The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-05-05

no trouble for Methodist preacher to
move. Nov. it may be little more
trouble for Presbyterian, Lutheran or
Baptist preacher to move, but q Metho-
oist has got the least excuse on the face
Of the earth.
duty to stand up and plead for eyery-
thing that is right. 1t is my duty as a
preacher to stand up and preach against
everything that ever harmed soul, or
dishonored God Almighty or disorgan-
lied community.
81 have fought good fight. l have
come squarely over. There are a good
many members of the church listening
to me right now. They are on the right
side OF many questions, but on the
wrong side of other questions. There
is an old follow who don't drink, but he
is the biggest old miser in the town.
There is an old fellow out there who
Will give freely to the church, but, God
bless you. he keeps q jug at home.
There is another fellow who says,
Jones, do not touch drop and give
hberally,' but at the Same time he Is
giving dance at his house
what we want in this meeting, nv
brethren, is men and women who stand
up squarely on Gods side of everyuues-
ton that comes up. That is what we
want. have fought a good fight i
have come over. The only reliable men
in the church, or women other arc tho
men or women who stand sQuarely and
everybody knows how they stand, and
you don't have to ask them how they
stand.
am on every question that comes
up In my town just like am on the
prohibition question. IL thev were to
oil ia,
tomorrow and was there, could lust
go up and slip my photograph into tho
ballot'boX, and when they commenced
to count the ballots they would know
that 1T was my photograph, and if there
was not thing on it they would say
that is vote for prohibition; just put
him down that way My photograph in
ballot-boN on any moral question in my
town tells how | vote, and il YOU
would hold an election on morals here
tomorrow, some of your wives would
not know how you vote. Members of
the church do not always tell their
wives of their actions, and some mem
bers of the church, venture, are listen
ing to me now
'One great objection they had Of Sam
Jones coming to this town was that he
might run whiskey out and ruin the
town. Drive the people away and have
long grass growing on tho streets.
told them to let it grow. We will raise
moro grass and hay and less hell. Old
women and cows get along better on
grass than you will on whiskey. The
only kind of Christian that would give
a snap of my finger for is the man who
stands square on every question that
| comes up.
Now having come out on Gods
side then he says. i fought with all nv
ransom powers Here | am Every
drop of my blood, every dollar of my
money, every minute OF my time is
Gods to command any minute he wants
1T. | was preaching up hero near High
Bridge, in tho camp meeting country.
After several days preaching one morn
ing we had talking meeting among
ourselves. The pastor of the First
Methodist Church at Lexington, first
| class follow, arose and spoke about as
follows.
81 never feltas little, never felt as
mean never felt as no account in nv
life as do to-day. | was a sixteen
year old boy when | kissed my mother
! good bye. shook hands with nv father
and joined Lees army and went to the
front. | marched and fought and strug-
| gled for four years with Gen Lee. /
slept out in the rain and cold. Went
without anything to eat and barred nv
bosom to tan thousand bullets, all
through my love for the so called South
ern confederacy. have been soldier
OF the cross for thirteen years and never
marched mile barefooted for the
cross; never barred my bosom to a single
bullet for the cross and am ashamed
OF yself today
what sort of soldiers are your broth.
rem? Sort Of home guard boys Been
out two weeks and got no butter and a
powerful little butter milk. tell YOU
many old rebs are sitting listening To
| me right now. and so are some OF the
Union soldiers. If Gen. Leo had an
army like the churches of this country.
he would not have stood up before the
Yankee army threo weeks. If Gen.
Grant had had an army like the
churches of this country. bless your
soul. Gen. Lee would have run him or
into Canada long ago.
but now take another question,
which has got the most influence in
Roanoke, the saloon or the churches?
Which do you say brethren? Which has
the most influence in moulding this
town in its political life, the saloons or
the churches? dare you to say the
churches. Every saloon keeper in town
would say you are lying; they would
say we run it,
One old bull-nccked. white aproned
scoundrel standing behind the bar sell
ing whisky has got more influence than
firstclass preacher in tho town There
is something wrong hero. The devil
can put chain around his crowds and
draw them through mud knee deep to
hell and you never hear grunt out of
them. Here is church kept open three
days in the week, Sunday morning for
an hour, Sunday night for an hour and
It might. just as we'll not be opened