The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-03-30

! weeks revival that closed at Prince
ton, Ill., on March H., "a fortnight ago.
Great preparations were made for the
services. A tabernacle to seat 5000 peo-
pie was erected pnrposely. 1t was started
with many misgivings and the evange
list realized that an organized effort was
made to defeat his plans and the plans
of the ministers of the city. He opened
his services and began preaching the
doctrine of shell fire."
For two weeks he censured the church
members and roundly scored the preach
ers for their Indifference. This attract.
ed thousands each evening to the SER
vices. The great tabernacle was too
small.
After two weeks of hboring to puri-
fly the churches and to place the preach
ers on the right path, he began calling
for converts.
In twelve nights $500 people were con-
verted at the rate of 200 people a night.
The evangelist did not stop at convert
ing the moral men, the backsliders, but
also converted three saloonkeepers and
two bartenders and one saloon is closed
and it is expected that two more will
do the same.
Sunday was the final day for the
great meetings. The morning service
began at 1890 o'clock, and at eight
o'clock the doors were closed. Fully A.
500 persons crowded into the structure.
He preached great sermon, and at the
conclusion of it there were $50 converts,
and as a free-will Offering the people
gave him $4,000 in cash. In the after
noon he preached a sermon to men only.
At the conclusion $50 men went forward
and prayed for forgiveness, and they
gave him another 81 900.
At midnight he closed his services, and
having converted 1000 and received an
other $1,000, making total of $4,000
It is remarkable man that can do
this and that the old-time ball player,
who is now about forty three years old,
is remarkable man will be freely con-
ceded by the hundreds of thousands that
have come under the spell of his fiery
elouuence. He is of the Sam Small type
of exhorters-plain-s spoken, rugged, talk
ing slang and speaking in the COLO
puialsms that his hearers best under
stand.
Gambling, card-playing by society
women for prizes, dancing, drnking-the
common lapses from the straight and
narrow path-are what he attacks most
fercely and that his work has deep eff
feet upon many is proven by the fact
thousands of dollars in old debts have
been paid in various towns by con.
science stricken debtors after he left.
He resides with his wife and two chill
dren at GA Throop street, within three
blocks of the old Congress street base
ball grounds where he used to play un.
der cap" Arson, before his CONVEX.
sion.
He has often asserted on the platform
that he was converted all in a minute
while listening to street preacher In
Van Buren, street and that he resolved
then to give up ball playing and devote
his life to religious work. Mrs. Sunday
said yesterday that she intends joining
her husband in his evangelistic labors.
thereafter 1 shall accompany my hus-
band" said Mrs. Sunday. 81 can be
great help to him, taking charge OF
women Bible classes, organizing girl BIZ
BILE classes and giving personal care to
converted persons.
"My husbands success is not depend
ent upon his own words, but on the
power of prayer, the help of God. He
knows no give-up, because there is moth
ing that God cannot do, and Mr.. Sun
day is only the agent through which
the Lord works.
''Mr. Sunday is now in Austin, Mimi.
His work has no counterpart in exist
ence Nobody could initiate it or him.
He is sincere, honest and fair, as his
present revival services in Austin show.
He is there to stay for five weeks, to
preach every night and three times on
Sunday during the entire five weeks"
Mr. Sundays plan in arranging for
series of revival meetings is to require
the local churches to unite in the work,
none of them to hold any services on
the Sundays during the progress of his
meetings. He stipulates that taber-
nacle seating from 5000 to 5000 peo-
pie must be erected at the expense of
the church committee in charge of the
undertaking. This expense is to be
guaranteed by subscription to stock
among the citizens of the town, usually
amounting to $4,000 or $4,000. This sub
scription is not collected, but merely
stands as a guarantee of the expenses
in case the contributions taken up at the
= 10,