Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1891-07-10
$4,000 PEOPLE
PRESENT AT REV. SAM JONES
MEETINGS LAST SUNDAY.

HIS SERMONS DURING THE WEEK-ONE
TO COLORED PEOPLE AND ANOTHER TO
MEN oNLY-sKETCHEs OF THEM-INCI-
DENTS OF THE MEETINGs-THE EVAN
GELIsT's LAST WORDS TO THE PEOPLE.
&C.. &C. sc.
Sunday was a day that will long be re-
membered in Staunton for the assembling
of the largest congregations to hear the
gospel that have ever gathered i'll Vir-
ginia. The preacher was the Rev. Sam
Jones, and the place was the immense
building Of the Bodley Wagon Works.
The audiences there may be set down as
follows
10 A. NJ, Regular meeting ...... ........10 900
F. NJ, For men only. ......... ......... 5000
Z. M, Farewell meeting ........... 5000
Total ....... 20 OV
The composition Of the audiences was as
remarkable as the number. In religion
there were Jews, Bhuddists. Roman Catho-
lies, and Professionals of every denomination,
and in occupation there was represented
every ayocation = mechanics, laborers,
lawyers, barkeepers, judges, merchants,
farmers, preachers, doctors and editors.
In social composition it was as remarka-
BILE, for it included some Of the most
depraved people of both sexes, who, proba-
bly, had never heard sermon before, since
they left the decent walks of life. 1t was
the last Of series of eight Of the most
remarkable days in religious matters that
have been known in the history OF Staun-
ton. and of the first five of which we gave
an account in the VINDICAToR last Friday
morning. OF the remaining three we may
give the following account
There have been three meetings a day
every day, rain or shine, since Rev. Sam P.
Jones commenced here on Sunday morning,
June 2Sth. Last Friday afternoon at
o'clock he delivered a
SERMON TO THE COLORED PEOPLE
at the BodleY wagon works. There were
about 5000 in attendance, and a number of
whites who had some curiosity, after the
overhauling the white audiences had gotten
from the Evangelist, to see how he would
handle a colored audience. They found the
treatment in both cases the same. The
colored people occupied the body of the au-
ditorium, there was a very good colored
choir brought together for the occasion, and
the ministers of the colored churches were
out In full force on the platform. After
the song service, which was very good,
prayer was offered by Rev d. G. Dean,
pastor of Ebenezer colored Baptist church.
Mr.. Jones took his text and added: "Th1s
means in plain English 'sWho is fit to be in
the church. and who will eventually get to
heaven?" Being in the church does not
keep man out of hell. Many a man who
has been a preacher, deacon. a steward OF
a church is now in hell, and many man
who has been forty years member Of the
church is there too. Many man will
shout loud at meeting and then go and do
something that the devil can brag on. Y on
must Try your life by the Bible, just as these
big posts IN this room were tried by the
men that put them up by the spirit level
If your life is plumb by the Book, you are
walking upright. But if it isn't, yOul
walk is not true. When you tell lie, you
ain t walking upright. When you drink
whiskey you ain It walking upright When
you backbite your neighbors you ain It walk
ing upright. What you want your life to be
is straight up and down. He is the upright
man who not only won t do wrong, but who
will do right every chance he getS-right
for his neighbor, right for his church
Every now and then the bees kill off all the
drones in the hive. and it is a great pity
the church doesn't separate it's drones and
have them killed off. What sort of law
yer do you call one that processes to be a
lawyer and don't practice? What sort OF
Doctor do you call one that processes to
be doctor, that has no patients and never
practices? What sort of a Christian dc
you call one that processes to be a Chris
tian and don't practice it? They are frauds
and so are you if you don't practice youl
religion. What are you doing fol- your re
igion. Visiting the sick [ reckon as long
as their rations hold out, and then you Il
quit visiting them.
You don't like this. You're mad. Oh.
you II see plenty of white people on the
, streets of Staunton this week mad too. /
told 'em | was going to hew to the line and
they got hurt-not because | was mad
with them, but because they were sitting
on the line. The engine ain mad when it
runs over the COW. 1t does it just because
the old fool COW was on the line. You col
ored people talk about each other too much
(Groans of assent from the men and women
in the audlence). You go behind each 9th
er's backs and talk just like mean white peo-
pie. If white people have a mean trick q
negro is bound to have it too. How many
ale there of you here that haven't spoken
i'll about your neighbor since Christmas
(About a dozen stood up). You colore(
people will never be what God intended
you to be until you take more care about
who you run with. 1t is not your colo
that keeps you down, but your character
I'd rather be colored man to-day with :
good character than white man with ;
bad character. There amt any trouble
about social equality. The first class white
people and the first class colored people
don't want to mix. The mixing is done by
the low flung white people and the low
flung black people. They are the only PEG
pie that want to mix.
If there is race ON earth that loves
whiskey it is the colored people. Yo,
colored people Of the South have spen
money enough ON whiskey since the war t.
buy each one of you home And wha
have you got for it? You live in poo
cabins and dirt around you. while you
money spent for whiskey builds other pee
pie fine houses. A low down whiske,
drinking negro man is no more respects