Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-04
LoNDoN's 3M REVIVAL
INTERESTING TALK WITH ONE
OF THE LEADERS.
Songs That Reach the Heart-Won-
derful Progresssof the Mis-
sion-Rural Iaborers.
pecial cableeram to The ..Esening Star.

Special Cablegram to The, fcsening Star.
LONDON, March 4-1Ehas. M. Alexander
talking this week of tie present big relig-
| ious revival in this citS said:
DIR. Torrey and myself have come to
London with one aim 1ld 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 simple as we know how to
make them, in order to deal with such
large mass of people.
IF we were only conducting services in
a church or chapel with a thousand people
a night we should not need many things
that we need in such great campaign as
that which we about to commence. 1
do not believe that any other committee
could have run so large an organization as
this mission in London at less expense
The entire fund gathered by the committee
will be used Tor the necessary expenses
advertising, rental of the Royal Albert
Hall. erection of the hall in Brixton and
the work in Islington. 1t is quite fallacy
to suppose that the mission is In any way a
moneymaking one for DIR. Torrey and my
self We are after souls, and not after
purses.
It's Importance Justified.
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 it not worth many times
f1LO0o to get the greatest city in the world
to make religion the foremost topic of the
hour?
If. l say again, the mission had been
organized on any smaller scale the press
would not have thought it worth while TO
fill their columns. as. they have done of
late with religious news The millions
who read the London papers ave bound to
or h thn -
and | have not the fainsS1 doubt that
thousands will be led to 8E6ns Christ simply
through reading the rep3Fkx of our meet
lngs have known OF thQQsaaEis at differ
ent times who have been p6NVerted by read
ing reports who were never9at our meet
ings. Moreover, hundreds and thousands
of people who never get inside will be told
about it by those wac will come.
In regard to the character of songs
we use l would say that they are Just as
simple as l could get, for l find that the
simple gospel song reaches the heart better
than more complicated music. Some of the
severely by musicians have been the SONGS
that have sent the most people into the
kingdom
A Picture in Every Line.
Il have tried to get words that have
picture in every line, easy to speak, with
melody that carries Them without
hitch. People sing ITEM as they go out
to their work, and Eson1e have the words
and tunes thor3ug hly fixed in their
memory that hymn book is no longer
necessary.
Last Sunday in Cambridge, for example,
with hall packed with university men, 1
wanted to see how they would receive the
songs. They caught them up as quickly as
any audience have ever seen. At the close
the invitation to converts to declare them
selves was given during the singing of Tell
Mother I'll ha There Thirty-fiVa m
boldly rose and confessed Christ.
People ask me why do not use classi-
cal music for the higher class of people,
and / reply that l will adopt classical
music when 1 see that it leads peopSe to
forsake sin and accept Christ. This i'm
pie heart music which l use fuses the al
dience and puts them all 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
mon path to their Creator"
Deaths of Rural Laborers.
softening of the brain, brought about by
lack of mental exercises ssuses the death
of one-third of the rEfst laberers of this
country This remarfse statement was
made in the law court mere this week by
DR.. Duke, giving evidence in an action
brought by Mr.. Tompkins. Bucks corn
merchant, who, after trap accident de-
veloped softening of the brain. DR.. Duke,
in REORGANIZATION, explained that this
malady was very common in agricultural
districts.
Its cause, he said was lack of brain ex
ercise. The intellect of a rural labore-,
he explained rusted rather than wore Out,
and when he attained the age of slxty-five
or seventy-five he usually died from an
apoplectic fit, or something of the kind.
In support of his theory he instanced
the cases of judges and others, whose
thinking capacity was continually en-
ployed, and who, he said, invariably lived
to far greateras than the average rural
laborer.
Apart from this melancholy pronounce
case, for Mr. Tonpkihs the plaintiff, had
been attended by d 19r. Death, and the
name of the defendant was Tombs