Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-04-14
TALMAGE DIED
SATURDAY
NIGHT
END TO GREAT CAREER IN Pull
PIT CAME AFTER ILLNESS OF
ONE MONTHS DURATION "A
SKETCH OF HIS LIFE.


Dewitt Talmage died at 9 O'clock Satur-
day night at his home in this city. He had
been i'll for some time and only Few
weeks ago had experienced q change for
the better, which gave hope for his re-
covery. Several days ago. however, his
! condition grew worse. caused by conges-
ton of the BRAIN with catarrhal compli-
, cations, and since tHen the family had
been daily expecting his death.
Sketch of His Life.
7. Dewitt Talmage was one OF the re-
markable men OF his time. His success
financially was phenomenal for clergy
man.
Born in Bound Rock. New Jersey, on
January Z, 1892, educated in New York
city for the law, which be quit at his
parents desire to take a theological course
at New Brunswick, the young Talmage.
] did his first preaching at Belleville, N. j.,
and went from there to Syracuse. n. Y,
to get a better place in the Dutch Re-
| formed church there. In Syracuse he be-
gan to develop those peculiarities which,
| further exaggerated, were IN later years
to make him talked about.
He drew large Sunday evening audiences
| partly because he amused the people and
when the crowds got 50 large that people
were pushed down the aisles, Mr. Tai
mage would ask the people TO come to the
| platform and said that he didn't care If
/ they came up and sat on Che pulpit with
their legs hanging over.
Pulpit Gymnastics.
In his Brooklyn pulpit. where he began
| preaching in 1862 he resortad TO the tricks
of manner and speech whfh caused him
| to be caricatured from one end of the
| country to the other. On one occasion
when 1t was time for him t. begin his SER
mon, he went to one edge q the platform,
buttoned his coat, raised bis arms. and
wheeling suddenly about dashed in rum
| ming jumps across the platform, his arms
/ waving like the sails OF q windmill, his
coat-tails flying behind him. and his trous-
ers working up above his shoe tops.
He had not spoken a word. and some Of
his congregation were ready 70 shrek, not
| knowing what to make Of IL when Mr.
Talmage stopped short, turned and walked
back to the center of the platform and
exclaimed, as the beginning q his sermon;
"Youg man, you're rushing to destruc-
| tionl"
Then he preached of the Dangers of city
life 70 young men who yislasa 70 stempta-
BY such methods he drew thousands of
persons to the church, and as it was said,
the church treasurer complained that
/ there there were thousands OF cents in
the contribution plates.
Mr.. Talmage's comment on his style OF
preaching was: MY positive mode of
l
| all earth and hell"
Talmage's Own Story.
| In telling the story Of his life he once
said:
"Feeling called upon ffteen years ago
| to explore underground New York city
life that might report the evils to be
| combated, 1 took with me two elders OF
my church and New York police COM
| missioner and a policeman, and explored
| Nd Ne needed
moval and the allurements that endan-
/ gered our young men. There came upon
/ me an outburst of assumed Indignation
| that frightened almost everybody but my
| self. That exploration put into my church
/ thirty or forty newspaper correspondents.
/ from north, south, east and west; which
opened for me new avenues in which to
i preach the Gospel that otherwise would
| never have been opened. Years passed on
/ and preached a series of sermons on
| amusements, and false report of what l
| did say reused violence that threatened
me with poison and dirk and pistol and
| other forms of extinguishment, until the
chief of the Brooklyn police, without any
suggestion from me, took possession of
the church with twenty-four policemen
| to see that no harm was DONE
Newspaper Notoriety.
When Mr. Talmage syndicated his SER
| mons he prepared them week or two in
| advance as he had to do to supply the
| presses in time. And when he went to
Europe and the Holy Land he sold his
sermons before he left New York. They
were printed as having come by cable.
One was printed on a Monday morning as
| having been delivered at Queenstown,
whence Mr. Talmage sailed on the pre-
ceding Saturday, and after Mr.. Talmage
| got>here he acknowledged that 1t had new
er been delivered at all.
| The Holy Land had to WELD him sem
sation and the story was sent over here
| that an American had met him there and
had asked the preacher to baptize him
| in the Jordan, which Mr.. Talmage, accord
ling to his own story, did do. But in Brook
lyn Mr.. Talmage's enemies said that he
| had caught a tramp on the river bank
and ducked him.
| In Russia Mr.. Talmage was received by
the car. In his story of that meeting he
said: 81 asked the car as many ques-
tions as he asked me-"
The most serious attack made upon him
| in England was by the Rev. Joseph Par
ker, who said that after delivering a tenn
perance lecture, Mr.. Talmage drank wine
| with his meal.
Made $1,000 Per Day.
Mr.. Talmage once boosted that he could
| make 81, 900 a day. 1t was at one time es-
timated that he was worth $1OOO,0OO, but
| his friends said that his wealth was only
/ a quarter of that sum. Much Of his
money he invested in Brooklyn mortga-
| ges.
Twenty-Five years ago Mr.. Talmage was
tried by an ecclesiastical court in Brook
lyn on charges Of falsehood land deceit"
He was not found guilty but the vote of
the court was a close one.
Just before Mr. Talmage left Brooklyn
a call had been made upon his congrega-
ton to furnish money which the church
needed to take care of its pressing debts
and the response had not been what was
| expected. Then one of the influential
trustees wanted Mr.. Talmage to consent
| to a plan for charging 10 cents admission
| to the services, believing that that would
bring in 5000 or so each Sunday, but Mr..
! Talmage replied that he was not Decent
man and presently he resigned.
While Mr.. Talmage was at Philadelphia
where he preached for seven years before
| going to Brooklyn his first wife was
| drOurned in the Schuvlxill river.