Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1901-01-11
REV. SAM JONES' DEVIL.
Georgia Evangelist Says He Is
Bad, Personal, Powerful.

hev. Curtis Lee Laws, of the Firs
Baptist Church, made an introduc
tory announcement to explain th
object OF the "evangelistic campaign.
There were baskets at the doors t,
receive voluntary contributions, bu
these were overlooked by many il
the rush to get into the building, SC
it was decided to pass the baskets
through the audience.
| Mr.. Jones said of this collection:
"We are obliged to have few dead
beats in every congregation, and
want you to feel at home who don't
want to contribute toward the sup
port of the meetings"
Then he continued talking in his
characteristic way, some of his SEN
tences being as follows:
"The pull to the parks, beer gar
dens, saloons and deviltry is immense
today, and / wonder it didn't get
some of you.
"In Baltimore it is the habit of
the decent people to dress up and go
to church Sunday morning, then go
home and in undress take off religion
until the next Sunday. These meet.
lngs are going to break the monotony,
and that's no joke. No, sir.
"The committee of laymen- are
running Music Hall for these meet
iugs, but, under God, I'll run my
mouth. I'm bOssing that.
'The preachers sitting here
wouldn't say what l do, and if
didn't say any more than they do
wouldn't be of any more account
than they are" Then he turned to
the preachers with a pleasant grin,
while the audience laughed.
81 believe in three distinct powers" ("
he said, eve have to do with in the
moral world--divine, satanic and
human. believe in devil, bad
devil, personal, powerful devil, as
much as l believe in God. lie is in
Baltimore, and the man that doubts
1T must be deaf and dumb and blind
and brainless.
"When divine power is coupled on
to human power we are omnipotent.
When satanic power works together
with human power we are almost an
omnipotent force for evil.
"There are 100 men in Baltimore
allied with the devil who if they
should cut loose and ally with God
and right l could show you a city
revolutionized in three weeks.
''Some people have resolved them
selves into nothing. You are mighty
nigh landed in that knot. Some
want to be 'broken and empty
pitchers not only broken, but
busted.
"Many on the DEVILS side don't
count for much. Most of you are
harnacles on the ship of Zion; don't
know how you got on, or why you
don't come off.
1.-The devil can't run his machine
without men. He doesn't dislill
whiskey or sell it, and / am sure he
never drank it. He gets some scoun-
drel to make whiskey, an internal
rascal to sell it and an Internal
fool to drink it, then his work goes
on.
EUCHRE PARTIES AND SOCIETY.
81 have as much respect for the
whiteaproned scoundrel that sells
whiskey as for the Presbyterian or
Methodist woman who dishes out
damnation from a cutglass punch
bowl.
"l have more sympathy for the
gambler who is arrested while trying
to make money for his family than
for the women who gamble for cut
glass vase at progressive euchre
party.
"To be able to enter Baltimore
society means simply to have the ac-
complishments every nigger in town
has got-to be able to drink whiskey
and champagne, to play cards and to
dance. If Isbelonged in this gang
where niggers measured up to me I'd
quit it or black my face.
''lf the great Methodist Church
should abolish Its rules against world
illness, as is proposed in the General
Conference, it would die in the mex {.
decade so there wouldn't be enough
left to bury. 1t ought to enforce it's
rules, though, or else abolish them.
Hear me!
"What are churches doing today
that any well-regulated Masonic
lodge can't do? Answer the ques-
tion; get up on your hind feet, Bud.
"rhe church has moved out of the
region of the miraculous and is no
more than society for mutual i'm
provementand to be respectable here,
no matter what becomes of us in the
hereafter.
"'rhe most internal scoundrels in
Baltimore are college graduates.
| When the divine power goes through