The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-05-17
WAS WARM SERMON
REV. SAM JONES' VIEWS OF SOME
OF SAVANNAH's OFFICIALS.
SAYS THEMAYoRIS "MY MEAT"
HOT ROAST FOR AN ALDERMAN ON
THE TABERNACLE QUESTION.

Attended Any OF the Greetings.
Kept Excellent order and Was
swnyed by the Speaker at VIII.
Mr.. Jones Put Questions to the
Rising Vote, and His Views In
dorsed, the Congregation Agreeing
With Him That Every Word He
Had said Was True.
Rev Sam Jones returned TO Savannah
yesterday morning. accompanied by his
family. Last night he started in on sa-
vannah. and some of its customs and off,
Gals in a way that fairly electrified the
audience, which, by the way, was quite
the largest that has ever attended a meet
ing Of this sort in Savannah, numbering,
as It did, about eight thousand. But i'm
mense. though it was. perfect order was
kept, and except when roar of laugh
ter followed some characteristic remark
Of the speaker. there was not even rus
tie to be heard in the vast auditorium.
Mr.. Jones peculiar mood, it after
ward developed in his sermon, might have
been discerned in even his preliminary
remarks. though the very nature of the
subject made him less caustic than he
was later in the evening
He began by suggesting that the people
were missing much by not attending the
morning and afternoon meetings Of the
series. 7 mean some of you people that
are crowded out al night" he said. Il
never fancied en- owl religion that waits
for the night to go to services. Some
OF you fellows are afraid that If you leave
your business for FIVE minutes or an hour.
you'll lose something. If I had the
money that you have. and as little re-
Egion as some of you I'd just come to
these meetings bringing my dinner and
q nickel, and I'd stay.
Now if you'll keep perfectly still you'll
al be able TO hear me. I'm not hoarse,
just got frog in my throat; you see I'm
down where its damp; this is wet town"
The evsngelist's text was taken from
Proverbs. kiss. As righteousness tendeth
to life: 50 he that pursueth evil pursueth
il to his own death" When a good man
dies" he said. he goes traight to heaven,
just as surely as if l drop this book, 1t
will go straight to the floor: when bad
man dies. he goes straight to hell. just as
surely as this book would go to the floor
If dropped The good man goes to heaven
because ne is good. and Inc bad man goes
to hell because he's bad; this is the logic
of the situation.
ITO see this exemplihed." he con-
tinued, go to the funeral of
good man; the minister VIII say
here lies the body of our departed
brother. but his spirit has gone home to
live with God; and locks of appreciation
will be seen on the faces OF all that
hear him, be they good or bad. But
take the case another way: go to the
funeral of a man, who. though he may
have belonged to the church, didn't live
right The hypocritical minister may say
the same thing, but he has violated the
principles of truth. the people know It.
and they have no further faith in him. 1
tell you, the common convictions of hui
manity are in harmony with this Book"
My purpose tonight is 10 show that
He that pursueth evil pursueth it to his
own death Sin is not only a wrong, 1t
is a disease. II one persists in drinking
one become a drunkard; If one continues
10 lie, liar. and everywhere I've been,
except Savannah, to be a liar is a terrible
thing. The trouble is men look the act
Itself and never see the reflex action on
character"
Mr.. Jones compared the effect Of sin,
persisted in, to the slow but deadening
poison of a serpent. Il don't need any
preacher or Bible" he said. ito convince
me that sin is the ruin of men, of munich
palties, of states and of countries Right
here in this town can show you charac-
tiers showing all the horrible ravages of
sin. Whether IL be the millionaire or the
bum, he that sits in the chief seat OF the
synagogue or that grovels in a den, the
ravages of sin will tell on him Like the
virus of the cancer which kills al last
the virus OF sin is as deadly.
again he that pursueth evil not only
pursueth death, but pursueth death to his
conscience. Every sin is a stab at your
conscience, but there are a thousand men
In Savannah tonight as constituencies as
If dead and damned. The trouble in this
country to-day is that you have stabbed
TO death the conscience of the Individual,
the municipality the state and the coun-
try. You know that as a nation we have
no conscience. The national government
is in league and co-partnership with the
Infamous liquor traffic, and both the Re
publicans and the Democrats, il they can
but win by il are willing to continue so.
What do the damnable, dirty, politicians
of this town care If every mothers son
is debauched, II they can get into Office
and run their little mills. II Savannah
a
I'd have some respect for her. And this
want Of conscience has crept into the
very churches. affecting deacons. and
stewards and vestrymen, aye. in some
cases. the very ministers Of God.
THE state OF Georgia as an organized
political and economic body has no con-
science; we levy blaekmail from every
ssloonkeeper TO get money to send our
children to school. Why, Ia rather my
boy go to heaven sober. knowing only his
a, b. cs. than 10 go drunk to hell and
be able to read Greek. Why, II ignor-
ance barred men from preferment you've
got aldermen in this town that couldn't
be elected dog-pelters.
II was born and raised a Democrat.
lived and moved among the Democrats,
but I've got 10 that point when 1 think
that highest demands of patriotism and
loyalty are those that shield the wife
protect the mother and send the boys
home sober. Yes. I've been with the
damned, dirty. whisky soaked, red nosed
Democrats. I've made speeches for them
and I've toted the torch light in the pro-
cession till it burned my fingers, ana I've
gone home drunk on their Democratic
liquor. And all the time / was making
speeches. and they were cheering me there
was my sad-eyed wife at home But
bless God I've quit II, and now they call