Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-03-16
LoNDoN's BIG REVIVAL
Incidents of Religious Crusade
 Conducted by Americans.

Incidents of Religious Crusade Conducted by Americans.
 A TALK WITH ONE OF THE LEADERS
 Charles N. Alexander Tells Why He
 Uses Songs That Reach the Heart
 Impressions of the First Meeting.
 Hundreds Turned Away-A Service
 For Children.
 Charles M. Alexander, one of the
 Chicago revivalists who is conducting
 religious crusade in England with
 Dr. Reuben A. Torrey, talking recent ly to representative of the Washing ton Star of the present big religious revival in London, said: .-.
 "Dr. Torrey and myself have come to London with one aim and view. and that is the definite salvation of souls. Every word that is uttered and every song that is sung we want to count in that direction. Our methods are as simple as we know how to make them in order to deal with such large mass of people.
 If we were only conducting serv- ices in church or chapel, with a thou sand people night. we should not need many things that we need in such a great campaign as that which we are about to commence. do not believe that any other committee could have run 50 large an organization as this mission in London at less expense. The entire fund gathered by the con- mittee will be used for the necessary expenses-advertising. rental of the Royal Albert hall. erection of the hall in Brixton and the work in Islington. It is quite fallacy to suppose that the mission Is In any way money making one for Dr. Torrey and myself. We are after souls. and not after purses.
 If this mission had been organized on any smaller scale than it has been all London would not be speaking of religious subjects as 1t is today. Is 1t not worth many times f17,OOO 1885, O0O to get the greatest city in the world to make religion the foremost topic of the hour?
 If. say again, the mission had been organized on any smaller scale, the press would not have thought 1t worth while to i'll their columns as they have done of late with religious news. The millions who read the Lon don papers are bound to be impressed by thesmagnHude of the work. and I have not the faintest doubt that thou sands will be led to Jesus Christ sim ply through reading the reports of our meetings.
 "In regard to the character of songs we use would say that they are just as simple as could get, for I find that the simple gospel song reaches the heart better than more complicated music. Some of the songs that have been criticised most severely by mu- sicians have been the songs that have sent the most people into the kingdom.
 T have tried to get words that have . picture in every line, easy to speak. with melody that carries them without hitch. People sing them as they go out to their work. and some have the words and tunes 50 thoroughly fixed in their memory that a hymn book is no longer necessary.
 'The other Sunday in Cambridge, for example, with a hall packed with uni versity men. I wanted to see how they would receive the songs. They caught them up as quickly as any audience I have ever seen. At the close the invi- tation to converts to declare them selves was given during the singing of Tell Mother I'll Be There Thirty i've men boldly rose and confessed Christ.
 People ask me why I do not use classical music for the higher class of people. and I reply that will adopt classical music when I see that it leads people to forsake sin and accept Christ. This simple heart music which I use fuses the audience and puts them on the same level-the business man, the society woman. the laboring man. the outcast woman-and they find in it a touch that makes them all kin and leads them all along a common path to their Creator"
 At the close of the first great Sunday evening meeting of the revival now be- ing conducted in London by Dr. Tor rey and Mir. Alexander. Mir. ]. H. Put terill. the honorary secretary of the London evangelistic council. said 10 the Chicago Posts London correspond ent. Tt was the best first night I ever knew of any revival campaign in Lon don" Dr. Toney declared that 1t was the best first night he had ever had in his trip around the world.
 As early as : o'clock in the afternoon people began forming in line outside the doors of the great hall. Slowly the line formed at first. and then faster and faster. until at 6;30 long cues of people four and six deep stretched far Into the distance on either side of the l great building. At . o'clock the doors ! were thrown open and the people 1 streamed rapidly into the building. Long before s o'clock every available !