The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-03-26


happy to see that it has not been con-
fined to the town, but there are little
halls and barns and gospel wagons and
travelling evangelists scattered all over,
each one doing its part faithfully.
This is as it should be. The work of
spreading Christianity should not be
spasmodic. 1t should be permanent
and thorough, and when a man takes
it up he should make it as completely
his business to obey his Divine Masters
command to go into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature as
a man considers it his business to serve
faithfully his employer, who pays him
his salary in dollars and cents.
California has improved vastly in
religious way since my last visit, ana
l can see the change very plainly. L
have Just taken a flying trip over
Southern California and am delighted
and astonished at the marked increase
of interest in religious affairs, and at
the spread of good work everywhere.
The religious tone of the State seems
to be far ahead of what it has ever
been before. All the same places have
been reached and the grand work of
CHARACTERIZATION is being organized, and
in organization lies the secret of sue
cess.
Ten years ago CALIFORNIA; Christians
paid little attention to the unhappy
beings within her jails and prisons.
But now this work is a special branch
and is being attended to Systematically
with splendid results.
Another gratifying feature is that
there are now two hundred gospel wa
CONS Just think of it. An average of
nearly four to every county in the
State going over the highways and into
the little heard of townships and doing
work hitherto neglected. I am told
that in some townships this gospel wa
gon work has been so thorough that not
a single inhabitant has been missed by
the evangelists, and in every instance
there are conversions.
Does this look as if the work of the
evangelists was passing?
Among the ministers of California
revival work is more popular than
ever. On my present trip I have seen
more unity of action than on the four
previous Ones and investigation proves
that the results of revivals are for the
greater part lasting. 1 shall remain in
California but a few weeks more. and
while here 1 am moving around too
quickly to be able to obtain an idea of
what the results may be. But 1 am
Just as confident as ever that in the
future my mail will bring me proofs of
the good results accomplished.
Is the old evangelical religion becom-
ing stale and is the Bible less popular
than it ever was?
I should say not. I have been asked
that question scores of times. Not long
since a member of the staff of the New
York Sun asked me that question.
We had a discussion in the Sun edi-
torial room and it was remarked that
the Bible was getting out of date and
that the people We're reading Sunday
newspapers. One of the editors sent
me out to investigate, and I found that
more Bibles had been sold in New
York in the last three years than ever
before. Why? In one department
store in Philadelphia they are selling
tons of Bibles. The old book is not
worn out yet; let me tell you that
more Bibles have been sold In the last
eight years than in the preceding 1900
years. If 1 read the papers Alright,
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