinced he became that fight.
ing against wind and current a0as auork.
After preaching three times day for a
| week, with the night audiences not ex-
ceeding fifteen hundred, and those in the
day hardly reaching FIVE hundred, he
acknowledged that the odds against him
here were greater than OF any place he
bad been, and one of his assistants advis.
| ed him to leave in disgust. But by the
end of the third week his audiences had
increased to about two thousand FIVE
hundred or three thousand, which is the
largest audience ever gathered here at a
Protestant service. The last night he
preached, Sunday night, while be had
gathered three thousand together, there
we're two theatres at the same.hour that
had auaudience each OF about the same
number.
His courage in denouncing sin in the
forms of gambling, profanity, drinking
and licentiousness was very fine, and will
be Of lasting benefit. he excelled him.
self in his continuous, unrelenting and
scathiDg denunciations of The State
lottery. At every night service, and
many of the day services, he brought out
this institution Of robbery and ruin, and
ridiculed, mathematical and denounced
it as "that Damnable State Lottery"
Then he would turn upon the daily
press for being owned by such an insti
tuition, and the myriad of fools in the
Church and out, far and near, who
bought the tickets, month after. month,
year after year. Along these lines his
visit will be of lasting benefit.
The numbers added to the Churches
will not exceed fifty all told the genu.
inc, sound conversions will not reach thai
number; the backsliders reclaimed will
be but small number, and such meet.
ing to "Sam Jones" is a failure as far as
immediate results are concerned.
His sermons impress one as q s.potpour.
ri,"- literary deliverance which is q
conglomerote-some sermon, some lee
ture, much of the histrionic art, some Of
the stump orator and hustings Itis like
q French gumbo, soup which has three
or more vegetables, two kinds of meat,
condiments without number, and more
water than anything else. 1t is a pala-
table dish, but man could not do good
days work on such diet.
So with these $50 called sermons y
there is anything you may call for in
them, from a stale joke to grand Incl.
dent, from the most courageous and
scathing denunciation of sin and crime
to the most disgusting and silly witt.
cisms.
he says many sublime things, many
hackneyed, silly things, many very
beautiful things, full Of brilliancy and
pathos, many triaiug and worthless
things; and they are SO mingled, chained
together, that you cannot separate them
He pours them into your ear with voice
that is irresistible in its tones; he
stamps them upon your memory with
I. the actors gesticulations and the mimic's
tricks that makes them part of YOU
being. The good, the indifferent, tht
bad are stamped upon you forever by
this man of strangely superior voice, o
eurpassing mimicry. he advises you tt
take the good and leave the chad in th'
rack" but he mixes them SO that you ar
like an old COW in sage field; she eat
three. .fourths sage and one. fourth nutri
tious grass, but her three stomachs cal
get rid of the sage by gradual elimina
ton; but man not only cannot get rit
of the bad, but he assimilates the bat
more rapidly than the good.
His mimicry and acting is wonderful
for he can infuae life and power into th
| -. lo1 ~